Nutrition of Plants. 168 



still more. Tliey are soon plastered all over the body with the 

 secretion, and after a brief interval die of suffocation. A few 

 minutes after the glands of one of the tentacles has been excited 

 by an animal becoming glued to it, a systematic disturbance is 

 set up in the whole series of tentacles. First the tentacle origi- 

 nally irritated bends inwards, describing an angle of 90° in about 

 ten minutes. About ten minutes after the first tentacle has 

 been set in motion those standing near it begin to bend also, 

 those further off follow suit, and in the course of from one to 

 three hours all the tentacles are inflected and converge upon the 

 body entrapped. The result of the combined action is the 

 covering of the prey with a copious supply of the secretion 

 poured from a number of glands, so that it is dissolved and 

 rendered fit for absorption and for the purpose of nourishment. 

 After absorption is completed the tentacles resume by degrees 

 their original position, and the secretion poured out by them is 

 reimbibed ; so that the undigested particles, bemg now suspended 

 on dry tentacles, are easily blown away by the wind. In the 

 case of the Venus' s fly-trap the movements are still more rapid. 

 In this case the leaves, which are divided by the midrib into two 

 halves, shut up almost instantaneously upon an insect touching 

 any of the spines on their surface. An acid secretion is then 

 poured forth from glands on the surface, and the insect is 

 assimilated. . , 



Another group of plants is that of the parasites, which mostly 

 do not contain chlorophyll, and are therefore unable to decom- 

 pose carbonic acid, and hence derive all their organic compounds 

 from other living plants and animals. The lowest forms of this 

 group are the Bacteria, a group of fungi, specific forms of which 

 are found in the blood m many diseases. The spores of some 

 other fungi enter the breathing-pores of insects, and, after 

 vegetating for a time, kill the animal by suffocation. The silk- 

 worm disease is due to this cause. 



Among flowering plants we have the common dodder, which 

 may be found growing on heather and other plants. The seed 

 first of all germinates in the earth in the ordinary way, and 

 becomes afterwards attached by suckers to other plants, from 

 which it obtains all its nutriment, the original root perishing. 

 Others, such as the cow-wheat, yellow rattle, eyebright, and 

 lousewort, are parasitic on roots. 



But the most wonderful plant is the gigmtic EaJIesia, con- 

 spicuous for its flowers upwards of a yard in diameter. This 

 plant is found growing upon the roots of species of vine in 

 Sumatra and other East Indian islands. 



Among parasites containing chlorophyll is the mistletoe. The 

 outer coating of the fruit is very viscid, by means of which the 

 seed becomes attached to trees, and is also disseminated by the 



