306 DION^A MUSCIPULA. Chap. XUL 



ment of the whole lobe was well seen in a leaf to 

 which a large fly had been given, and from which 

 a large portion had been cut off the end of one lobe ; 

 so that the opposite lobe, meeting with no re- 

 sistance in this part, went on curving inwards much 

 beyond the medial line. The whole of the lobe, from 

 which a portion had been cut, was afterwards removed, 

 and the opposite lobe now curled completely over, 

 passing through an angle of from 120° to 130°, so 

 as t© occupy a position almost at right angles to 

 that which it would have held had the opposite lobe 

 been present. 



From the curving inwards of the two lobes, as they 

 move towards each other, the straight marginal spikes 

 intercross by their tips at first, and ultimately by their 

 bases. The leaf is then completely shut and encloses 

 a shallow cavity. If it has been made to shut merely 

 by one of the sensitive filaments having been touched, 

 or if it includes an object not yielding soluble nitro- 

 genous matter, the two lobes retain their inwardly 

 concave form until they re-expand. The re-expansion 

 under these circumstances — that is when no organic 

 matter is enclosed — was observed in ten cases. In all 

 of these, the leaves re-expanded to about two-thirds of 

 the full extent in 24 hrs. from the time of closure. 

 Even the leaf from which a portion of one lobe had 

 been cut off opened to a slight degree within this same 

 time. In one case a leaf re-expanded to about two- 

 thirds of the full extent in 7 hrs., and comj)letely in 

 32 hrs. ; but one of its filaments had been touched 

 merely with a haii just enough to cause the leaf to 

 close. Of these ten leaves only a few re-expanded 

 completely in less than two days, and two or three 

 required even a little longer time. Before, how- 

 ever, they fully re-expand, they are ready to close 



