334 UTRICULAEIA NEGLECTA. [Chap. XVII. 



little mass would send out a projection, which after a time 

 separated itself. Hence there could be no doubt that these 

 masses consisted of protoplasm. Bearing in mind that 

 many clean bladders were examined with equal care, and 

 that these presented no such appearance, we may confidently 

 believe that the protoplasm in the above cases had been gen- 

 erated by the absorption of nitrogenous matter from the de- 

 caying animals. In two or three other bladders, which at 

 first appeared quite clean, on careful search a few processes 

 were found, with their outsides clogged with a little brown 

 matter, showing that some minute animal had been captured 

 and had decayed, and the arms here included a very few 

 more or less spherical and aggregated masses; the processes 

 in other parts of the bladders being empty and transparent. 

 On the other hand, it must be stated that in three bladders 

 containing dead crustaceans, the processes were likewise 

 empty. This fact may be accounted for by the animals not 

 having been sufficiently decayed, or by time enough not hav- 

 ing been allowed for the generation of protoplasm, or by its 

 subsequent absorption and transference to other parts of the 

 plant. It will hereafter be seen that in three or four other 

 species of Utricularia the quadrifid processes in contact with 

 decaying animals likewise contained aggregated masses of 

 protoplasm. 



On the Absorption of certain Fluids by the Qtiadrifid 

 and Bifid Processes. These experiments were tried to ascer- 

 tain whether certain fluids, which seemed adapted for the 

 purpose, would produce the same effects on the processes as 

 the absorption of decayed animal matter. Such experiments 

 are, however, troublesome; for it is not sufficient merely to 

 place a branch in the fluid, as the valve shuts so closely that 

 the fluid apparently does not enter soon, if at all. Even 

 when bristles were pushed into the orifices, they were in sev- 

 eral cases wrapped so closely round by the thin flexible edge 

 of the valve that the fluid was apparently excluded; so that 

 the experiments tried in this manner are doubtful and not 

 worth giving. The best plan would have been to puncture 

 the bladders, but I did not think of this till too late, except- 

 ing in a few cases. In all such trials, however, it cannot be 

 ascertained positively that the bladder, though translucent, 

 does not contain some minute animal in the last stage of dc- 



