JULY.] / FLOWER-GARDEN. 441 



It is a/ardy perennial, indigenous in various parts of the United 

 States, jfows in a wild uncultivated state in the neighbourhood of 

 Philadejhia, and usually to the height of from two and a half to 

 three fqt ; flowering from the beginning of July to September; it 

 has a cteping root, whereby it increases greatly in light dry soils, 

 and warn situations, so as even to be troublesome ; it will not thrive 

 in wet .oil. It is propagated by sowing the seeds in spring, which 

 with u^ it produces abundantly, or by parting its roots in March or 



Octobft 



TlW flowers of this plant have a sweet honey-like fragrance, which 

 perfunes the air, and no doubt operates powerfully in attracting 

 insects ; when a plant of this sort is fully blown, one may always 

 find fies caught in its blossoms, usually by the trunk, very rarely 

 by th< leg, sometimes four, or even five, which is the greatest pos- 

 sible rumber, are found in one flower, some dead, others endeavour- 

 ing to disentangle themselves, in which they are now and then so 

 fortunate as to succeed. 



Previous to explaining the manner in which it appears that these 

 fiies are caugh:, it will be necessary to describe those parts of the 

 flower which nore particularly constitutes this fatal fly-trap. 



On looking<nto the flower there are perceivable five Stamina, the 

 Anthers of w.iich are large, of a yellow colour, and converge into a 

 kind of cone each of these Antherse is arrow-shaped ; towards the 

 top of the c*ne their sides touch butdo not adhere, below they se- 

 parate a litue, so as to leave a very narrow opening or slit between 

 each ; the/ are placed on very short filaments, which stand so far 

 apart tha'a considerable opening is left between them ; at the bot- 

 tom of, md in the very centre of the flower, there are perceivable 

 two ge-mena, or seed-buds, the rudiments of future seed-vessels* 

 surrounded by glandular substances, secreting a sweet liquid ; on 

 the summit of these germina, and betwixt the two, stands the stig- 

 D2<i, in the form of a little urn, the middle of which is encircled by 

 a glandular ring, which secretes a viscid honey-like substance, to 

 this part of the stigma the Antherse interiorly adhere most tenaci- 

 ously, so as to prevent their separation unless considerable force be. 

 applied: it is probable, that the sweet viscid substance, thus secret- 

 ed by the stigma, within the Anthers, is that which the fly endea- 

 vours to obtain ; and to this end insinuates its trunk, first into the 

 lowermost and widest part of the slit, betwixt two of the Anther* 

 above described, pushing it of necessity upwards : when gratified, 

 not having the sense to place itself in the same position as that in 

 which it stood when it inserted its trunk, and draw it out in the 

 same direction downwards, unfortunately for it, it varies its posi- 

 tion, and pulling its trunk upwards, draws it into the narrow part 

 of the slit, where it becomes closely wedged in, and the more it 

 pulls the more securely is it caught, and thus this heedless insect, 

 as THOMPSON calls it, terminates its existence in captivity most 

 miserable. 



Mr. R. W. DARWIN, of Elston, in England, asserts that, " when 

 a fly inserts its proboscis between these anthers to plunder the ho- 

 ney, they converge closer, and with such violence as to detain the 



SL 



