1892. ] NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 15 
opened traps, in but one instance, that of a termite 3-8 inch in 
length, was the visitor entrapped in its first transit. A musk 
beetle, Brachinus, 3-8 inch long, passed six times between 
slowly closing lobes before at length captured ; a spider 1-4 inch 
in length escaped twice, a large curculio twice, a Harpalus four 
times, a small grasshopper, 1-2 inch, twice. Even when the trap 
has securely closed, the insect if active and of moderate size can 
usually effect its escape. In the above instances the musk 
beetle released itself within twenty minutes from time of capture, 
the grasshopper within thirty minutes, the Harpalus in thirty 
seconds. A second Harpalus more or less injured before suc- 
cessfully entrapped, required nearly two hours. 
The rate of reopening is, again, a most irregular one, depend- 
ent probably upon the degree of the plant’s sensitivity. The 
leaves of Exp. 1 varied in time of reopening between eight and 
and forty-eight hours: one which had closed most rapidly 
showed unmistakable signs of opening at the end of ten minutes; 
four which had required forty-eight hours to reopen could then 
only with the greatest difficulty be made to again close. In 
the leaves closed by irritation with insect muscle the reopening 
process was a far tardier one ; at the end of 24 hours two had 
reopéned ; of 48 hours ten. 
In rapidity of digestion the same individual character is main- 
tained by the leaves. In one instance the entire soft parts of 
an ant (3-32 inch in length) were well digested out within as 
short a time as 48 hours, and the process of absorption was well 
under way; in another, at the end of five days the soft tissues 
of a similar ant were still noticable, and the glands were active 
in secretion, 
The foregoing notes summarize the plant’s natural quali- 
fications, (1) asa capturer of ground insects, (2) as an exquisitely 
balanced trap passing curiously through cycles of activity. 
The following note is an attempt to determine quantitatively 
the actual feeding habits of the plant. 
First, as to the proportion of the full grown leaves at 
one time actively occupied insectivorously Of one hundred 
of the largest leaves counted at random, as few as six 
(April 3) were found to be closed ; three, in addition, showed 
the ashen and dry appearance of having already fed. Three of 
the traps had, however, evidently closed by accident for they 
contained particles of soil, bark and a bit of straw ; there were 
no traces of secretion. 
After a leaf has fed the slanted trap allows the undigested 
particles to gradually fall to the ground. 
Second, what is quantitatively the actual material entrapped. 
