Cuar. XVIIL] ABSORPTION. 353 
As it appeared probable that this plant would capture a greater 
number of animals in its native country than under culture, I obtained 
permission to remove small portions of the rhizomes from dried speci- 
mens in the herbarium at Kew. I did not at first find out that it was 
advisable to soak the rhizomes for two or three days, and that it was 
necessary to open the bladders and spread out their contents on glass : 
as from their state of decay and from having been dried and pressed, 
their nature could not otherwise be well distinguished. Several 
bladders on a plant which had grown in black earth in New Granada 
were first examined; and four of these included remnants of animals. 
The first contained a hairy Acarus, so much decayed that nothing was 
left except its transparent coat; also a yellow chitinous head of some 
animal with an internal fork, to which the cesophagus was suspended, 
but I could see no mandibles; also the double hook of the tarsus of 
some animal; also an elongated'greatly decayed animal; and lastly, a 
curious flask-shaped organism, having the walls formed of rounded cells. 
Professor Claus has looked at this latter organism, and thinks that it 
is the shell of a rhizopod, probably one of the Arcellide. In this 
bladder, as well as in several others, there were some unicellular 
Alga, and one multicellular Alga, which no doubt had lived as 
intruders. 
A second bladder contained an Acarus much less decayed than the 
former one, with its eight legs preserved; as well as remnants of 
several other articulate animals. A third bladder contained the end 
of the abdomen with the two hinder limbs of an Acarus, as I believe. 
A fourth contained remnants of a distinctly articulated bristly animal, 
and of several other organisms, as well as much dark brown organic 
inatter, the nature of which could not be made out. 
Some bladders from a plant, which had lived as an epiphyte in 
Trinidad, in the West Indies, were next examined, but not so carefully 
as the others; nor had they been soaked long enough. Four of them 
contained much brown, translucent granular matter, apparently organic, 
with no distinguishable parts. The quadrifids in two were brownish, 
with their contents granular; and it was evident that they had 
absorbed matter. In a fifth bladder there was a flask-shaped organism, 
like that above mentioned. A sixth contained a very long, much 
decayed, worm-shaped animal. Lastly, a seventh bladder contained 
an organism, but of what nature could not be distinguished. 
Only one experiment was tried on the quadrifid processes 
and glands with reference to their power of absorption. A 
bladder was punctured and left for 24 hrs. in a solution of 
one part of urea to 487 of water, and the quadrifid and bifid 
processes were found much affected. In some arms there 
was only a single symmetrical globular mass, larger than 
the proper nucleus, and consisting of yellowish matter, 
generally translucent but sometimes granular ; = others 
A 
