Cmar. XIV.) CONCLUDING REMARKS. 267 
Aldrovanda vesiculosa, var. verticillata.—Dyr, King, Superin- 
tendent of the Botanic Gardens, kindly sent me dried 
specimens collected near Calcutta. This form was, 1 believe, 
considered by Wallich as a distinct species, under the name 
of verticillata. It resembles the Australian form much more 
nearly than the European; namely in the projections at the 
upper end of the petiole being much attenuated and covered 
with upcurved prickles; they terminate also in two straight 
little prickles. The bilobed leaves are, I believe, larger and 
certainly broader even than those of the Australian form; so 
that the greater convexity of their margins was conspicuous. 
The length of an open leaf being taken at 100, the breadth 
of the Bengal form is nearly 173, of the Australian form 147, 
and of the German 134. The points on the infolded margins 
are like those in the Australian form. Of the few leaves 
which were examined, three contained entomostracan crus- 
taceans, . 
Concluding Remarks.—The leaves of the three foregoing 
closely allied species or varieties are manifestly adapted for 
catching living creatures. With respect to the functions of 
the several parts, there can be little doubt that the long 
jointed hairs are sensitive, like those of Dionæa, and that, 
when touched, they cause the lobes to close. That the glands 
secrete a true digestive fluid and afterwards absorb the 
digested matter, is highly probable from the analogy of 
Dionza,—from the limpid fluid within their cells being 
aggregated into spherical masses, after they had absorbed an 
infusion of raw meat,—from their opaque and granular 
condition in the leaf, which had enclosed a beetle for a long 
time,—and from the clean condition of the integuments of 
this insect, as well as of crustaceans (as described by Cohn), 
which have been long captured. Again, from the effect 
produced on the quadrifid processes by an immersion for 
24 hrs. in a solution of urea,—from the presence of brown 
granular matter within the quadrifids of the leaf in which 
the beetle had been caught,—and from the analogy of 
Utricularia,—it is probable that these processes absorb 
excrementitious and decaying animal matter. It is a more 
curious fact that the points on the infolded margins ap- 
parently serve to absorb decayed animal matter in the same 
manner as the quadrifids. We can thus understand the 
meaning of the infulded margins of the lobes furnished with 
delicate points directed inwards, and of the broad, flat, outer 
