TE. TEE. GARDENERS CHRONICLE. 
(чих, 3, 1875. 
(Refugium. Botanicum, sub. t. 308), we join together, 
Coburgia and Stenomeston, v wecanscarcelyseparate the 
ant on this — I incline, еек, to терат 
а new „онга to be « le 
30t4 inches Aw its long 
o tufts 
ancipitous, 
valves linear, 
cernuous at the top, 9 —12 lines long. Perianth e nb 
long, with a green obconic trigonous ovary 
as deep, a very short narrowly сеа pr 
and six ена е: асше nts per manently 
arrow funnel Segments an inch 
с 
long, п hos er of an inch broad a third of the 
way down, pale at the border, closely many-ribbed 
down the back, keeled wi een in the uppe 
quarter, e rest with bright red. Filaments 
filiform, all six inserted on a level at the throat of the 
tube, jus e segments, furnished with a 
pair rp linear erecto-patent teeth above the 
middle. Anthers oblong, yellow, versatile, } in 
long. Style be io u aah long, with a small 
capitate stigma. #. С 
VENUS’ FLY-TRAP. 
By Тноѕ. A.G. BALFOUR, M.D.,F.R.S.E., F. R.C. P. E.* 
МХ attention was p specialy directed to the subject of 
Dio æa, Drosera, & 
in different pec containing qum accounts of 
what een done in regard to s, and of 
the curious results which had Ea pa Psat а Some 
of these notices had an air of truth about them, while 
others e indebted for their existence rather to 
d imagination of the writer than to careful 
observation, The interest, however, 
attaching to the whole subject was such that I felt 
most anxious to — myself the truth or otherwise 
of the observations ed. 
M; observations а are e not wanas and though in 
— which have been 
-— p .cusiiliy studied Mm paper 
he 
ontains some original j = Ene n observa- 
tion vig and hen на may not be altogether Д. іп 
niente inter 
In dealing with my subject I 5 regard the Venus' 
T: i ame as a carnivorous plant, and I feel 
doing so by the p ои х by 
QUA Y x Rave made this plant the subject of и | 
in one or two points, 
fluid secreted ~~ the leaf 
allure insects towards the 
tive e leaf, ч А attributing to the 
irs the power of tonal’ 
na subservient to the nourishment of the 
r. Curtis Manon to have been the next observer, 
He. uidi ра Wil th Carolina, where 
had i )bserving the plant 
in its native Der t t etm years ago he gave 
n able миша жесш. об It, and. while be spr: 
rected ай the time when t 
e believed 
MR entrapped i insect, 
ut seven at 
Wilmington also, co con fined. the Pas of ^ Ellis dad 
he animal diet of the 
a imis r view, an M» en w 
s this €—— 
been staying this ap and recall 
and minute f obse маа. - 
Дагы 
arwin 
hiow ined for six or se 
nat 
his wond 
e powers 
ical sagacity, and the fertility of his 
vising 
| sunshine and shade, tl 
of the carnivorous habits of the Diggi шера. I 
heads : 
shall divide the subject into the five following hea 
I. Irritability; 2, Contraction; 3, Secretion; 
4. Digestion ; 5. Absorption, including ‘assimilation 
t may seem unphysiological to place secretion and 
CELA peque who 
the 
(Biophytum cod, DL In ls. Dionza, however, 
thig irritability is, as. first nted out by. Curti 
ident in six е AR hairs, which are plated three 
on "each blade in a triangular form, Im apex 
h that it is well nigh impossible 
insect to avoid touching them while crawling over the 
lea E 
est the accuracy of this opinion I took a needle 
d а еа almost every portion of the surface both 
lso l 
above and below, and also the irs, and no 
pons mds ; but no sooner did I apply the 
needle to the top of one ы he six hairs th 
immediate closure of the leaf fo 
sitive Plant 
pr obese seems to ж» 
кэ apparent — to the wants of the system 
Di 
to 
EO when eor Red amou has been 
med, “the irritability disappears, at least for a 
considera le time. 
ns 3, 1874, at 2.30 P.M., а €——— 
fly was placed on a large Dionza leaf ; 
pec any acceptable, and was at once secured. 
Twenty-four г days were required for digesting it, and 
hen ns were removed on the 27th =ч ‘hairs 
were stimulated A but no signs of irr 
‚ On 
case of other leaves 
caterpillars and raw meat 
and spiders ; but these will again come before us. 
is irritability i r less influenced by 
so far as my experiments 
go, not in the manner that one would naturally 
expect. 
hus 
July 21 "Load or All ac t equa da o irrita- 
tion ; only one of the айла їп цм shade had not its 
leaves quit 
shine 4 P open, and respond 
irritation, In shade one plant 
two leaves half open, and the other red has 
-— es fle but all respond languidly and more 
or 
July .М.— o plants in sunshine are 
25 
not uite open but close well on irritation, The tw 
plants in shade have their leaves scarcely half rna 
(the maga = мда; but they close pretty well. 
In w with de: so I pass on to 
the о of August I, s the Sen were, in sun- 
shine, all about ы open, but closed on cc 
while in shade two were half open, but woul 
close by ot ална of any amount. My appended Aon 
i dd ant of sun seems here to have impaired 
irri 
Again, e cases the nature of the substance 
appel d of. УБ influence to а considera ble extent 
this property of irritability. Bg July 16 chloroform 
- dro on the sensiti „м a leaf of 
æa, and it instantly dol aa y as an eyelid 
wat have done had ceret he pa applied E the 
eye. To test whether it was the ar nature o 
ne "fuid, or — the fluid Ф ау 4 the 
had caused the closure, 
dun 2d and a large quantity of E acer was let fall 
it, at first drop by drop. ти erwards in large 
quantity, but there was no sign of closing ; bnt when 
chloroform was added, the closure ensued in two = 
three rte: plants had not been in direc 
On lus d de new experiments were made. 
о 
two Dionzas which were in bright sunshine were held 
below a watering pan, bo х uos до 
and then a full 
of water, 
` as the 
tabi 
= 
= = 
experiments go, was.a distinct evidence of the 
ependent 
yet n 
ееп effected, but on my touching a her Mn ns 
point of a knife immediate closure resulted 
If this be fou 
een made 
frequent closure of itg 
[eaves after. every. Фочи, ча ‘ould deprive it of 
any chances of a goo Nor does. 
of the one which had Б i i I 
view, for in most ins 
have the sun obscured by clouds for some.time. before. 
any — uous rain begins. 
is property seems to exist, in different de. 
ny intensity in different plants of DUGRISA 
sometimes in ves of-the same: Thus 
I have Hi om that the slightest touch. of ep fie ofa 
hair EA eis d 75 ant this eec closure, while ge 
Ta 
o 
at 
Fa 
Ta В 
31 
p 
E 
© 
апо ег rà - 
obtained de е touching a a qune 
is - dgio retained ?. The pares 
different lea 
is n in differ of the sam 
Moe so “that E is impossible ~ ph. а definite 
swer. On July 7 three leaves of one plant of 
a were qoc by irritation ;, Wer were very 
lively and closed at once. 
July 8. cake IO A.M, at least; at 3 P.M, they 
were again closed at once on irr: 
July 10.—At 12 noon two leaves uite open, one 
leaf only half open, 
шу 11.—One still close which was closed yester- 
day; the other two, which are ode. POR some- 
what languidly to irritation PM 
uly coke closed very lan the 
two responded better to stimulus, and. died Pay 
uly 15 and 16.—O. 
other two 
close at once vigorously. URN in а 5s 
July 20, + 39 P. Mes ks t languor. 
АШ sion sion 
From some of them r mn: DEDE r this it 
was poral to test but TES when 
We see from these — es the riego cm in one 
leaf began to show si minution on the third 
day, and that the other (pes jsp did so on e day 
flowing, On the m nth day these two temporarily 
their i ity, an tained it till the 
eighth and ninth day, but it ко again үзе. 
рс t till оп the eighteenth day it was much 
Ne great importance can be attached to these ex- 
periments, as the irritation was only practised once a 
day, and sometimes, though rarely, Pog in two da 
Of the nature of this property we cannot, of course, 
speak, for w of i ence o the effect 
Mm e contraction of the leaf ; but there 
-ordinating power in connecti ith 
the ану 6 La though one or more hairs on only 
one blade of the leaf be iine, both blades will 
close synchronous! Occasion to return 
t T det M and I now, 
efore, proceed to speak of oe effect of the 
irritability. 
that the dress 
o offer a statement of the result of 
«и seems poses 
used t 
(He mileia 1-1, which has for several 
seriously affected the Coffee trees of 
a t upon all 
microscope it is found at ail times wj e grea 
of the stems and older Í 
opportunity i 
y the 
. With the help of the - 
