CHAP. XIV. ALDEOVANDA VESICULOSA. 325 



On the concave gland-bearing portion of the lobes, 

 and especially on the midrib, there are numerous, 

 long, finely pointed hairs, which, as Prof. Cohn re- 

 marks, there can be little doubt are sensitive to a 

 touch, and, when touched, cause the leaf to close. 

 They are formed of two rows of cells, or, according to 

 Cohn, sometimes of four, and do not include any vas- 

 cular tissue. They differ also from the six sensitive 

 filaments of Dionrea in being colourless, and in having 

 a medial as well as a basal articulation. No doubt it 

 is owing to these two articulations that, notwithstand- 

 ing their length, they escape being broken, when the 

 lobes close. 



The plants which I received during the early part 

 of October from Kew never opened their leaves, 

 though subjected to a high temperature. After ex- 

 amining the structure of some of them, I experimented 

 on only two, as I hoped that the plants would grow ; 

 and I now regret that I did not sacrifice a greater 

 number. 



A leaf was cut open along the midrib, and the 

 glands examined under a high power. It was then 

 placed in a few drops of an infusion of raw meat. 

 After 3 hrs. 20 ru. there was no change, but when 

 next examined after 23 hrs. 20 m., the outer cells of 

 the glands contained, instead of limpid fluid, spherical 

 masses of a granular substance, showing that matter 

 had been absorbed from the infusion. That these 

 glands secrete a fluid which dissolves or digests animal 

 matter out of the bodies of the creatures which the 

 leaves capture, is also highly probable from the 

 analogy of Dionsea. If we may trust to the same 

 analogy, the concave and inner portions of the two 

 lobes probably close together by a slow movement, as 

 soon as the glands have absorbed a slight amount of 



