This Plant Eats Insects 



The pitcher plant, shown here, which grows in the high 



mountains of California, has perfected an ingenious contrivance 



for catching and digesting insects. At the top of the pitcher, so called, 



seen above, there is an opaque lattice work in the interstices of which 



is a translucent, mica-like substance. The insect, entering from 



beneath, in search of shelter, finds itself in a cosy chamber, well lined, 



and weather proof. Once inside the chaniber, however, it discovers 



that it is being swallowed, irresistibly — and the plant finally deposits 



it in the stomach below, where it digests it with a secretion akin to 



hydrochloric acid. There are several other known carnivorous 



plants, showing that at some time in their ancestry, the soil 



has not given them sufficient nutriment for their needs. 



