The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1891-11-14
OF NATURES NOVELTIES
The Duke OF yelling ton Carleaturei and
Mother-in-Laws Libeiied - One
Plant suffers From Chron-
lie :ndigestion.

Star all done In the velning. but In
the interest of visitors IL does net So
riously rival either the 'mothcr-in-
law plant scrap OF which swells I'D
your tongue so that you cannot speak
for days or the famous butcher
plant of Maryland. that has, instead
OF leaye2 so many pairs OF toothed
jaws that close upon any insect ven
turing between to get at the swedish
bait within.
This butcher plant which grows
nowhere in tho world save In the
vicinity OF Wilmington. N. O.. suffers
for its carnivorous habits, being a
chronic victim OF indigestion. Each
stomach trap. having used up most OF
the gastric juice which Il secretes IN
digesting the first living prey caught
usually finds the second victim it cap
lures disagree with it. and tho third
il Is unable TO assimilate satisfactorily,
Then the trap turns from green To
brown and dies like any leaf. other
fresh ones developing meanwhile 10
take up the work OF gobbling After
al, this greedy vegetable is not nearly
so bad as the "cruel plant as IL l.
called, whose flowers wantonly cap
ture unsuspecting butterflies that
alight 10 sip honey. and hold them
until they are dead. when the grasp
OF the ruthless petals is rclinquished
and the luckess visitor is dropped on
the ground.
1t is astonishing what Intelligence
many vegetables exhibit Naturnlists
have come TO be much inclined toward
thinking that plant really has
thoughts It's mind, as they conceive.
is situated in the rootet which knows
50 well always what path 10 pursue
through the soil in search OF water.
Plants even employ insects us their
servants In the work OF reproducing
their species, paying them wages IN
honey. Most vegetables combine the
two sexes in one flower; but breeding
lin and IN is no more healthy for
them than it is for animals. One
blossom must marry with another II
the species is TO be continued In n
/ healthy way
SO young Mr.. HoneysuclSle dresses
himself in suit OF bright yellow. and
perfumes himself deliciously Tor tho
purpose OF attracting the gag butter
| flies that ilutter around He also pro-
vides a small store OF nectar in n
golden cup to offer any insect guest
that may come his way. Presently a
butterfly pauses to take a sip OF the
sweet liquor, but in doing so she can
not avoid getting some OF the pollen
on her head and this She carries to
another honeysucklc. where she stops
for second bit OF rofreshment and
incidentally rubs of some Of the pollen
upon its stigma. Thus is accomplished
the marriage OF the flowers.
! But the bee is the Cupid OF thu veg.
/ ciable world. TO whom is assigned
most OF this marrying and giving in
marriage among the blossoms. There
is one kind OF orchid that depends nj
together for the continuance OF its
species upon fights among bees TO %
moral delinquency on their part II
may be said to owe its survival entire
~. The petals OF each OF It's flowers
are SO bent as TO form sort OF little
tunnel. and TO get at the honey bee
must 90 In az one end or the other III
nothing interferes 1t will never come
In contact with any OF the pollen. but
now and then ii happens that IL meets
another bee which has entered from
the other side Then there Is fight.
and in the scrimmage the combatants
! get bounced around and arc covered
with the reproductive powder. How
ever 10 accomplish anything one OF
these bees must 90 of and have the
same sort OF fight in another orchid
blossom, so as TO transfer po 'tion Of
the pollen 10 the stigma Luckily
this occurs often enough TO perpe,uate
the plant
Some kinds Of orchids initiate to the
life bees butterflies and moths, appar-
entity for the purpose Of attracting
these insects on tho dccoy-duclS princi-
pie, The object is not quite so owl.
don't IN the cuse Of varieties Of these
extraordinary plants whose lowers
counterfeit with amazing exactncss
tomds huge spiders and other animals.
There Is one which presents the like
ness OF man hanging by the head
and another that opens and shows n
beautiful dove In an Enclosure OF
petals.
There is an extraordinary flower
that grows in the not and damp
junglcs OF the Malay Peninsula, where
il Is called 10y the natives the won.
der-wonder.n H. Is blossom and
nothing else without leaves or stem.
which grows out OF the wood OF decay
ing vines This parasite is sometimes
three feet across. its globular central
cup having n capacity OF six quarts.
/ The strong odor IL exhales resembles
that Of decaying meat so strongly that
flies swarm upon it, and 1t secures fer
tilization through their means
A book might be made OF the freak
plants OF the world. There Is the
vegetable boa constructor OF India
known as 1.-THE maloo- climber which
twincs around great trees and strangles
them TO death. so that they decay. fall
in. and often leave the empty tower OF
climbers standing erect An African
nut called 1.-THE balanites is used as
sort OF natural bomb-shell; when
filed with gunpowder and set on IL
explodes with loud report The
familiar Brazil nut grows in hard.
spherical pods, each OF which contains
from eighteen TO twenty-four Of tho
triangular seeds that come 90 market
So beautifully arc they packed by ma
ture that no man yet has ever been