TURNING THE TABLES,'' 277 



Glands, which have been proved to secrete an acid 

 fluid, line the interior of the pitcher and pour their 

 contents into it, so that the water which accumulates 

 there is always acid. Experiments have shown that 

 pieces of fresh raw meat, ^g^^ cartilage, etc., are 

 actually dissolved therein, the cartilage being con- 

 verted into jelly in the space of three days. Sir 

 Joseph Hooker delivered an address at the Belfast 

 Meeting of the British Association on " Carnivorous 

 Plants," in the course of which, speaking of the ex- 

 periments which had been made on the Nepenthes^ 

 he said : " From these observations it would appear 

 probable that a substance acting as pepsine is given 

 off from the inner wall of the pitcher, but chiefly 

 after placing animal matter in the acid fluid." 



Dr. M. C. Cooke {Freaks and Marvels of Plant 

 Life) thus summarises the general structure of these 

 remarkable vegetable structures : " That they are 

 adapted for the capture and retention of insects ; 

 that, at the orifices, are certain attractions, such as 

 the production of a sweet fluid, which would be 

 likely to allure insects into the traps ; that the 

 mouth is protected by an overhanging lid, which 

 would prevent the falling in of small and useless 

 objects, but insufficient to obstruct the entrance of 

 living prey ; that this lid may also prevent the 

 admission of an excess of external moisture ; that 

 the internal structure is extensively glandular, the 

 glands being elevated, but at the same time protected 



