SARRACEXIA VARIOLARIS. 193 



same as that produced by the Indian turnip (Arismma 

 triphyllum), only in a milder form. 



I called the attention of a lady friend — Mrs. Read, a 

 good observer — to this strange behavior of the flies, 

 and she is of the same opinion as myself, that the flies 

 are made stupidly intoxicated before entering the tube. 

 We also placed vases of leaves in the dining-room and 

 kitchen, where the rapid disappearance of the flies high- 

 ly amused the servants. On opening the leaves a day 

 or two after they were brought into the house, I often 

 found fifty or more flies in a single leaf. Of course a 

 leaf could riot digest such a mass of insects before they 

 became putrid. 



I carefully studied the inside structure of the leaf. 

 More than half of the tube from the base up is lined 

 with a firm, strong texture, and this lining is of a live- 

 lier green color than the remaining inner surface of the 

 tube. On passing a finger over the surface from the 

 base upward, we can detect a slight roughness as far as 

 the brighter green color extends, and then it abruptly 

 terminates; above this is a space of about two inches 

 or more, according to the length of the leaf, which has 

 a peculiar smooth feeling, and over this space no intox- 

 icated insect can walk. There is no gradual blending 

 of the two colors from the base up, but the line is dis- 

 tinct and marked, and easily seen with the naked eye. 

 The smooth lighter -colored space is succeeded by the 

 white 1 spots before mentioned, and these white spots 

 gradually blend with the fine scarlet veinings on the 

 13 



