Wonders of Life

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 80, 28 December 1935, Page 17

Wonders of Life

“How to See Nature” (two volumes), by Eric Fitch Daglish (London: Dent).

In his haste to rush through life, the average man passes blindly through a world teeming with wonders ; a world in which the grim struggle for survival goes on unceasingly. Occasionally an interested observer pauses to study the ways of Nature’s smaller and less important children and becomes so absorbed in the fascinating kingdoms of animals, birds, insects and fishes that he feels the urge to share his knowledge. Such an observant naturalist is Eric Fitch Dagllsh, whose “How to See Nature” has just been published in two volumes. At first glance this work appears to be a very simple explanation of how insects, animals and Howers live and work, but a more careful reading reveals an amazingly comprehensive study of Nature written in a most sympathetic and original manner. The first volume, which deals with plants, Howers and insects, makes the study of botany, horticulture and entomology —often regarded as “dry” subjects—of absorbing interest and enables the reader to view them with new understanding. The reasons underlying some of Nature’s laws are revealed in non-technical languages. The second volume reviews birds, beasts and pond life, and although many of the subjects discussed in it are strangers to the average New Zealander, the fascinating revelations of their habits, laws and instincts make most interesting reading. The author who is also an artist of ability, lias illustrated both volumes with numerous woodcuts.' Adults, no less than children, will find much profitable entertainment in ‘“How to See Nature.”