88 



TUE LEAF 



77. Sarrareniu intrpun <i . the Pitclier Plant of 

 the Northeni United States. 



surface, tlieir descent aided by tlie direction of the bristly- 

 hairs, they have fall- 

 en helplessly into tlie 

 liquid below. The 

 liquid exudes from 

 the tissues of the 

 leaf itself ; though 

 the spreadijig hood 

 of Sarracenia pur- 

 purea must catch a 

 certain amount of 

 rain. To what ex- 

 tent the dissolution 

 of the captured 

 insects is promoted 

 by digestive ele- 

 ments produced by 

 the pitcher, to what 

 extent by ordinary 



decay, is not certtiin. It is held, however, that the 



organic solutions tire absorljed tind used liy the plant. 

 154. Insects are caught in another 



way, tind more expertly, Ijy the most 



extraordinary of till the plants of tltis 



country, the Bioiuea or \'enus"s Fl\- 



trtip, which gro\vs in the sandy bogs 



around Wilmington, North Carolina. 



Here (Fig. 78) etich leaf bears at its 



summit an appendage which opens and 



shuts, in sha|)e sometliing lilce a steel 



trap, and operating much like one. 



For Avhen open, no sooner does a fly 



alight on its surface, and brush against 



any one of the two or three Ijristles that 



grow there, tlian tlie traj) suddenly 



closes, capturing tlie intruder. If the flv escapes, the 



trap soon slowly opens, and is retidy for anotlier cap- 

 ture. When retained, the insect is after ;i time moistened 



78. Dioiiie'i, the Ve- 

 nns's Flytrap. 



