20 



Life and Immortality. 



VENUS'S FLY-TRAP. 

 How It Captures Insects. 



and as they stand at less than a right angle to each other, 

 they have an excellent chance of capturing any intruder. 

 The chief seat of the movement is near the mid-rib, but is not 

 restricted to this part. Each lobe, when the lobes come 

 together, curves inwards across its whole breadth, the margi- 

 nal spikes alone not becoming curved. From the curving 

 inwards of the two lobes, as they advance towards each 

 other, the straight marginal spikes intercross by their apices 

 at first, and ultimately by their bases. The leaf is then 

 completely shut and encloses a shallow cavity. If made to 

 shut merely by the touching of one of the sensitive fila- 

 ments, or by the inclusion of an object not yielding soluble 



