THE LIVING STRUCTURES 147 



leaf. This they do by means of an opening on the under- 

 side. The whole of the upper portion of the hood is cov- 

 ered with transparent patches like so many windows. 

 Now when the fly wishes to leave he naturally flies up- 

 ward toward the light which streams down through these 

 windows. The real opening is hidden in the shade of 

 the under part and passes unnoticed. Thus the flies 

 simply beat themselves to death in a vain endeavor to 

 escape through the transparent places. This proceeding 

 may extend over hours, but it always has one ending. The 

 fly falls exhausted into the fluid at the bottom of the 



pitcher and is drowned Many 



flies meet with peculiarly brutal death in connection with 

 the Venus fly-trap. The insect is captured by its legs 

 and held fast; meanwhile it beats its life away in vain 

 endeavors to escape. In conclusion Mr. Bastin says: 



"The instances given above are only a few out of a 

 very large number which might be brought forward to 

 show that in many ways plants are guilty of great 

 cruelty. One cannot get away from the idea that most of 

 the suffering involved appears to be quite unnecessary, 

 for there are plenty of instances to show that the same 

 ends can be achieved in less painful ways." 



This article was originally written by Mr. Bastin in 

 the Scientific American to show some of the unnecessary 

 cruelties practised by some plants on animals and in- 

 sects in order to protect themselves or to spread their 

 young. However, we have no cause of complaint against 

 the plant for cruel and inhuman treatment, as we never 

 stop to consider the pain or feelings of the plants to fur- 

 ther our wishes, so why should the plant pay any atten- 

 tion to ours? I never can forget my astonishment when I 

 first met the drought and animal resisting structure called 

 the "Spined Cactus" found growing on the Western 



