WILD FLOWERS RED 
mers and gardeners, we know, replenish the soil with 
fertilizer containing a large portion of animal matter, 
such as ground bone and fish, which supplies nitrogen, 
a necessary element for leaf and stalk formation, and 
which is absorbed through the activity of plant roots. 
The leaves of the Pitcher-plant have developed some 
of the power of the roots by absorbing the nitrogeneous 
matter from decomposing insects, which they ingeni- 
ously attract and capture for this purpose. Broadly 
speaking, that is all there is to it, and the construc- 
tion of the leaves, and their method of entrapping the 
insects is more interesting to learn. The leaves are 
elongate and tubular, tapering from the root and 
bulging widely toward the centre, forming a sort 
of pitcher-shaped growth, with the blunt, open end 
_flared to one side into a short, pointed, and flapped 
hood. ‘They curve gracefully outward and upward, 
and the inner or concaved side, which faces the flower 
stalk, has a very broad wing or keel. They are yellow- 
ish green in colour, conspicuously lined and veined 
with purple, and grow from four to twelve inches long. 
The texture is stout and leathery, and the outer and 
inner surfaces are smooth. The pitchers are generally 
half-filled with water, and the inner surface of the 
hood is thickly covered with fine, hairy bristles which 
point downward toward the opening. Just inside 
the aperture is secreted a sweet, sticky substance, 
-which is supposed to attract insects to-it. Once inside 
the pitcher, the insect becomes a captive, and in try- 
ing to escape, it encounters the labyrinth of reflexed 
15 
