HOW PLAiNTb USK ANIMALS. 31 



to the Alaskan Islands. It is a small, perennial plant, five to six 

 inches in height, growing on wet rooks and thin, damp soil, to 

 which it is fixed by very short, delicate roots. The slender scape 

 is terminated by a single flower with a funnel-form tube and un- 

 equal lips of a violet colour. The base of the tube is provided 

 wuth a straightish s})ur. The leaves (a})Out eight in number) are 

 ovate or elliptical, and clustered around the bnse into a rosette, 

 from three to four inches in diameter. They are of a light green 

 colour, rather thick, and have a soft, fleshy or greasy feel to the 

 touch (whence their name). When full grown they are about H 

 inches long and i inch in brendth. The young central leaves are 

 concave, the margins curve upwards, and the upper surface is 

 thickly studded with two sets of glandular hairs of different 

 sizes, which all secrete a viscid colourless fluid. They are 

 generally' covered with insects entangled in the secretion — as 

 many as thirty being counted on a single leaf. All kinds — dip- 

 tera, hymeno])tera, coleoptera, moths, ants and larvae — appear 

 to be equally welct)med and subjected to the same treatment. 

 When an insect .is caught by the glands, the secretion is largely 

 increased, the edge of the leaf begins to fold inwards, and after 

 a. time ])artly closes over the victim; the secretion becomes acid 

 and acquires the power of digestion. The dissolved nitrogenous 

 matter is absorbed by the glands, as is proved by the aggregation 

 of their contents into sh^wly moving granular masses of proto- 

 })lasm. The period required for absor})tion varies according to 

 the nature and size of the object eml)raced by the leaf, but 

 twenty-four hours are generally sufficient; it then begins again 

 to expand, gradually assumes its previous form, and patiently 

 awaits the arrival of another victim. 



Mrs. Treat discovered that "the pinguiculas are not only 

 carnivorous, but also vegetable feeders," and that they consume 

 large amounts of pollen, which falls upon them from the pines 

 which abound in the barren lands where these plants grow. 

 Large quantities of pollen are often found on the leaves, mingled 

 with small flies, and equally involved in the secretion from the 

 glands. Careful experiments proved that ''the pollen was 



