23 JANUARY 1953, page 23

The Observant Amateur

Flowers of the Coast. By Ian j-lepburn. (Collins. 25s.) Under the Sea Wind. By Rachel L. Carson. (Staples. 12s. 6d.) THE amateur botanist is certainly among the most innocent......

The Great Commoner

" AND in short measure Life may perfect be." But not " Lives." You cannot plant an oak in a flower-pot. There is a mean between some of the standard American biographies, with......