226 THE amateur's greenhouse 



as the pitchers increase in size the lid gradually rises, and then 

 we may suppose it possible that water can find its way into the 

 pitcher by means of condensed dew or the fall of rain. Not 

 that water does find its way in ; no ! But water is almost 

 always found there ; it is secreted hy the plant. If you dissect 

 a pitcher, you will find tliat the epidermis, both within and 

 without, is pierced with stomata, and the cellular tissue beneath 

 is of a spongy texture, the cells large, and destitute of spiral 

 vessels. Inside the pitcher are numerous hairs, which project 

 downward ; and it is found that when an insect enters, its 

 downward course is easy, but escape is almost impossible ; 

 hence we not only find water, but also flies, wood-lice, and even 

 beetles. Ah ! the way to ruin is smooth and sometimes 

 pleasant, and to go down is easier than to go up : so perhaps 

 the flies find it in the pitchers, as we do also in the conduct of 

 life. Water may be found in the pitchers long before the lid 

 has been opened to catch it ; and pitchers full grown are found 

 with not a drop in them ; indeed, you may find pitchers full 

 that never were exposed to rain, and that were not filled by 

 the syringing of the plants by the cultivator. To clear up the 

 difiiculty, we took some plants and kept one half of them 

 plunged in pans of water, and the other half were kept as dry 

 as possible so as not to kill them. What was the result ? The 

 plants that stood in water, had full pitchers ; and the plants that 

 were kept drier than they should be, had empty ones. It was rea- 

 sonable to conclude therefrom that the plant has the power of 

 storing up surplus water against the day of want, and that what 

 we find is usually secreted, though that they should be filled by 

 rain is, of course, possible. How could it be otherwise if rain 

 happened to fall when the pitchers were open ? As to the flies, 

 they are, no doubt, attracted by the moisture, and perhaps a 

 little sweetness. Put a jar of water in a house where there are 

 crickets, and it will contain plenty of drowned crickets next 

 morning. What, then, is the wonder that flies, finding the 

 pitchers open, and smelling the moisture, should be tempted 

 to their destruction ? An English naturalist once supposed 

 that the ichneumon fly would drag other flies, and hurl them 

 over the edge of the pitcher to destruction, as a human mur- 

 derer might throw a victim over a bridge. There is no mys- 

 tery about the flies being there. Watch long enough, and you 

 will see them go down, but however long you watch you will 

 never see them return. The moral is too obvious. 



