340 UTRICULARIA NEGLECTA. [Cuar. XVII. 
slightly shrunk. The spherical glands did not become brown, but their 
contents seemed changed in appearance, and after 23 hrs. still more 
changed and granular. Most of the oblong glands were now dark 
brown, but their utricles were not greatly shrunk. The four other 
specimens were examined after 3 hrs. 80 m., after 4 hrs. and 9 hrs. ; 
a brief account of their condition will be sufficient. The spherical glands 
were not brown, but some of them were finely granular. Many of the 
oblong glands were brown; and these, as well as others which still 
remained colourless, had their utricles more or less shrunk, some of 
them including small aggregated masses of matter. 
Summary of the Observations on Absorption.—-From the facts 
now given there can be no doubt that the variously shaped 
glands on the valve and round the collar have the power of 
absorbing matter from weak solutions of certain salts of 
ammonia and urea, and from a putrid infusion of raw meat. 
Prof. Cohn believes that they secrete slimy matter; but I 
was not able to perceive any trace of such action, excepting 
that, after immersion in alcohol, extremely fine lines could 
sometimes be seen radiating from their surfaces. The glands 
are variously affected by absorption: they often become of a 
brown colour; sometimes they contain very fine granules, or 
moderately sized grains, or irregularly aggregated little 
masses; sometimes the nuclei appear to have increased in 
size; the primordial utricles are generally more or less 
shrunk and sometimes ruptured. Exactly the same changes 
may be observed in the glands of plants growing and 
flourishing in foul water. The spherical glands are generally 
affected rather differently from the oblong and two-armed 
ones. The former do not so commonly become brown, and 
are acted on more slowly. We may therefore infer that 
they differ somewhat in their natural functions. 
It is remarkable how unequally the glands on the bladders 
on the same branch, and even the glands of the same kind 
on the same bladder, are affected by the foul water in which 
the plants have grown, and by the solutions which were 
employed. In the former case I presume that this is due 
either to little currents bringing matter to some glands and 
not to others, or to unknown differences in their constitution. 
When the glands on the same bladder are differently affected 
‘by a solution, we may suspect that some of them had 
previously absorbed a small amount of matter from the 
water. However this may be, we have seen that the glands 
