176 
SOME CRUEL TRAPS 
AVE you ever seen a leaf like the one m this 
picture (Fig. 152)? 
It is shaped something like a pitcher; and the plant 
on which it grows has been named the “ pitcher plant.”’ 
The pitcher plant lives in low, wet 
places, such as the shaded swamp, or 
A lake. 
On account of its J. ” 4 curious leaves 
it is brought to LG 
sold on the 
the 
the marsh down by the 
the cities, and is 
street corners or at 
rists’. 
In June comes the great 
flower of the pitcher plant. Some- 
Y times this is a dull red; again it is a delicate pink 
3 152 or perhaps a light green; and it has a faint, pleasant 
fragrance. 
Next June I hope that some of you children will 
find these beautiful flowers and these curious leaves. 
Why should a leaf be shaped like a pitcher, do you 
suppose ? 
These leaves are not only pitcher-like in shape, but 
also in their way of holding water; for if you succeed 
in discovering a settlement of pitcher plants, you will 
find that nearly every pitcher is partly filled with rain 
water. Usually this water is far from clear. It ap- 
_ pears to hold the remains of drowned insects; and 
sometimes the odor arising from a collection of these 
o 
pitcher plants is not exactly pleasant. 
