8 
THE PITCHER PLANT 
There is a human interest in this peculiar inhabitant 
of swamps and bogs* Its pitcher - like leaves, 
mysteriously full of water, graceful in form, and 
delicately marked with purple, red, and brown, its 
carnivorous habits, its round, rich, purple-red 
flowers nodding on their tall and solitary stalks, all 
serve to give it character and make a visit to its 
favourite haunts a memorable event* The sphagnum 
swamp which a utilitarian age would desecrate by 
transformation into briquettes of peat fuel, the swamp 
where the Pink Lady's Slipper grows, where the 
carnivorous Sundew is found, and the Pyrola and 
Lady's Tresses perfume the air, where the elastic, 
spongy carpet of moss is so yielding that a visitor 
feels impelled to keep on the move, while a heavy 
tread shakes the neighbouring Tamaracks — there is 
the home of the Pitcher Plant* 
The Pitchers are now thawing loose from the 
surrounding snow and ice, but the frozen water has 
not burst the yielding leaves* They will survive the 
early summer and sustain the flowers until a new set 
bursts through close to the roots, when the older 
Pitchers dry up and return to the swampy soil* These 
