296 NATURE SKETCHES IN TEMPERATE AMERICA 



on close observation that three daddy-long-legs were dipping 

 down into the centre of the open blossoms of these plants, with 

 their long legs extended in queer attitudes. They were drinldng 

 the juices of the flowers and at the same time they were uncon- 

 sciously acting as poUenizers. With a hand magnifier I found 

 the grains of pollen piled on their backs, eyes, and legs. 



In the marsh beside the road were reeds, white pond lilies, 

 Sagittaria, and cat-tails, along with numerous sedges. The 

 button-bush skirted the margin of the marsh and had but few 

 blossoms remaining, the delicate fragrance from these, however, 

 perfumed the air as I passed the shrubs. I have presented at 

 the bottom of page 294 a drawing of one of these beautiful 

 blossoms that it may become familiar to the reader. The 

 white-flowering spurge was met with everywhere in the open 

 woods, their blossoms sometimes covering large areas. There 

 are many species of spurge here, but this one seemed to be 

 the commonest along the roadside. 



On visiting some bogs I found, after fighting off a host 

 of mosquitoes, the sundew, Drosera rotundifolia. It is this 

 species of plant with which Darwin performed his remarkable 

 experiments, and gave the result in "Insectivorous Plants." 

 These plants capture insects by means of sensitive tentacles 

 disposed on the leaves. When an insect crawls on the leaves, 

 the tentacles grasp its body and carry it to the centre. Here 

 there are absorbing glands which take up nutrition from the 

 dead bodies of the insects. When I found these plants they were 

 closed in by a dense growth of herbage, Hving in great luxuriance. 

 Here were assembled gelatinous fungi, creeping plants, winter- 

 green, liverworts and lichens, forming a group replete with 

 forms, well typifying bog societies. 



These plants grew on the south side of the bog, the opposite 

 side having a more barren, sandy margin. On the sandy 

 margin in certain spots close beside the water's edge the little 

 blue face of the wandering Jew, Commelina, nestled in among 

 the rich verdure. This plant is easily distinguished from 

 its cultivated relative by its having thinner leaves. Skirting 

 the margins of the bogs for yards at a stretch were the pink 

 flowers of the steeple bush. Again, it was often mixed in here 

 and there with the allied species, the meadowsweet, which 



