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VENUS’S FLY-TRAP. 135 
if on the look out for an enemy. After a certain 
time this leaf comes off guard, and then another 
slowly rises up and becomes sentinel, and so on 
through the entire plant! Some of the wondrous 
flowers of the orchid tribe display a class of 
movement equally interesting. Thus we read of 
one, discovered by Mr. Drummond, growing in 
the Swan River Colony, the flowers of which 
form a perfect insect-trap in the form of a box 
with a moveable lid. The poor flutterer, enticed 
by the odour and lustre of the flower, greedily 
plunges into its painted dungeon, and that instant 
is locked up safely by the lid dropping upon it. 
By-and-by, however, the flower seems to relent, 
and gradually opening, allows the insect to escape, 
with no other harm than a good frightening. 
We cannot say that the remarkable plant called 
Venus’s Fly-trap is equally merciful. This plant 
is a native of Canada, but is to be found as a 
curiosity in some of our large conservatories. 
Its leaves are formed in a very remarkable man- 
ner. They are armed with sharp teeth on the 
edges, and are able to close together, exactly like 
the two springing pieces of a rat-trap. The 
thoughtless insect, tempted to rest on the green 
