390 



NATURAL THEOLOGY. 



plan of nature, viz., the relation of parts and pro- 

 visions to one another, to a common office, and to 

 the utility of the organized body to which they 

 belong. The attracting syrup,'"^ the rows of strong 

 prickles, their position so as to interlock the joints 

 of the leaves ; and, what is more than the rest, 

 that singular irritabihty of their surfaces, by which 

 they close at a touch ; all bear a contributory part 

 in producing an effect, connected either with the 

 defence or with the nutrition of the plant."** 



109 From this account must be omitted what is said of the syrup 

 that allures the approach of flies. There is no such attraction 

 upon the leaves of the dionoea. 



''° The pitcher- plant, nepenthes distillatoria, of the East, is another 



