Insectivorous Plants

CONCLUSION. — It has now been shown that many species of Utricularia and of two closely allied genera, inhabiting the most distant parts of the world — Europe, Africa, India, the Malay Archipelago, Austra- lia, North and South America — are admirably adapted for capturing by two methods small aquatic or terres- trial animals, and that they absorb the products of their decay. Ordinary plants of the higher classes procure the requisite inorganic elements from the soil by means of their roots, and absorb carbonic acid from the atmosphere by means of their leaves and stems. But we have seen in a previous part of this work that there is a class of plants which digest and afterwards absorb animal matter, namely, all the Droseraceae, Pinguicula, and, as discovered by Dr. Hooker, Nepenthes, and to this class other species will almost certainly soon be added. These plants can dissolve matter out of certain vegetable sub- stances, such as pollen, seeds, and bits of leaves. No doubt their glands likewise absorb the salts of am- monia brought to them by the rain. It has also been shown that some other plants can absorb ammonia by

their glandular hairs ; and these will profit by that brought to them by the rain. There is a second class of plants which, as we have just seen, cannot digest, but absorb the products of the decay of the animals which they capture, namely, Utricularia and its close allies ; and from the excellent observations of Dr. Mellichamp and Dr. Canby, there can scarcely be a doubt that Sarracenia and Darlingtonia may be added to this class, though the fact can hardly be considered as yet fully proved. There is a third class of plants which feed, as is now generally admitted, on the products of the decay of vegetable matter, such as the bird's-nest orchis (Neottia), &c. Lastly, there is the well-known fourth class of parasites (such as the mistletoe), which are nourished by the juices of living plants. Most, however, of the plants belonging to these four classes obtain part of their carbon, like ordinary species, from the atmosphere. Such are the diversified means, as far as at present known, by which higher plants gain their subsistence.

Albumen, digested by Drosera, 92 - , liquid, action on Drosera, 79 , , smallness of doses cans- ing aggregation in Drosera, 145 — , its action on Drosera, — , nitrate, smallness of doses causing inflection in Drosera, 148, — . salts of, action on Drosera, 136 Ammonia, salts of, their action affected by previous immersion in water and various solutions, 213 Bennett, Mr. A. W., on Dros a, 2 , coats of pollen-grains not digested by insects, 117 Binz, on action of quinine on white

on low organisms, 202 Bom-, its digestion by Drosera, 105 Brunton, Lauder, on digestion of Carbonic acid, act'on on Drosera, 221 , delays aggregation in Diosera, Casein, its digestion by Drosera, 114 Cellulose, not digested by Drosera, Chalk, precipitated, causing inflec- tion of Drosera, 32 Cheese, its digestion by Drosera, plants, digested by Drosera, 126 , pure, not digested by Drosera, Cloves, oil of, action on Drosera, 212 Cobalt chloride, action on Drosera,

Cohn, Prof., on Aldrovanda, 321 -, on contractile tissues in plants, Oolohicine, action on Drosera, 204 Copper chloride, action on Drosera, Darwin, Francis, on the effect, of an induced galvanic current on Dro- sera, 37 — , effects on, of chloroform, 304 -, manner of capturing insects, with that of animals, 366 Drosophyllum, structure of leaves, Fat not digested by Drosera, 126 Fayrer, Dr., on the nature of cobra Fibrin, its digestion by Drosera, 100 Fibre-cartilage, its digestion by

Fournier, on acids causing move- ments in stamens of Berberis, 196 Frankland, Prof., on nature of acid in secretion of Drosera, 88 Gorup-Besanez on the presence of a solvent in seeds of the vetch, 362 Heckel, on state of stamens of Ber- beris after excitement, 43 Hofmeisttr, on pressure arresting movements of protoplasm, 61 Johnson, Dr., on movement of flower- stems of Pinguicula, 381 Klein, Dr., on microscopic character of half digested bone, 106

Knight, Mr., on feeding Dionsea, 301 Kossmann, Dr., on rhizocephalous crustaceans, 357 Lemna, aggregation in leaves of, 64 Lime, carbonate of, precipitated, causing inflection of Drosera, 32 , phosphate of, its action on Manganese chloride, action on Dro- sera, 1S5 Marshall, Mr. W., on Pinguicula, Moggridge, Traherne, on acids in- juring seeds, 128 Moore, Dr., on Pinguicula, 390 Morphia acetate, action on Drosera, Movement, origin of power of, 363 Movements of leaves of Pinguicula,

Mucus, action on Drosera, 80 Mailer, Fritz, on rhizocephalous crustaceans. 357 Nicotine, action on Drosern, 203 Nitric ether, action on Drosera, 220 Nitschke, Dr., references to his Particles, minute size of. causing inflection in Drosera, 27, 32 Polypompholyx, structure of, 445 Potassium, salts of, inducing ag- Ealfs, Mr , on Pinguicula, 390 Ransom. Dr., action of poisons on — , on the dissolution of proteid compounds in the tissues of plants, 362

Salts and acids, various, effects of, on subsequent action of ammonia, , on acids replacing hydro- chloric in digestion, 89 -, on the digestion of fibrous and potassium on animals, 187 , on electric currents in Diomca. Schiff, on hydrochloric acid dis- solving coagulated albumen, Tait, Mr., on Drosophyllum, 332 Taylor. Alfred, on the detection of minute doses of poisons, 170 Tea, infusion of, action on Drosera, — , re-expansion of, 260 Theine, action on Drosera, 204 Tin chloride, action on Drosera,

Touches repeated, causing inflec- tion iu Drosera, 34 Transmission of motor impulse in Traube, Dr., on artificial cells, 216 Treat, Mrs., on Drosera filiformis, Un a, not digested by Drosera, 12i Urine, action on Drosera, 79 Utricularia clandestina, 430 — , development of bladders, 424 Utricularia, various species of, 441 Utricularia vulgaris, 428 Veratrine, notion on Drosera, Vessels in leaves of Drosera, 247 of, on subsequent action of am- monia, 213 Wilkinson, Rev., on Utricularia,

Ziegler, his statements with respect to Drosera, 23 -, experiments by cutting ves-