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i *!&••«! 
VOLi. XXX. No. 15 
WHOLE No. 1*89. 
NEW YORK, AND ROCHESTER, N. Y, OCT. JO, 1874 
I PRICE SIX CENTS, 
I 82.50 PER YEAR. 
[Entered according to Act of Congress, In the year 1874, by the Rural Publishing Company, In the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.} 
CARNIVOROUS PLANTS 
the leaf closed gently on a piece of wet 
chalk, but soon opened again and rejected 
It, The experiments also proved that the 
contraction of the leaf was precisely similar 
to the contraction of a muscle, so that, as 
Dr. Hooker explained, it is not only proved 
that the digestion of the plant Is like that of 
animals, but that it has a nervous system. 
come so memorable for its utterances. He 
and Mr. Darwin examined them very close¬ 
ly, and found that when a fly was caught it 
was dissolved in the digestive fluid exactly 
like ordinary gastric juice ; and the same 
happened with a piece of beef ; but when a 
mineral substance was placed on the leaf 
there was no contraction. The fine hair on 
These plants are furnished with various traps 
or snares for the insects upon which they 
live. The Surracenia and the Nepenthes 
have lids which shut down upon their vic¬ 
tims, while the Darlinytonia curls its leaf 
around them. Then there are the Dionacci, 
Pinquiculj, Drosera, etc., which have dis¬ 
similar contrivances for securing their food. 
American and English papers have had 
not a little to say the past year about the 
wonderful carnivorous plants that have at¬ 
tracted the attention of scientists. These 
plants were referred to by Dr. Hooker at 
the recent Belfast meeting, which has be¬ 
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