THE DOGSBANE. 81 



But this snapdragon is more merciful than most of 

 our insect traps. The creature receives no injury 

 when in confinement; but, having consumed the 

 nectareous liquor, and finding no egress, breaks 

 from its dungeon by gnawing a hole at the base of 

 the tube, and returns to liberty and light. The 

 extraordinary manner in which the corolla of this 

 plant is formed, the elastic force with which the 

 lower limb closes and fits upon the projection of the 

 upper, manifest the obvious design in the great 

 Architect, " whose hands bended the rainbow;" 

 and the insects are probably the destined agents 

 whereby the germen is impregnated, for as soon as 

 this is effected, the limbs become flaccid, lose their 

 elasticity, are no longer a place of confinement, but 

 open for the escape of any thing that might have 

 entered. The little black pismire is a common 

 plunderer of this honey. 



It is a perplexing matter to reconcile our feelings 

 to the rigour, and our reason to the necessity, of 

 some plants being made the instrument of destruc- 

 tion to the insect world. Of British plants we have 

 only a few so constructed, which, having clammy 

 joints and calyxes, entangle them to death. The 

 sun-dew (droseras) destroys in a different manner, 

 yet kills them without torture. But we have one 

 plant in our gardens, a native of North America, 

 than which none can be more cruelly destructive of 

 animal life, the dogsbane (apocynum androssemifo- 



