PA 4 



Tin: <;Mn>i:si:irs mum'iii.y 



[October^ 



nursery trade ; yot wc know of a few procrcssivo 

 nurserynion Avlio would gladly try what sort of 

 an ornainoiifal tree it would iii:ik(> iftlu-yoould 

 get auy one in tlio districis win re IIh'V lti'ow to 

 <'oll('ot a iilllc s(>od : but so lar. none of (luni 

 liavL' succeeded in trcttiuix any. This is what the 

 Afichi'^an cdrrospondfnl says : 



"In this State when- this troo is very com- 

 mon and sirows to <;roat perfection the lumber- 

 m»'n nearly all call it Xorway pine. This is an 

 unfortunate name, as it does not grow in Kor- 

 way. It sometimes becomes a very tall, straight 

 tree, two iaci or more in diameter. The bai'k 



is red and rather smooth, the leaves are about 

 five inches long, of a dark green color and borne 

 in bunches at the end of the braneh(!S. The 

 color of the IrnnU ,iim1 the Icaig leaves nnvke it it 

 tree of peculiar nppenrance. It is not very com- 

 mon in cultivation, probably because the nur- 

 serymen cannot easily get seeds. Young trees 

 taken from their native soil are very likely to 

 die. In my opinion it is a more beautiful tree 

 than the Scotch pine, and more beautiful than 

 many othei-s which are often used for ornamen- 

 tal purposes. Small specimens grow in the 

 Arboretum." 



Natural History and Science. 



COMMUNICA TIONS. '. 



A MURDEROUS PLANT-DARLINCTONIA 

 CALIFORNICA. 



RV.T. G. T.EMMOX, 'JO TUP: CALIFORNIA ACADEMY 



OF SCIENCES. 



C'oiK'liKhxl tVoin page '278.) 

 THE WATERS OF DEATH. 



So of the Avatery fluid found in the lower 

 portion of the petioles at times. Only at a cer- 

 tain season— just at the opening of the months 

 above, may this phenomena be detected. The 

 main veins on the inside of the tubes may then 

 be seen gemmed from top to bottom with beads 

 of a Avater-like secretion, which linally becomes 

 so abundant as to flow down and form the wells 

 of death. "When the trap is favorably placed, 

 or the quantity of the insects is unusually large, 

 so that the gourmand gets his stomach full, or 

 when fed by hand to the top, slowly, with flesh 

 food, the fluid is secreted as demanded by the 

 necessities of the case, and soon fills the tube to 

 overflowing. Late in the season the water is 

 evaporated and only the skeletons, wings, legs, 

 etc., of insects remain— the bones of the carnal 

 feast. Again the arrangement and diflferent 

 altitudes of the leaves arc not at once observed 

 —and cannot be made out clearly from the usual 

 crowded specimens supplied to the herba- 

 riums of the world. Only young, vigorous, 

 solitary plants display the typical plan of growth 

 —a plan conformed to the wants, or rather, the 



wicked designs of the Darlingtonia; and here we 

 I are brought round to the solution of the question 

 under particular description — 



WHY THE TWISTING LEAVES? 



First as to the facts. The leaves of matiu-e 

 rhizomes — the true Darlingtonia leaves — are 

 each twisted one half way round whatever the 

 ; length, whether 0U4} half inch, or over three 

 feet. All the leaves on one plant turn one way, 

 but exactly half (according to repeated counts 

 by Mrs. Austin and myself,) have leaves turn- 

 ing one way and half the other. The four leaves 

 of the season rise successively to different eleva- 

 tions, the last in time, to the highest place. Each 

 turns half-round and holds oiit its flaunting lures 

 into space in a direction radiating from the 

 center or axis of the plant. The reason for 

 this twisting of the petiole must be to further 

 the design — the malicious animus of the whole 

 plant's history, to favor the catching of insects 

 coming from all quarters. 



The less crafty-related Sarracenia and the in- 

 fant Darlingtonia leaf depend on gravitation 

 mainly, for their food, and their mouths border- 

 ed indeed with retrorse hairs open upward. 

 The full-grown, full-armed Darlingtonia, with its 

 added attractions of gay colors, fragrant odors 

 and delicious sweets, best compasses the whole- 

 sale captiu*e of insects necessary to satiate its ra- 

 pacity by decoying them into a brilliantly lighted 

 chamber, over the ceiling of which are spread a 

 net-work of honeyed path-ways, bordered, how- 



