ABOUT THIS BOOK AND ITS AUTHOR 



If you want to know how the Indians, the pioneers and the early Span- 

 ish-Americans used many of the common wild plants of the west for 

 food, for building shelters or making artifacts, and as tonics or in other 

 ways to help bring back or preserve health, this is the book for you. 

 Written in easy~to-understand language and with pictures of almost all 

 the plants described, it details bits of extremely interesting and often 

 almost forgotten lore of the old west in regard to the wild plants. Fur- 

 thermore, if you are a Scout on a survival hike, or are ever lost in the 

 wilderness without civilized food, the knowledge in this book maybe ab- 

 solutely vital to you. The plants in the chief sections of this book are 

 arranged in five categories for aid in easy identification: water plants 

 and ferns and their allies, trees, shrubs, herbs and vines. Besides 

 this the book helps you identify plants by the color of the flowers, ar- 

 ranged in categories; the color of the fruits, nuts or seeds; by habitats 

 or living places of plants; and by geographical range. 



When we asked Mrs. Muriel Sweet to tell us about herself, she 

 wrote modestly that: "I have so far to go, compared to the people who 

 usually write books like this, that I feel hesitant about saying anything. " 

 We feel, however, that Mrs. Sweet is one of those very fortunate people, 

 who, despite the lack of much formal education in youth, have risen 

 above this handicap by hard work and careful study to become an expert 

 in the field of their interest. From childhood she was interested in 

 plants and animals, presenting a butterfly collection to Columbia Uni- 

 versity, and later extensively collecting and studying plants. She re- 

 ceived plants from the government and studied their growing conditions, 

 and, when a teen-ager, was taught about plants by Dr. William Bebb, 

 the famous lx)tanist. She has since collected plants for the Santa Ana 

 Botanic Gardens inClaremont and also for the Santa Barbara Arboretum. 

 She has an extensive botanic library and is an ardent member of the 

 Madera County, Santa Barbara County, and West Texas Historical and 

 Scientific Societies. 



SOME OTHER NATUREGRAPH PUBLICATIONS 



INDIA'S SOCIAL MIRACLE, by Daniel Hoffman. 168 pages, several 

 fine photographs. A brilliant argument for the greater use of plants, and 

 a story of Vinoba Bhave, called "India's Walking Saint," telling of his 

 remarkable integration of man, nature & God. $2.95 paper; $3.95 cloth. 



WARRIORS OF THE RAINBOW, by William Willoya (an Eskimo) and 

 Vinson Brown. 96 pages, beautifully illustrated by Indian artists. An 

 account of the strange and prophetic visions of the Indian peoples, the re- 

 markable patterns they form, and their meaning. $1.95 paper; $3.50 cloth. 



THE CALIFORNIAN WILDLIFE REGION, Revised Edition, by Vin- 

 son Brown. 550 illustrations, 128 pages. Covers the common mam- 

 mals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and plants of California, outside 

 of the deserts and coniferous forest regions. $2. 50 paper; $4. 00 cloth. 



Continued on back of cover. 



