226 Groom . — On Disckidm rctfflesiana (Wall.). 
non unique, des urnes du Dischidia rafflesiana^ est de recueillir 
ou, a un moindre degrd, d’epargner de l’eau.’ Beccari observes 
the same contents, but he lays stress on the occurrence of 
living Acari within the pitchers. He points out that the 
pitchers are specially adapted for the retention of water ; and 
he mentions the occurrence in them of ‘ detritus ’ which would 
be of some use in adding to the store of available food. His 
startling conclusion as to the mode of origin and use of the 
pitchers, may be given in his own words : ‘ E cio io l’attrn 
buirei all’ origine galloide degli ascidi, ereditari solo perche la 
pianta, invece di risentirne danno, ha potuto utilizzarzli in vario 
modo, sopra tutto come organi protettori delle radici nei 
momenti di siccita.’ 
The present observations may be briefly described as 
complementary to those of Treub and Beccari: they are 
intended to fill up a gap which, owing to circumstances, exists 
in the observations of these two distinguished investigators. 
The work was commenced in May 1892, at Singapore, and the 
plants observed grew in the Botanic Garden there on a thinly- 
foliaged decaying tree. 
To begin with observations made on living plants at Sing a* 
pore , I cannot confirm the testimony of all previous observers 
as to the constant presence of considerable numbers of living 
ants in the pitchers ; I saw but few ants. However Mr. Ridley 
has since (in December 1892) found them abundantly 
in pitchers of the plants I observed. I found living 
Acari, occasionally living chelifers and scale-insects in the 
pitchers. 
In some cases dead and decaying insects, fungi living on 
organic matter, and insect excreta, were present but never in 
any considerable quantity. On the other hand, large quantities 
of earthy particles, including small stones, mingled with 
humus (fragments of leaves, &c.), were found in the pitchers. 
In many cases these substances choked the pitchers and even 
blocked up their mouths 1 . Finally, water was present in 
1 A figure is given (Fig. i) of a pitcher taken haphazard from alcohol- 
material ; it shows that there is a considerable amount of earthy matter left in the 
