gelatine was absorbed, and there was only a little acid secretion left
on the midrib.
Experiment 7. A bit of half roasted meat (not measured) and a bit of
gelatine were placed on the two ends of a leaf, which [page 303] opened
spontaneously after eleven days; a vestige of the meat was left, and
the surface of the leaf was here blackened; the gelatine had all
disappeared.
Experiment 8. A bit of half roasted meat (not measured) was placed on a
leaf which was forcibly kept open by a clip, so that it was moistened
with the secretion (very acid) only on its lower surface. Nevertheless,
after only 22 1/2 hrs. it was surprisingly softened, when compared with
another bit of the same meat which had been kept damp.
Experiment 9. A cube of 1/10 of an inch of very compact roasted beef
was placed on a leaf, which opened spontaneously after twelve days; so
much feebly acid secretion was left on the leaf that it trickled off.
The meat was completely disintegrated, but not all dissolved; there was
no mould. The little mass was placed under the microscope; some of the
fibrillae in the middle still exhibited transverse striae; others
showed not a vestige of striae; and every gradation could be traced
between these two states. Globules, apparently of fat, and some
undigested fibro-elastic tissue remained. The meat was thus in the same
state as that formerly described, which was half digested by Drosera.
Here, again, as in the case of albumen, the digestive process seems
slower than in Drosera. At the opposite end of the same leaf, a firmly
compressed pellet of bread had been placed; this was completely
disintegrated, I suppose, owing to the digestion of the gluten, but
seemed very little reduced in bulk.
Experiment 10. A cube of 1/20 of an inch of cheese and another of
albumen were placed at opposite ends of the same leaf. After nine days
the lobes opened spontaneously a little at the end enclosing the
cheese, but hardly any or none was dissolved, though it was softened
and surrounded by secretion. Two days subsequently the end with the
albumen also opened spontaneously (i.e. eleven days after it was put
on), a mere trace in a blackened and dry condition being left.
Experiment 11. The same experiment with cheese and albumen repeated on
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