"A compendium of information, packed densely with meat like a rich nut. Not content with the mere naked eye, the author uses a microscope. Not content with personal observation, whe has sorted out volumes of lore on the ways of growth both of plants and insects, and the dependencies and relationships between them. . . . To her talent as a writer, she adds a talent for precise, delicate drawings of flowers and seeds that gives an airy grace to the packed written pages."--May Sarton, New York Times Books Review