| fecurely it is caught, and thus this heedlefs infe&, as Tomson 
calls it, terminates its exiftence in captivity moft miferable. 
In the incomparable poem of Dr. Darwin, entitled the 
Botanic Garden, there is a figure given of this plant; and in | 
s Supplement we have the following account written by Mr, 
*. Darwin, of Elfton. ey eee 
“ Inthe Apocynum Androfemifolium the Anthers converge — 
over the neflaries, which confift of five glandular oval 
corpufcles, furrounding the germ, and at the fame time 
admit air to the neétaries at the interftice between each 
« anther; but when a fly ‘nferts its probofcis between thefe 
« anthers to plunder the honey, they converge clofer, and with 
fuch violence as to detain the fly, which thus generally 
* perifhes.” 
_ This explanation of a phenomenon entitled to much atten-— 
tion, is widely different from ours; which of the two is moft 
confonant to truth and nature, we fhall leave to the deter- 
mination of future obfervers. : 
In explaining the preceding appearances, to prevent con- 
fufion we called thofe parts which form the cone in the middle 
of the flower Anthere, but ftriflly {peaking they are not fuch, 
~ the true Anthere being fituated on the infide of their fummits, | 
where they will be found to be ten in number, making in fa 
the Apocynum a decandrous plant. ‘ 
« 
ra 
“ 
r « 
