CHAPTER XXVII 

 PLANTS ATTACKING ANIMALS 



Brittle Star v. algae— Fungus v. meal-worm— Stag-headed caterpillars- 

 Liverwort V. small insects — Natural flower-pots — Watercups of Brome- 

 liads — Sarracenia and inquiring insects — An unfortunate centipede — 

 Pitcher-plants : their crafty contrivances— Blowflies defy them and 

 spiders rob them — Bladderwort's traps which catch small fry — Hairs 

 and their uses — Plants used as fly-papers — Butterwort v. midges — 

 Its use as rennet — Sundew and its sensitive tentacles — Pinning down 

 an insect — Suffocating and chloroforming the sundew — Venus' fly-trap 

 which acts like a rat-trap — Have plants a nervous system ? 



ON the whole the animal world preys upon the veget- 

 able world, and is in a way parasitic upon it. In- 

 deed, the connexion between the two is very inti- 

 mate — that of the diner and his dinner. One can scarcely 

 imagine a more intimate connexion than this ! 



There are, however, a great many cases in which plants 

 have turned the tables on their enemies and deliberately laid 

 themselves out to catch and to destroy, to feed upon and to 

 devour insects and small animals. One finds a few examples 

 in almost every group of plants. 



Thus there are certain green seaweeds or algae which are 

 said to attack and prey upon those peculiar sea-urchins 

 known as Brittle Stars. The fungus which forms loops, 

 acting exactly like a poacher's rabbit-snare,' in order to catch 

 mealworms, has been already mentioned. 

 ; Sometimes in the summer one may notice a little red club 



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