[3]

(a) These were chiefly Diptera; the largest kind which I saw caught was the small Heath Butterfly.

As some of the younger leaves could almost certainly lower [illeg] have succeeded in [illeg] subsequently seizing insects prey, that above proportion number fraction of 31/56 in 56 leaves does not probably give the full proportion.  Many of the leaves had caught more than one insect; & on one very large leaf, I found remnants of at least a dozen thirteen insects. Considering th how extremely common this plant is on parts of Ashdown Forest & in many other places   & in may other places the slaughter of insects must be prodigious.—
see below [3 words illeg]

(Over)

[See Insectivorous plants, p. 2.]

[3v]

No doubt insects destroyed on vast scale in apparently useless manner on by kinds of Horse-chestnut, as it is becomes almost of [illeg] apparent  that with Drosera that are especial adaptation for catching insects. I concluded that the object was worth investigating — other observations

 

L[illeg] of poor soil

Roots

[4]

De[illeg] to leaf

A single prick with a needle in the middle of the leaf, or slight without touching any of the viscid hairs, or slightly rubbing the hairs, with a stiff camel-br pencil, caused [illeg]

Without any object , nothing being left on the leaf, causes the hairs & the edge of the leaf to curl inwards. Several stimulating fluids & A mere touch with needle or brush does not suffice sof

All solid objects, whether organic animal or vegetable or inorganic & as we shall see many certain fluids, when placed very gently on the leaf, so as to come produce as little irritations as possible, caused the hairs I edges of the leaf to close in. The body of an extremely small species of gnat, [illeg] with the wings or legs, torn off though so especially minute an object sufficed to cause the movement. The movement is necessarily slow; & generally takes from one to four or five hours; but it is impossible to measure the time accurately, as the age of the leaf, & the general state of the plant or of the temperature causes makes much difference in the required time.

The leaves close equally well in light & darkness.—

After a leaf has closed is on any object or from irritation, or over any object, it expands again; the time being dependent on the state of the leaf & on the nature of the object caught.

The same leaf will catch close & open flies at least twice probably many times successfully.) [remainder excised]