350 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



though their resemblance to the sturdy manzanita, the fragrant 

 rhododendron, or the velvet-limbed madrone is not at first ap- 

 parent. They abound in gallic acid, giving them a sour smell, 

 suggestive of ink or vinegar. In early summer the flowers are 

 succeeded by hard, circular pods, containing numerous fine seeds 

 like those of a poppy ; and despite repeated experiments in ger- 

 mination, they refuse to grow in a foreign environment. Trans- 

 planting also always meets with failure, though specimens may 

 be dried and kept for several months. A writer in Hutching's 

 Heart of the Sierras thus graphically describes this matchless 

 Alpine flower : 



A pyramid of tiny tongues of flame, 



Darting from out the rifts of dazzling white ; 



A strange bright phantom, born of ice and fire, 



Flushing pale wastes with gleams of crimson light. 



On the bleak, ice-bound heights, at an altitude of from eight 

 to twelve thousand feet, is found the curious " red snow," a very 

 low form of vegetable life, which, though common in polar 

 regions, occurs in the United States only on Mount Shasta and at 

 the head of Cross Creek, Colorado. When it is trodden upon in 

 a half -melted state, the footsteps of the mountain-climber fill in 

 with a clear, blood-red fluid, which leaves no stain, even if exam- 

 ined in the handkerchief. Some of the patches are of consid- 

 erable size, while others are scarcely a foot in diameter ; and the 

 color varies from a deep magenta to the faintest shade of pink. 



Rivaling the snow plant in general interest is the singular 

 Darlingtonia, or California pitcher-plant, indigenous to open, 

 marshy places in the northern part of the State from Mount 

 Shasta to the coast, and the only species of its genus, though it is 

 related to the Eastern Sarracenias, or side-saddle flowers. The 

 pitchers, which are said to be in reality the enlarged and hol- 

 lowed petioles, or leaf stalks, average about three feet in height, 

 and are terminated by an arching hood or crest, furnished with 

 a pair of mustachelike appendages, which are the genuine leaves. 

 As these are provided on the under side with numerous honey 

 glands, and are usually highly colored, they constitute the prin- 

 cipal lure ; though the cunningly devised, nodding flowers, con- 

 spicuously borne on the ends of long, bare peduncles, also contain 

 an intoxicating nectar. The interior of the pitchers is lined with 

 innumerable fine, downward-pointing hairs, which form a most 

 insecure footing for the struggling victims and render escape 

 almost an impossibility, while the glare through the lacy, dome- 

 like roof only adds to the general confusion. 



The colorless liquid which half fills the tube must be secreted 

 by the plant itself, as the covers of the pitchers prevent the 



