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or bladders which you see growing from the branches 
under water. The little bladders are traps set for water 
animals, which swim into them in their wish, perhaps, 
to escape some enemy. But they are quite unable to 
swim out again; for the door into the bladder is trans- 
parent, and looks like an open entrance with a nice 
hiding place beyond. It opens easily from the outside, 
but is so arranged that it will not open from within. 
So when the poor little animal hurriedly swims into 
what seems to it a cozy resting spot, and draws a long 
breath of relief at getting safe inside, it is hopelessly 
caught, and must slowly starve to death, for there is no 
chance of escape. It may live for nearly a week in this 
prison; but at last it dies: Its body decays, andes 
taken in as food by the cells set apart for that purpose. 
Strangely enough, though we ourselves do not hesi- 
tate to kill animals for food, and sometimes, I am sorry 
to say, for nothing but amusement, we give a little 
shiver of disgust when we find these plants doing the 
same thing. Some lines that came out in one of the 
magazines a few years ago express this feeling :— 
““What’s this I hear 
About the new Carnivora? 
Can little plants 
Eat bugs and ants 
And gnats and flies? 
A sort of retrograding! 
Surely the fare 
Of flowers is air, 
Or sunshine sweet. 
They shouldn’t eat 
Or do aught so degrading.” 
