iv.] SARRACENIA, UMBELLIFER&. 109 



but was held fast by the clammy juice at the points 

 of the hairs, which was drawn out by its feet into fine 

 threads. In some minutes the short hairs on the disc 

 of the leaf began to bend, then the long hairs, and 

 laid themselves upon the insect. After a while the 

 leaf began to bend, and in some hours the end of the 

 leaf was so bent inwards as to touch the base. The 

 ant died in fifteen minutes, which was before all the 

 hairs had been bent themselves." Mr. Darwin has 

 recently shown that while the leaves will in this way 

 close over, and actually digest pieces of meat or other 

 animal matter, they take little notice of inorganic 

 substances. 



I cannot pass from this subject without mentioning 

 another insectivorous plant, the genus Sarracenia, 

 though it is not British, and does not belong to the 

 present order. 5. variolaris has some of the leaves 

 in the form of a pitcher which secretes a fluid, and is 

 lined internally with hairs pointing downwards. Ants, 

 flies and other insects which fall into this pitcher 

 cannot get out again, and are actually digested by 

 the plant. Up the outside of the pitcher there is a 

 line of honey glands, which lure the insects to their 

 destruction. Bees, however, appear to be scarcely 

 ever caught. 



UMBELLIFER^i. 



This is a very extensive order, containing no less 

 than thirty-seven British genera (Carrot, Chervil, 

 Parsley, Parsnip, &c.) and a very large number of 

 species. The plants belonging to this group possess 

 two great advantages namely, firstly, the association 



