THE LEAVES 79 



the pitcher will be found a zone of bristly hairs, 

 below this a smooth belt, and below this a second 

 zone of hairs. Small animals once descending into 

 the pitchers purposely or accidentally are unable to 

 make their way up. again through the downward 

 pointed hairs, or across the glazed surface, and they 

 finally fall into the liquid in the bottom of each 

 pitcher. Glands on the inner surface secrete a diges- 

 tive fluid which dissolves their bodies much like the 

 action of a stomach, and the substances may then be 

 absorbed. Of course not all animals are held by this 

 trap. A winged insect very rarely escapes, however, 

 after its wings are wet by the fluid. Beside ani- 

 mals, portions of twigs and leaves also fall into the 

 pitchers and are more or less digested and absorbed 

 by the walls. Pitchers, in addition to manufactur- 

 ing food from the air by the aid of chlorophyl, are 

 seen to gain another supply from the bodies of the 

 entrapped animals and plants. 



If convenient, the pouched leaves of the bladder- 

 wort should be examined in the same manner. This 

 plant floats near the surface of streams and ponds, 

 and the traps may be seen to contain a mass of 

 dark-colored contents which will prove to be the 

 remains of small aquatic animals. Some species of 



