5,000 NESTS IN EVERY TREE: Review

The strict scientist may be put off a bit by such hocus-pocus phraseology as ''scientific proof of the soul'' and ''a point of contact between ourselves and the cosmos.'' But such references are rare. The nonscientist is likely to be entirely enchanted. Mr. [Lyall Watson] seems particularly gifted in illuminating complex concepts. The clustering of objects in nature is illustrated by a cherry fruitcake - one piece always seems to get more cherries than another (and of course the cherry-packed piece always goes to somebody else). The amount of water in an organism, traditionally dry textbook fare, comes alive in the essay ''The Wonder of Water'': ''Tomatoes and jellyfish are saturated at 95 percent, frogs and prawns reach 80 percent, and 75 percent of a chicken (more in some unscrupulous supermarkets) is liquid. It is a melancholy fact that even Raquel Welch is 65 percent water.'' Most of the essays in ''The Dreams of Dragons'' follow a pattern - a presentation of ''gee-whiz'' information, interpretations through increasingly rigorous tests and often a ''we still don't understand it but isn't it wonderful anyway'' conclusion. A reader's responses parallel these steps, beginning with doubt and cynicism, then curiosity to see where the mind is being led, and finally, in many cases, to acceptance of what was dismissed just a few pages earlier. AN example of a well-constructed argument that strengthens the sometimes tenuous connection between science and pseudoscience is found in ''The Roots of Awareness,'' a look at the purported emotions and communication skills of plants. Even the most die-hard vegephobe will be ready to go out and have a meaningful discourse with a petunia after reading Mr. Watson's account. Interestingly, the animal analogue of this essay, ''The Source of Concern,'' has the opposite effect because the examples range too far afield of the central question. Communication between nonliving crystals just doesn't explain why Bobbie the collie traveled from Indiana to Oregon to find her family. Perhaps the road to acceptance in this particular essay is blocked by a minor detour - the error of calling DNA a protein.