. Country life reader . SITORS 365 The ants, of course, are barred, for not only is the stemcovered with fine hairs, which prevent them from cHmb-ing, but it is sticky, and the ant can no more cHmb itthen you can walk througha wet clay field after a the bees are welcome—the only really welcome vis-itors it has. Watch one ofthem as it sips the , there, indeed! One ofits feet has slipped into acrack in the side of theflower, and it cannot draw itout without dragging withit the lining of the hole anda big mass of pollen away it flies to an-other flower, where the bur-de
. Country life reader . SITORS 365 The ants, of course, are barred, for not only is the stemcovered with fine hairs, which prevent them from cHmb-ing, but it is sticky, and the ant can no more cHmb itthen you can walk througha wet clay field after a the bees are welcome—the only really welcome vis-itors it has. Watch one ofthem as it sips the , there, indeed! One ofits feet has slipped into acrack in the side of theflower, and it cannot draw itout without dragging withit the lining of the hole anda big mass of pollen away it flies to an-other flower, where the bur-den of pollen is gratefullyreceived. But see ! Herecomes a fly. Lucky fellow!He has managed to get asip of the nectar withoutfalling into the trap. Buthis neighbor, feeding onthe next flower, is not sofortunate—and, tug with allhis might, he is not strongenough to draw out the lining of the hole in which hisfoot has been caught, and so he is left to struggle, andat last to die—and all for the purpose, apparently, of. The pitcher-plant. 366 COUNTRY LIFE READER simply teaching him a lesson not to trespass on the feed-ing-ground that is meant for the bee. In the case of the milkweed, the smaller insects can al-ways get away if they are only strong enough, but withthe pitcher-plant that is growing in the marsh at the edgeof the pond, a little farther on, the conditions are quitedifferent. The flowers, which blossom in June, are ex-ceedingly beautiful and dehcate—and, to give them theirdue, they are innocent enough. But the leaves, almostas cunningly as a conscious being, have apparently setthemselves dehberately to tempt and snare any unfor-tunate insect that comes in their way. They are foldedup somewhat in the shape of a horn, and the inside surfaceis smeared with honey, to tempt the victim and lure himin. He enters and descends, but in a moment, when hewishes to return, he finds, too late, that retreat is impos-sible. A bristhng forest of hairs, pointing downward,makes it
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