HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 197 



the Darlingtonia [Fig. 5 (2)] should grow in a spiral direction, it 

 is difficult to say, but it may be to make an escape still more 

 difficult, because if the winged captives try to escape by means 

 of their wings, they will still more certainly come in contact 

 with the walls clothed with bristles, and they will be stunned 

 in a short time. We must here mention that two insects brave 

 all the dangers of the murderous traps of these plants. One is 

 a fly, a common blow-fly {8arcophaga Sarracenice), which not 

 alone escapes all dangers, but even utilizes the stored-up food 

 for the raising of its own larvse. These larvse thrive in this 

 putrid matter, and leave, when fully grown, by self-made holes 

 in the sides of the trumpets, to transform in the surrounding 

 soil. Prof. C. V. Eiley also described a beautiful moth, black 

 and yellow, the Xanthoptera semicrocea, which escapes unhurt; 

 its larvfe utilize the green walls of the prison itself for food. 

 Both insects are, however, well adapted to frequent such dan- 

 gerous places. The fly has peculiar organs upon its feet, com- 

 posed of very broad soles and long hooks, which latter can be 

 compared with the iron points used by workmen to ascend tele- 

 graph poles. The moth possesses similar long spikes upon the 

 legs; its larvaj escape by spinning a carpet of silk upon the inner 

 wall of the trap, and by never moving beyond it. 



The fluid contained in the traps is not secreted to digest, oth- 

 erwise the maggots of the fly {Sarcophaga) would also be digested. 

 It is well known, that if living larvae enter the stomach of car- 

 nivorous animals, they are at once killed and digested. Here it 

 is different, and the fluid is simply secreted to accelerate decay, 

 and to form liquid manure, which is absorbed by the plants by 

 cells located upon the inner epidermis in the lower parts of the 

 traps. 



Another series of similar plants comprises forms, whose leaf- 

 stalks are symmetrically excavated, with the mouths upwards, and 

 covered by the leaf as a lid. Most frequently these traps have 

 the shape of cans, urns, funnels and pitchers, and the lids are 

 arranged over the mouth in such a manner as to prevent the rain 

 from entering, but not the insects. Several species of Sarraceyiia 

 [Fig, 5 (3)] belong to this series, also the Australian Cephalotus 

 (Fig. 6), and the numerous species of the true Pitcher plants 

 {Nepenthes) [Fig. 5 (4), 8 and 7 (young)]. 



We will only consider the two latter genera of plants. Cepha- 

 lotus folUcularis, related to the currant bush, grows upon the 

 moors of eastern New Holland. This plant has two forms of 



