INVERTEBKATA, CRYPTOGAMIA, MICROSCOPY, ETC. 115 



Lairs resulting from the abortion of male flowers, and on the inside of 

 the spathe are others in such a position that, while presenting no 

 obstacle to the entry of insects, they effectually prevent their escape. 

 Not only do the insects which have entered the spathe thus perish, but 

 this is also the case with the larva3 which proceed from the eggs, these 

 latter perishing from hunger. The glandular hairs which clothe the 

 inner face of the spathe exude a viscid juice which has an obvious effect 

 on the dead bodies of the insects, causing their rapid decay, and it is 

 probable that the primary object gained is the absorption of the 

 resulting substances for the nutrition of the plant. 



New Insectivorous Pinguicula.* — Von Heldreich has detected, 

 in the Korax mountains of northern Greece, at the height of 5500 to 

 7000 feet, a small Pinguicula with white flowers and very thick, white, 

 yellow-green leaves, which he believes to be P. crystallina Sibth. On 

 the upper side of the leaves were a large number of bodies of insects 

 in an earlier or later stage of digestion by the glands plentifully 

 sprinkled over its surface. This is the first insectivorous plant hitherto 

 recognized in Greece; the genera. Drosera, Utricularia, and Aldrovanda 

 being apparently not represented in its flora. 



Carnivorous Habits of Drosera rotundifolia and longifolia.f — 

 Professor E. Eegel has carried out a series of experiments on the 

 power of the leaves of these plants to absorb nutriment from small 

 pieces of flesh, which have led him to a contrary conclusion to that 

 arrived at by C. and F. Darwin. Comparing a number of jjlants that 

 were fed in this way with another series that were not, he found that 

 while the average weight of the seeds was greater in the former case, 

 this was more than compensated by their much smaller number, the 

 gross weight being considerably less. He found also that the leaves 

 were obviously injured by the flesh-food, and that the power of the 

 plants to resist the winter was diminished. Professor Eegel con- 

 siders the epithet " carnivorous " applied to these plants to be 

 inappropriate. 



Nature of the Tubercles on the Roots of Leguminosae.l— 

 M. Prillieux has subjected those structures to a fresh examination, in 

 order to decide between the conflicting explanations offered as to 

 their nature, viz. galls (Malpighi); diseased tumours (De Candollc) ; 

 hypertrophy of the rootlets (Clos); abortive rootlets (Gasparrini) ; 

 swollen, rudimentary, adventitious buds (Treviranus) ; and as to their 

 cause, viz. injurious influences in the soil (Clos); animal parasites 

 (Malpighi) ; fungus hyphaa (Eriksson) ; bacteria (Woronine) ; Plas- 

 modiophora (Woronine and Kny). After a full descrii)tion of the 

 phenomena presented by these structures, Prillieux concludes that they 

 are, without doubt, caused by a vegetable parasite of the nature of a 

 Plasmodium. He states that they are produced in water, as in the 

 soil, provided that the parasites which induce them are able to reach 

 the young roots. 



* 'Oesterr. Bot. Zeitschr.' xxix. (1879) p. 291. 



t ' Bot. Zeit.,' xxxvii. (1879) p. 645. 



X ' lUill. Soc. I!ot. France,' xxvi. (1879) p. 9S. 



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