PITCHER-PLANTS. 199 



the gland (a) is really an oblong kernel, of hard, brown, 

 minute cells, lying upon a quantity of thin-sided vesi- 

 cles of the parenchyma, and kept in its place by the 

 edge of the tough cuticle, which projects a little 

 over the edge, and holds it firmly down ; there is the 

 more necessity for this arrangement, in consequence 

 of the gland having no connection with the tissue it 

 lies upon, further than it gains by being in contact 

 with it. As glands are so often secreting organs, is it 

 not probable that the secretion of fluid inside the 

 pitcher of Nepenthes, may be owing to their pre- 

 sence? I have stated, that be their office what it 

 may, they never occur any where except on the inside 

 the pitcher ; in Nepenthes distillatoria, they are not 

 found near the top, although they are abundant on 

 the inside the lid ; in other species, the lid seems to 

 be quite free from them, while the whole of the interior 

 of the pitcher is covered with them. 1 have also, in 

 one solitary instance, seen three of them on the outside 

 of a pitcher near its base. 



It is not merely in the cuticle of its pitchers, that 

 Nepenthes has a curious anatomy. It is extremely 

 well worth examination in other parts, and as we have 

 all our microscopical apparatus in readiness, we may 

 as well continue the investigation. Let us begin by 

 making a very thin, transverse slice of the stem ; this 

 will shew you, that whether it is the soft parenchyma 

 of a leaf or the firmer tissue of the bark, or the 

 delicate and filmy cuticle, or the solid wood itself, 

 all the parts of a plant consist of cells and tubes 

 variously arranged. Having placed your slice on 



