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By looking at the plant kingdom we can see similarities in the working of natural laws, there being the same powerful drive to adapt and produce forces for defence and immunity. As an illustration of this, let us consider our experience with DDT. Some years ago, this chemical could kill all but two species of insects in Switzerland. Today, however, we know of at least forty species that have become immune to DDT. While I was staying in California I observed that it was necessary to keep on increasing the strength and toxicity of insecticides in order to obtain the desired results. The deplorable outcome of this process was that millions of birds and bees died, whilst the insects for which it was intended quickly became immune to the increased doses of poison. A few years ago, a friend of mine in Guatemala told me that an industrial firm near where he kept his beehives started using very potent insecticides, with the unintentional result that his bee population was decimated.
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