THE MOVEMENTS AND HABITS OP PLANTS. 35 



added. These plants can dissolve matter out of certain 

 vegetable substances, sucli as pollen, seeds, and bits of 

 leaves. No doubt their glands likewise absorb the salts 

 of ammonia brought to them by the rain. It has also 

 been shown that some other plants can absorb ammonia 

 by their glandular hairs ; and these will profit by that 

 brought to them by the rain. There is a second class of 

 plants which, as we have just seen, can not digest, but 

 absorb, the products of the decay of the animals which 

 they capture, namely, Utricularia and its close allies ; 

 and, from the excellent observations of Dr. Mellichamp 

 and Dr. Canby, there can scarcely be a doubt that Sar- 

 racenia and Darlingtonia may be added to this class, 

 though the fact can hardly be considered as yet fully 

 proved. There is a third class of plants which feed, as 

 is now generally admitted, on the products of the decay 

 of vegetable matter, such as the bird's-nest orchis {^Neot- 

 iia), etc. Lastly, there is the well-known fourth class 

 of parasites (such as the mistletoe), which are nourished 

 by the juices of living plants. Most, however, of the 

 plants belonging to these four classes obtain part of their 

 carbon, like ordinary species, from the atmosphere. Such 

 are the diversified means, as far as at present known, by 

 which higher plants gain their subsistence. 



HOW A PLANT PEETS UPON ANIMALS. 



The genus described is Oenlisea ornata. 



Insectiror- ^he utricle is formed by a slight enlarge- 



ous Plants, ment of the narrow blade of the leaf. A hol- 

 page 446. j^^ neck, no less than fifteen times as long as 

 the utricle itself, forms a passa.ge from the transverse slit- 

 like orifice into the cavity of the utricle. A utricle which 

 measured ^ of an inch (-795 millimetre) in its longer 



