The flowers of this Apocynum have a fweet honey-like — 
fragrance, which perfumes the air to a confiderable diftance, 
and no doubt operates powerfully in attracting infe&is; when 
a plant of this fort is fully blown, one may always find flies 
caught in its bloffoms, ulually by the trunk, very rarely by — 
the leg; fometimes four, or even five, which is the greateft — 
poflible number, are found in oné flower, fome dead, others 
: endeavouring to difentangle themfelyes, in which they are | 
now and then fo fortunate as to fucceed; thefe flies are of © 
different {pecies, the mujfca pipiens, a flender variegated fly 
with thick thighs, is a very common viétim, the mu/fca domeftica, 
or houfe fly, we have never obferved among the captives. 
Previous to our explaining the manner in which it appears _ 
to us that thefe infe&ts are caught, it will be neceflary that we 
fhould defcribe, in as plain a manner as poflible, thofe parts 
ne the flower which more particularly conftitute this fatal 
y trap. as : 
~ On looking into the flower we perceive five Stamina, the 
_ Antherz: of which are large, of a yellow colour, and converge — 
inta a kind of cone; each of thefe Anthere is arrow-fhaped, 
towards the top of the cone their fides touch but do not | 
adhere, below they feparate a little, fo as to leave a very — 
_ Marrow opening or flit between each, they are placed on very 
fhort filaments, which ftand fo far apart that a confiderable 
opening is left between them, which openings, however, are _ 
clofed up by proceffes of the corolla, nicely adapted to, and 
projecting into them; at the bottom of, and in the very © 
centre of the flower, we perceive two germina, or feed-buds, 
the rudiments of future feed-veffels, furrounded by glandular 
fubftances, fecreting a fweet liquid; on the fummit of ‘thefe 
_ germina, and betwixt the two, ftands the ftigma, in the form _ 
of a little urn, the middle of which js encircled by a glandular 
ring, which fecretes a vifcid honey-like fubftance, to this part — 
_ of the ftigma the Anthere interiorly adhere moft tenacioufly, — 
fo as to prevent their feparation unlefs confiderable force be 
applied; it is, as we apprehend, the fweet vifcid fubftance — 
thus fecreted by the fligma, within the Anther, which:the fly — 
endeavours to obtain, and to this end infinuates its trunk fir — 
into the lowermoft and wideft part of the flit, betwixt each of — 
the Anthere above defcribed, pufhing it of neceflity upwards ris 
when gratified, not having the fenfe to place itfelf in the fame — 
_ pofition as that in which it ftood when it inferted its trunk, | 
and to draw it out in the fame dire@ion downwards, unfor- — 
tunately for it, it varies its pofition, and pulling its trunk — 
upwards, draws it into the narrow part of the flit where tt 
2 becomes clolely wedged in, and the more it pall ee 
