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MORE CRUEL’ TRAPS 
HE plants about which we read in the last chapter 
do not take any active part in capturing insects. 
They set their traps, and then keep quiet. But there 
are plants which lay hold of their poor victims, and 
crush the life out of them in a way that seems almost 
uncanny. 
This leaf (Fig. 155) belongs to a plant which lives 
in North Carolina. It is called Venus’s 
flytrap. 
You see that the upper, rounded part 
of the leaf is divided by a rib into two 
Bales: From. the, .edges: cof » these 
rounded halves run out a number of 
long, sharp teeth; and three stout bris- 
tles stand out from the central part of 
each half. When an insect alights upon 
this horrible leaf, the two halves come 
suddenly together, and the teeth which 
fringe their edges are locked into one an- 
other like the fingers of clasped hands. 
The poor body that is caught in this cruel trap is 
crushed to pieces. Certain cells in the leaf then send 
out an acid.in which it is dissolved, and other cells 
swallow the solution. 
After this performance the leaf remains closed for 
from one to three weeks. When finally it reopens, the 
insect’s body has disappeared, and the trap is set and 
ready for another victim. 
