1892. | NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. re 
ently a sheltered one, may not be disadvantageous ; an insect 
crawling from the pool must first pass the fringe of traps, or, 
flying unskillfully, is not unapt to find its way to the bases of the 
marginal grasses. The late Dr. Thomas F. Wood, of Wilmington, 
to whose suggestions and kindness I have been greatly indebted, 
pointed out to me that the plant is not, as often supposed, a 
native of dry and sandy flats, nor, like Drosera, common on 
moist mud flats, nor yet on the high brinks and plant covered 
banks of large stagnant pools. It appears to be less general 
in its actual place of occurrence than the common predatory 
plants that are well represented in this region. The locality 
is even in a noteworthy degree rich in insectivorous species. 
At one point, for example, within a radius of four feet 
were noted Dionaea, three Droseras (longifolia, brevifolia, 
rotundifolia), two butterworts (Pinguicula lutea, vulgaris), and 
the purple Sarracenia, 
At the time of my visit, (Mar. 30—Apr. 5) the plants had not 
yet reached their maximum growth, the largest trap measuring 
1 1-4 inchin length, the leaf stalks appearing much shorter, 
1 to 2 inches, and more delicate than had been expected. The 
color of the large traps was especially different from that 
observed in hot-house specimens, the inner side of the large 
eaves deep brownish purple, developing into scarlet and pink at 
the edges, the younger leaves darkening from the mid-rib 
outward. 
The Disposition of the Traps and the Plant’s Feeding Habits. 
In his historic study of Dionaea, Darwin refers to “The man- 
ner in which insects are caught,’’ and notes that among the in- 
sects entrapped in the fourteen leaves sent him by Dr. Canby, 
from North Carolina, but one proved to be a typical flying insect. 
This note is so suggestive of life habits that it is remarkable 
that the author did not follow it up and discuss the plant’s 
adaptation in capturing ground insects. Wherp looked at in this 
light Dionaea appears to be remarkably specialized, and would 
merit the name ‘ant’ or ‘beetle catcher,’ rather than ‘fly-trap.’ 
The traps, in the first place, are found expanded not in the air 
but on the ground * and appear to be specially adapted for this 
position in as much as (1) a joint occurs between petiole and 
blade which renders it possible for the trap to adjust itself to the 
ground, and in as much as (2) the tip of the trap which is usually 
* Of one hundred full grown traps there were ninety whose tips were adjusted 
to the ground, six whose sides rested upon the ground, and but four whose 
traps did not descend, 
