HOW PLANTS USE ANIMALS. 21 



soon attracted to the plants, and as soon as they tasted the se- 

 cretion, they began to act strangely as if intoxicated. If she 

 touched one, it would fly a short distance and return immed- 

 iately, and would soon be '"buzzing inside of the tube, trying to 

 walk up the dry, smooth surface, and ever falling back, until it 

 \va.^ exhausted and still." If a leaf was taken from the vase, 

 turned njouth down, and the liies shaken out, they soon return- 

 ed again. "They would pass tbeir legs over their wings, but 

 they were unsteady on their feet, and seemed to be intoxicated. 

 Every tly I liberated eventually returned to the open mouth and 

 walked in, as if fascinated by some spell." 



The room was soon "cleared of flies — all lured into the fatal 

 traps." The windows were re-opened and a new swarm ad- 

 mitted, among which ■\veie two t)r thiee yellow-jackets — wasp 

 insects. One of them soon lighted upon a leaf, tasted the sweet 

 secretion on the edge of the wing, and proceeded hurriedly and 

 wildly along the line of sweets until it reached the (tpening 



In a little moi'e than a minute from the time it alighted 



it was a safe prisoner within, buzzing and fluttering and stirring 

 up tbe imi)risoned flies. It nuide frantic efforts to escape — tried 

 to climb the smooth surface, ever falling back till exhausted and 

 powerless to move. The experiments were repeated day after 

 day for two months, both in ihe fleld and in the house, with the 

 same results. Insects of every order were entrapped and their 

 bodies digested by the plants. Pieces of raw beef were substi- 

 tuted for insects and were readily absorbed by the digestive or- 

 gans. 



2. The Darlingtonia of Californiii, and (3) the Heliamphora 

 of British Guiana, also bear pitchers partly flUed with water, 

 which entrap insects and absorb their juices. 



Order II. — A second family of insectivorous plants is that of 

 the Nepenthaceae which is represent3d by the single genus Ne- 

 penthes, containing about forty-five species. They occur prin- 

 ci[>ally in the Mala}' Archi[)e]ago, but extend to Ceylon, Aus- 

 tralia, the Seychells and Madagascar. Most of them are climb- 

 ing shrubs growing in swampy soil. Their leaves have foliaceous 



