16 THE HUMAN SIDE OF PLANTS 



hundreds of dead and decaying insects, especially 

 ants. As a result the plant gives forth an ex- 

 tremely offensive odour. 



An interesting cousin to the purpurea is the Sar- 

 racenia variolaris, in which the pitchers are formed 

 in much the same way as in the purpurea. The 

 top, however, does not stand up as an open lid, but 

 droops over the mouth like a cap. These delicately 

 formed pitchers are at first hermetically sealed, 

 and when the lid at last rises they are nearly half 

 filled with a colourless fluid, which tends to dry 

 up rather than increase as the plant grows older. 

 The liquid at the bottom of the pitcher is not 

 sweet, but possesses toxic qualities which aid in 

 decomposing the prey. 



Sarracenia Drummondi, one of the bog plants 

 with carnivorous habits, has developed its leaves 

 to such a high degree of perfection that marvel- 

 lous trumpet-like pitchers are the result! These 

 pitchers are simple enough when viewed from the 

 outside; but their insides are skillfully lined with 

 curved hooks and hairs which in some species are 

 sufficiently powerful to hold small birds that have 

 been lured into the death-traps. The Drummondi 

 grows in the pine barrens of America, especially 

 in Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas. ' Its bril- 

 liant purple blossoms, which droop, umbrella- 



