330 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF 



The Drosera as an Insect Catcher. Mr. Thomas Meehan 

 referred to a discussion before the Academy recently in which the 

 question occurred, whether those plants which had contrivances 

 for catching insects made any nutritive use of the insects so 

 caught. It had been suggested that experiments made in England 

 with plants under bell-glasses and free from insects, were quite as 

 healthy as those which had had insects regularly applied to them, 

 and this was argued to prove that the plants were not actually 

 insect eaters. 



In a recent botanical trip to New Jersey, he had found in 

 Atlantic County, about five miles from Hammonton, three species 

 * of Drosera; D. filiformis, D. longifolia, and D. rotundifolia, all 

 growing near each other in immense quantity. All of these species 

 had insects of numerous kinds attached to them. Large numbers 

 of plants had no insects. The species with the largest number of 

 plants having insects on them, were in the order as above named. 

 The insects are held by the pin-like glandular hairs, which seem 

 to lean in from all sides towards the insect as if, from its 

 struggles to escape, drawn in and thus securel} 7 holding it. The 

 remains of the insects which have been caught, seem to continue 

 attached to the plant for a long time; and thus can be seen which 

 plant has had the benefit of insect food if food it be. Xo differ- 

 ence, however, in health or vigor could be traced between those 

 which had had insects and those which had had none. Mr. Meehan 

 did not, however, think that these observations, or experiments 

 founded on anything they suggested, would settle the question of 

 nutrition. Among ourselves there were discussions as to whether 

 people were healthier as vegetarians or flesh eaters, while figures 

 showed little difference, if any, either way. A plant might feed 

 on insects when it could get them, and yet be no healthier than 

 those which had to get along as other plants did. It was neces- 

 sary, however, to the theory advanced by those who believed the 

 insect catching were really insect eating plants, to show that some 

 superior advantages favored the insect catchers. It was believed 

 that the power to catch insects was a developed one a power not 

 possessed by their predecessors and developed according to the 

 law of natural selection. Unless insect catching can be shown to 

 be an especial advantage, there was nothing to select. At any 

 rate, his observations on the Drosera onl} r showed that all the 

 plants, whether with insects or with none, were equally healthy. 



Some observers have recorded that there is a motion of the 

 leaves as well as of the glandular hairs in the effort to catch 

 insects; only one fact was noticed bearing on this question, one 

 leaf of a Drosera filiformis had coiled over towards its upper 

 surface from the apex, and held an insect in its folds. 



On the Indian Tribes of Costa Bica. Mr. Gabb called attention 

 to the recently published work of Bancroft on the Indian tribes of 

 the Pacific slope, and stated that, while he did not profess to 



