“The animal world seizes its food in masses little and big, and often gorges itself with it, but the vegetable, through the agency of the solvent power of water, absorbs its nourishment molecule by molecule.”

American naturalist and nature essayist

John Burroughs was an American naturalist and nature essayist. He was active in the conservation movement in the United States and is remembered for writing about the natural world. His first essay collection, Wake-Robin, appeared in 1871. Burroughs’s work helped shape American nature writing, with essays that reflect close attention to landscapes, plants, and wildlife.