PLANTS THAT EAT INSECTS 19 
These orchids are not considered insect eaters, but 
they undoubtedly draw a certain amount of nour- 
ishment from the decayed bodies of their insect- 
prey. 
The habits of the carnivorous plants are such 
that it is not unreasonable to suppose that it is 
merely a matter of proportion that determines the 
size of the prey such plants would be able to kill 
and eat; that, in truth, were the plant of sufficiently 
great development, it might even become strong 
enough to kill a man. In fact, more than one 
traveller reports that such a plant does exist, and 
is the terror of the natives where it grows. 
This man-eating plant grows in Nicaragua, near 
Lake Nicaragua, and is always found in the deep 
swamps. The natives have rightfully named it 
“Devil’s-snare”; and for horror it has no rival. 
This vampire-vine is not unlike the weeping willow 
denuded of its leaves, but it is of a blackish-brown 
colour, covered with a thick gluey resin, that aids 
it in binding its prey. By means of its finger-like 
claws it is enabled to catch small animals, and en- 
velop them in a network of its diabolical arms. 
Here they are hopelessly held until the last drop 
of blood is drawn from their bodies by its infini- 
tesimal sucking-mouths. 
There is an insidious suggestion in the habits of 
