i886. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



103 



Treeclimber's Talks. 



A VEGETABLE FLY-TRAP. 



Last month I spoke of the curious Asiatic 

 Pitcher Plant, alhiding among other things to 

 the fact that many insects lose their lives by 

 these, through drowning in the half-tilled 

 pitchers of water. I was pleased a week or 

 more ago, to receive a letter from Miss Eleanor 

 Griffin, of Knox county, Ohio, referring to 

 my talk on that plant, and asking whether the 

 Pitcher Plant is not also known as Venus's Fly- 

 trap, of which she has heard. 

 Instead of answering her 

 inquiry by letter I will do 

 so here, to the extent of de- 

 scribing the iJlant she refers 

 to, and which is entirely 

 distinct, though no less cu- 

 rious than the Pitcher Plant 

 descrilied last month. 



The jilant alluded to by 

 my j'oung correspondent, 

 and known as 



VEN'US'S FLY-TRAP, 



that they did not. His belief as regards this 

 point is corroborated by that of many other 

 careful students of Nature. 



DOES THE WEEPING WILLOW WEEP ? 



I am certain that it requires no great strain 

 of the imagination to fancy that this tree 

 really acts the part of a mourner over some 

 loss. Perhaps as the following little story, 

 handed to me by a friend, might indicate, some 

 person who had never been impressed by the 

 striking and solemn-looking chai'acteristics of 

 the tree, was lead to believe that it only took 

 on a mourning attitude when they themselves 

 became mourners over the loss of some dear 

 one, Ijecause they then first noticed it from 

 such a standpoint: "Many years ago a little 

 girl who lived in the state of New Hampshire 

 planted a small willow tree, and under her pro- 



is another of the very re- 

 mar k able plants of the 

 world, for it is by nature a 

 real fly or insect trap. It is 

 a native of the United 

 States, being found in the 

 Southern States, and as far 

 north as North Carolina. It 

 is also called in some sec- 

 tions, the Carolina Catch- 

 fly Plant. Its botanical 

 name is Dioncva i»iH.scipii/«. 

 In this curious plant it 

 is the leaves which serve 

 so effectively as traps for insects. As may 

 be seen by the engi*aving here given, of parts of 

 two plants, the rounded leaves which appear at 

 the end of the blade-hke leaf stalks bear upon 

 their margins a line of long, stiff bristly hairs. 

 These serve to imprison any insect that ma)' 

 alight on the leaves, by immediately closing to- 

 gether, through the leaves folding at the middle, 

 the hairs uniting somewhat as the fingers of the 

 hands do when they are clasped together. 

 When this occurs, the insect is entrapped be- 

 yond the possibility of escape and dies in the 

 trap. To induce insects to alight upon the 

 leaves there appears to be a juice on certain 

 glands which proves attractive to them. Over 

 the upper surface of the leaves are set some 

 delicate, irritable hairs, as shown in the en- 

 graving, and it is these when touched by an 

 insect, that serve to 



" SPRING THE TRAP," 



as we might say in speaMng of an ordinary 

 trap. 



I have said that the insect once entrapped is 

 held securely until it is dead. A peculiarity of 

 the trap in holding its victim is, that as long 

 as any motion is exerted by the struggling in- 

 sect so long is it held with a close grip. But its 

 struggles once over, after a little whOe, as if to 

 be certain there was no ' ' playing 'possum " on 

 the part of the fly, the leaf again opens. 



Why Nature should thus provide a real in- 

 sect trap in a plant is not understood. As 

 beautiful flowers are created to please the 

 sense of sight, and sweet odors the sense of 

 smell, so perhaps, such cm'ious plant forms are 

 designed to gi'atify our love for the curious. 



For a long time it has been a question, as to 

 whether the Fly-trap Plant receives any nour- 

 ishment from the insects it destroys. Some 

 yeare ago Mr. Peter Henderson, the veteran 

 plant-grower, of New York, made a cai'eful 

 and apparently thorough experiment in the 

 matter, from which he drew the conclusion 



A VEGETABLE FLY TRAP.—/'' 



tection it soon grew into quite a tree. One 

 bright summer day the girl was suddenly taken 

 sick and died. The tree, missing her daily 

 visits, moaned and sighed, and gradually took 

 on the form of the Weeping Willow, which it 

 has since retained." 



Timothy Treeclimber. 



A Scarecrow That Didn't Scare. 



W^e incline to think that the putting up of a 

 scarecrow, to imitate the appearance of a di- 

 lapidated tramp, is as often done for the sport 

 it affords to the boys, as for any faith in the 

 efficacy of the man of straw and rags. Of 

 course the horrid looking object can do no 

 harm, if it does no good by frightening off 

 the birds. Here is an account of one man's 

 remai-kable experience in this line : 



A tailor named White, living near Nuneaton, in 

 England, recently placed a scarecrow in his garden 

 to trighten birds. The result was amusing. A robin 

 built her nest in one of the pockets, and there 

 reared her pretty brood. Perched upon the brim 

 of the scarecrow's hat. Sir Redbreast sang to his 

 mate, and the fledgelings afterward twittered from 

 the tattered crown. While the robin's eggs were 

 yet blue, a pair of tomtits built their nest m one oi' 

 the sleeves of the scarecrow's coat; so that alto- 

 gether, to put it mildly, Mr. White was somewhat 

 taken aback. 



Bees In a Bad Plight. 



Bee-swarming will make exciting times dur- 

 ing this month in man)- homes where Popular 

 Gardening is taken. But it is no less a time 

 of excitement to the bees themselves, for 

 swarming is really the act on their part of 

 leaving the old home to seek and take a new 

 one. The time of the first alighting is always 

 a momentous one, but it is not often that it 

 results .so unfavorably and tragically to the 

 bees, as the following account, taken from Gul- 

 dni Ddi/x, would indicate that it once did; 



Not long ago some bees in a hive on a farm near 

 Baltimore swarmed and followed their queen to a 



peach orchard near by. The farmer and his sons, 

 armed with tin pans, with which they made a dread- 

 ful din, followed tlie swarm to the orchard. In the 

 midst of the racket tbe bees saw a lioruets' nest in 

 a piece of un(lerl>rusb. and they began to aUght 

 upon the nest. In a jitfy tbe colony of liornets, 

 about two huntlred strong, came out of the den and 

 attacked the invaders. The battle was hot and 

 furious. The air was filled with the " buzz," " buzz," 

 " buzz" of both bees and hornets. Now they seemed 

 as thick in the air as a cloud, and anon the mass 

 would give way before t!ie fierce assatiits of t!ie larg- 

 er insects. The weajjons used were stings, but the 

 honey l>ees were not a match for the hornets. Sev- 

 eral of the latter were slain, but hundreds of the 

 bees were stung to death and fell to the ground 

 all around the orchard. By-and-bv tbe hornets 

 found the queen bee, and as soon as they killed her 

 the other bees Hew back to the hive whence they 

 had come. 



PET BIRDS, ANIMALS, ETC. 



Lettuce is the best ot all greens for birds. 



The best perch is a branch covered with bark. 



Parrots will imitate the voi<*e 

 of a child, where they would 

 be slow to follow that of an 

 adult. 



Insects. Sulphur in a 

 little bag tied to the inside 

 of the cage, will tend to keep 

 away these. 



To gather Ants eggs for 

 birds, remove part of a nest on 

 (o a cloth, lay a branch near 

 liy for shade, and under this 

 you will probably soon find 

 many eggs deposited. 



England and America, An 

 English sparrow built her nest 

 and reared her young, this sea- 

 son, in the mouth of the large 

 eagle on the roof of the court- 

 house at Charlotte, Jlichigan. 



Where the Joke Came In. 

 51 a j or Ben: Perley Poore's 

 latest joke was to send a num- 

 ber of senators to a certain 

 cigar store, at Washington, to 

 see a " cherry -colored cat." 

 The animal proved to be the 

 color of a black cherry. 



Fuss, the terror of bird 

 keepers, may be trained to 

 have due respect for the cage and its occupant. 

 If caught slyly watching the bird, give her a 

 disgust for this occupation by catching her and 

 with the help of another person to steady the 

 cage, rub her nose, not too tenderly, over the bars of 

 the cage a few times. Repeat if necessary. 



Monks as Dog Trainers. A traveler who visited 

 some of the Monasteries of St, Bernard a few years 

 ago found the monks teaching their dogs from the 

 earliest stages of puppyhood to be religious, in act 

 at least. At meal-time the dogs sit in a row, each 

 with a tin dish before him containing his repast. 

 Grace is said by one of the monks, the dogs sit- 

 ting motionless with bowed heads. Not one of 

 them stirs till the " Amen " is spoken. If a frisky 

 puppy attempts to sample his meal before grace is 

 over one of the older dogs growds and gently tugs 

 his ear. 



Nests for Canary Birds. These birds by long 

 confinement seem largely to have lost the instinct 

 of nest building, although quite ready to breed. 

 They must, therefore, have help, if not to have the 

 nest made entirely for them. A small, round nest 

 basket, or even a small bos, several inches deep, 

 should be used for the receptacle. In this place 

 some curled hair, and then a layer of cotton batting, 

 or use the latter only, shaping it as near hke a 

 bird's nest as you can. For an inner lining, use can- 

 ton tlaunel, plush side out, fitting it neatly to the 

 form of the uest, and overcasting the upper edge 

 tightly around the top of the basket or box, for it 

 you do not tbe birtl will pull out the stitches. 



Effects of Education. Every creature, whether 

 an animal, bird or insect, seems capable of being 

 developed to a remarkable degree by education. 

 We all know how teachable cats, dogs and horses 

 are in these days of improved instruction. Birds 

 are taugbtsomesurprisingthings. There is a canary 

 in Brooklyn, N. Y., that will sing " Yankee Doodle'' 

 and " IJixie " with the greatest precision, having 

 been instructed by a patient unstress. By j^atience 

 fleas have been taught to go through a regimental 

 drill with accuracy, and perform various tricks 

 showing intelligence; pigs to read and spell by 

 means of ali>habetical blocks, and monkeys to play 

 tunes on the violin, that could be recognized. What 

 is needed to meet with success in these matters, is a 

 good stock of judgment, kindness and patience. 



