404 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



few exceptions, Nepenthes are readily increased from cuttings, 

 the simplest way being to insert the cuttings through the bottom 

 of an inverted flower-pot without any soil, placing it in a heated 

 case — in fact, rooting the cutting in moist air, and afterwards 

 potting it in the usual way. 



Sarracenias and Darlingtonia may be treated similarly to 

 Nepenthes, except that they require very little fire-heat : an 

 ordinary greenhouse suits them best. In repotting, a good deal 

 of the old soil should be shaken out. They should be placed 

 near the glass in full sunshine, with plenty of moisture, to 

 ensure which the pots should stand on Sphagnum moss. This 

 retains the moisture, and is better than standing the pots in flats 

 of water, as the soil is not so liable to become soured. All the 

 species are readily increased by division and from seed. 



The various species of Drosera, including Dionaea and Dro- 

 sophyilum, require nearly the same treatment as Sarracenia, 

 except that the soil used should be a little less rough. They are 

 easily raised in quantity from seed. Several of the stronger- 

 rooting kinds of Drosera, such as D. binata, D. dichotoma, and 

 D. cape?isis, grow readily from root-cuttings. If the roots are cut 

 up into the smallest pieces about February, strewn over the 

 surface of a seed-pan, covering them slightly with sandy soil, 

 and put into a warm case for a few weeks, each little bit of root 

 will grow and develop into a fine plant. In this way an 

 unlimited quantity of these elegant plants may be raised in a 

 single season. 



As a rule, there is no great difficulty attending the cultivation 

 of insectivorous plants, and I shall be glad if the foregoing 

 remarks help to make them better known and more frequently 

 grown. 



Discussion. 



The Rev. Prof. Henslow observed that the digestion of nitro- 

 genous matters presented to insectivorous plants was not only 

 a well-recognised fact, but that it was merely a very highly 

 specialised instance of a much more general phenomenon in the 

 vegetable kingdom. He drew attention to the fact that in 

 germinating seeds the embryo is provided with food, upon which 

 it lives until it has developed roots and leaves. This food con- 

 sists of starch or oil and a nitrogenous substance called "aleurone." 



