anists say that the digestion of this plant 

 is so good that it can easily demolish sev- 

 eral flies. The side-saddle flower, also 

 called Titcher Plant,' and 'Huntsman's 

 Cup,' is another deceptive flower, for, 

 along the wing of the pitcher, is a hon- 

 ey-baited pathway to the mouth, up 

 which the little insect is lured to its fate. 

 Bladderwort is provided with bladders, 

 which have little doors opening inward. 

 Aquatic insects bend in the free edge of 

 this door and enter. The door closes at 

 once and, to them, forever. 



''Birthwort is not so cruel. She does 

 not condemn her prisoners to death ; 

 neither does she imprison them for 

 life. She has a cornucopia-like flower, 

 the long tube of which is covered with 

 downward-pointing hairs. Insects can 

 go down the flowers, but the return is 

 impossible, until the hairs are dried up, 

 upon which the little captives make their 

 escape." 



"Aunt Jane, you talk about flowers as 

 though they were people," said Howard. 

 "I wonder if you can't find a few giants 

 among them, in addition to the blood- 

 thirsty villains you have been describ- 

 ing." 



"Certainly," she responded. 'T recall 

 one now. It is said to be one yard in 

 diameter, and sometimes weighs fifteen 

 pounds. It has a cup which holds six 

 quarts of water." 



''What is its moral character?" John 

 inquired. "Is it a slayer of the innocents, 

 also?" 



"Yes, but indirectly. It is the most 

 disagreeable of flowers. I have never 

 seen one myself, but it is described as 

 resembling raw beefsteak. It has a car- 

 rion-like smell, which attracts flies, and 

 they lay their eggs upon it, completely 

 deceived as to its real nature. Of course, 

 when the eggs hatch, the grubs die for 

 lack of food. This very unpoetical flower 

 is called 'Rafifesia arnoldi.' " 



"The horrid old thing !" cried Madge. 

 "I dont want one of them in my gar- 

 den." 



"Some of our sweetest flowers are 

 fatal to animal life. It is thought that 

 the Oleander kills insects, by the nar- 

 cotic efifect of its odor." 



"What other curious flowers are there 

 besides sanguinary ones?" Howard 

 asked. 



"The horned milk-weed kills insects 

 by accidental detention, and not from any 

 malicious purpose. If an insect happens 

 to get its claw into the pollen sack be- 

 fore the pollen is ripe enough for dis- 

 tribution, the sack will not open to re- 

 lease it, and the poor little prisoner dies. 

 But some plants, I am happy to say, are 

 humanitarian, or, should I say, 'insecta- 

 rian'? enough to protect insects from 

 danger by ejecting the pollen on the ap- 

 proach of one of them, and then at once 

 closing the entrance, and refusing it ad- 

 mittance. The benevolent flower, 'Mar- 

 tha,' of the tropics, is said to be thus 

 careful of insect welfare. There is also a 

 flower, in Java, with 'rooms to let' for the 

 accommodation of insects. It is the 'Dis- 

 cidia raflfesia,' and grows upon trees, 

 without touching the ground. The flow- 

 ers are fine, urn-shaped jars, and make 

 capital lodgings for the ants, who seem 

 delighted with such elegant tenement 

 houses. 



" 'Grass of Parnassus' is another de- 

 ceptive flower. At the base of its snowy 

 petals, are little threads, which end in 

 balls which look like drops of honey. 

 Flies try to extract honey from them, and 

 thus get covered with pollen, which they 

 carry to other flowers. In the wonderful 

 family of Orchids, there is a very 

 naughty flower. It has a flap-cover to a 

 cup, and this cup is filled with an intoxi- 

 cating fiuid, which makes the unfortu- 

 nate insect drunk." 



"How glad I am that you have men- 

 tioned Orchids," said Edith. "I want to 

 know about them, for I was reading the 

 other day, that some of them look like 

 human faces, and others like insects and 

 animals. Please tell us if you have ever 

 seen one yourself." 



"I am happy to say," Aunt Jane re- 

 sponded, "that I have seen one of the 

 most remarkable specimens of the royal 

 family of plants. In a park in San Fran- 

 cisco, I first saw 'The Flower of the 

 Holy Ghost.' It was in full bloom, and 

 represented a creamy white dove, nes- 

 tled in a cup-shaped corolla. The wings 



55 



