16 THE HUMAN SIDE OF PLANTS 
hundreds of dead and decaying insects, especially 
ants. As a result the plant gives forth an ex- 
tremely offensive odour. 
An interesting cousin to the purpurea is the Sar- 
racenia variolaris, in which the pitchers are formed 
in much the same way as in the purpurea. The 
top, however, does not stand up as an open lid, but 
droops over the mouth like a cap. These delicately 
formed pitchers are at first hermetically sealed, 
and when the lid at last rises they are nearly half 
filled with a colourless fluid, which tends to dry 
up rather than increase as the plant grows older. 
The liquid at the bottom of the pitcher is not 
sweet, but possesses toxic qualities which aid in 
decomposing the prey. 
Sarracenia Drummondi, one of the bog plants 
with carnivorous habits, has developed its leaves 
to such a high degree of perfection that marvel- 
lous trumpet-like pitchers are the result! These 
pitchers are simple enough when viewed from the 
outside; but their insides are skillfully lined with 
curved hooks and hairs which in some species are 
sufficiently powerful to hold small birds that have 
been lured into the death-traps. The Drummondi 
grows in the pine barrens of America, especially 
in Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas. Its bril- 
liant purple blossoms, which droop, umbrella- 
