BOTANY. 347 



opposed to my own, I was curious to discover whether I had 

 committed auy error; but it was too late at that season to 

 repeat former experiments. 



On the loth of this month, therefore, I procured, about 

 midday, from a neighboring pine barren a number of leaves 

 of this plant which were brilliantly colored and secreting 

 freely. While still fresh, the upper portions of these leaves 

 were cut off and slit open, thereby exposing the honeyed 

 secretion on the internal surface, which was very abundant 

 and glistening, sweet to the taste and viscid to the touch. 

 These were then flattened out on a large newspaper, the 

 whole surface of which was covered with them. Many house- 

 flies were soon attracted and commenced to feed, and I care- 

 fully watched their motions without any interruption for the 

 space of one hour. The result was precisely as previously 

 stated. In no instance did I discover the slightest unsteadi- 

 ness or tottering in any of the flies, although I watched some 

 of them feeding at one spot for at least ten minutes, at the 

 expiration of which time they flew off, apparently unhurt. 

 Tliey continued feeding and flying oft* from the leaves during 

 the hour I watched them, and certainly not one fell, nor was 

 there any indication at any time of either stupor or intoxi- 

 cation. 



These experiments I repeated in the same way on the 25th 

 (but later in the day), and as carefully as on the previous 

 occasion, and with precisely the same results; also on the 

 next morning (26th) with plants which had been collected 

 the day before, and these seemed to secrete still more freely. 

 I ask, therefore, if flies and other insects are indeed intoxi- 

 cated from eating the honey when they are within the tube, 

 why should not the same intoxication result w T hen the tubes 

 are opened and flattened out? I conclude, then (as I did be- 

 fore), that it is only the peculiar conformation of the leaf in 

 its overhanging hood and internal slippery surface which en- 

 traps and finally destroys insects, and that the sweet exuda- 

 tion is only a lure, and not intoxicating in any way. I may 

 remark that after flies and other insects slip and stumble, if 

 they were indeed intoxicated or stupefied, it seems likely that 

 they would remain at the lower portion of the leaf, and that 

 their motions would be feeble and sluggish. On the con- 

 trary, their efforts for escape are most active and vigorous, 



