This Plant Eats Insects 
The pitcher plant, shown here, which grows in the high 
mountains of California, has perfected an ingenious contrivance 
for catching and digesting insects. At the top of the pitcher, so called, 
seen above, there is an opaque lattice work in the interstices of which 
is a translucent, mica-like substance. The insect, entering from 
beneath, in search of shelter, finds itself in a cosy chamber, well lined, 
and weather proof. Once inside the chamber, however, it discovers 
that it is being swallowed, irresistibly—and the plant finally deposits 
it in the stomach below, where it digests it with a secretion akin to 
hydrochloric acid. There are several other known carnivorous 
plants, showing that at some time in their ancestry, the soil 
has not given them sufficient nutriment for their needs. 
