74 The story of the plants. 



decaying insects filling up every one of their 

 murderous vases. Other pitcher-plants are found 

 in Australia (Fig. 11). 



The Nepenthes of the Malayan Archipelago is 

 a still more remarkable w^ater-trap insect-eater, 

 in which the pitcher is formed by a curious jug- 

 like prolongation at the end of the leaf (Fig. 12). 

 It is provided with a lid, and its rim secretes a 

 sticky sweet liquid. Insects that enter the jug 

 are prevented from escaping by strong recurved 

 hooks ; and these hooks are so powerful that at 

 times they have been known even to capture 

 small birds which had incautiously entered. 

 This may seem curious, but it is not odder than 

 the fact that our own English hladdenvort, a water 

 plant with pretty yellow flowers, which grows in 

 sluggish streams, has submerged bladders that 

 supply it with manure, not only from water- 

 beetles, larvae, and other insects, but also from 

 trout and other young fry of freshwater fishes. 

 I may add that while the sundew and other live- 

 insect catchers have to digest their prey, 

 the water-trap makers save themselves that 

 additional trouble and expense by macerating 

 and soaking it till it reaches the condition of a 

 liquid manure, ready dissolved for absorption, 

 and easy to assimilate. 



Thus we see that while roots are the chief 

 organs for absorbing nitrogenous matter, they 

 are often supplemented in special circumstances 

 by leaves and stems. Moreover, in many cases 

 leaves also supply the plant with water. On the 

 other hand, roots often fulfil yet another function, 



