The Ogden standard-examiner. [volume], September 26, 1920, LAST EDITION, [MAGAZINE SECTION], Page 2, Image 30

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I 2 THE OGDEN STANDARD-EXAMINER SUNDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 26, 1920.
I fcfcS: a Man-Eatioi Plant 1
a Distinguished ti " :' ;',' "' mCf--
Scientist m fS f IBJP"
Madagascar and How :5f' Ps;S FVff ' - - v-J I
Science Explain. 4b WfVW J I
the Existence of tkc '''f T ''r fW?1' W ... SjJ
Monstrous Growths I '' '''' L;f v '' ' JLJ 1
I Upon Vkick He : l;j
I Has Made
I Official Report "'v 1
H v Dr. ?. . William. VJ' i .V i
The Distinguished American Botanist 7lv I
I. KARL LE I Qi i man
1 explorer and brought
back from the wllda of Madagascar
one of the most amazing stories that has
ever come from the African island. He has
described in (he Carlsruhe Scientific Jour
nal a plant which seems to bo an extraor
dinary development of a certain curious
form of vegetable life to which the famous
Venus flytrap, or pitcher plant, and other
insect catching and eating vegetation be
long This plant, or tree, which he calls
Crinoida Darjeena. attains, according to
Dr. Leche, a size of ten feet, and is pow
erful enough to enmesh and destroy a
human being. The Mkodos, the tribe In
Whose territory it is found, revere it as a
fetich and sacrifice maidens of their tribe
to it. says Leche.
A Quarter of a century ago American
Consuls in Madagascar mentioned this tree
and sacrifices to It by natives In their
reports
Heforo discussing the plant from the
botanical standpoint. I quote almost In full
his narrative as it appears In tho Scientific
Journal, which is a publication of irre-
Iproacname conservatism and authority
"I had gone," he writes, "to Madagascar,
the land of tho lemur, the lace plant, the
qye-qye, arid also of the man-eating tree,
to visit Queen Ravalana II., and was per
suaded to visit the Mkodos by a native
who had heard that besides generous dally
pay I was accustomed to reward liberally
anyone who showed me something strange
or out of the way.
'In his company I journeyed to the
southeastern part of the island, inland
among the hills covered with thick virgin
forest, where there is a district practically
unknown, whose white visitors can be
numbered on the fingers of one hand. This
is the region Inhabited by the Mkodos.
"It was while among these natives that
I was witness to what was probably the
most horrible sight I have ever seou
Their religion consists in the worship of
their sacred tree, one of the most wonder
ful freaks of nuture. To this treo they
offer human sacrifice Once upon a time,
as each was consummated, it had been
their custom to burn each tree This,
however, they had been forced to give up
on discovering that the trees were getting
to bp very scarce. When I arrived they
were practically extinct, and it was with
difficulty that my guide, whose wild 3torles
had attracted rne to the place, could find
one to show me.
"The sacred tree Is most remarkable in
apnearance Its trunk, which rarely rises
ten feet above the ground, is of a strand,
barrel-like shape, covered with a quaint
mosaic ort of hark Irtnlrtn llkt. nntMntr
Iso much as a gigantic pineapple. At the
top of this trunk it is between eight and
nine feet In circumference, and upon it is
fixed a remarkable growth very much re
sembling a huge plate. From the top of
the trunk there hung eight leaves They
were of extraordinary size, ten to twelve
feet long, a foot wide where they were
hinged to the tree, widening to about two
feet, and finally tapering down to a point
as sharp as a needle. They were plenti
fully strewn with huge venomous looking
thorns.
"These leaves could not have been less
than fifteen inches thick In the centre, and
hung down inertly along the trunk, their
point trailing in the earth. Above these
there stretched, rigidly and horizontally,
a number of branches several feet in
length. Finally, from underneath the
plate-like arrangement, there grew, point
ing upward, half
A dozen frail Inn
ing stamen s
palpi would be a
bettor name, I be
Here that shiv
ered constantly,
as if agitated by
some strong wind.
"It fec-ms the
plate-like affair on
top of the trunk
contained some
thick sweet juic
This liquid which
is a product of
the tree and was
probably origin
all v intended to
attract blrd. Is
highly intoxicat
ing, and even a
very small quan
tity very soon
produces roma
1
How the Vsivus Flytrap
Captures Insects: (1) The
Fly Alighting Upon the
Lc .'. (2) the Fly Is Stuck
Fat Upon the iscous
Suljitance with Which It
la Covered and the Leaf
Bepins to Curl About It;
(3) the Leaf Holding the
Fly Nov Securely in Place,
nd (4) the Bent Plant
Digesting the Insect. After )
It Has Digested, the Car- I
cass of the Fly Is Dropped
and the Leaf Is Opened '
for Another Victim-
uen raTinees
take plar- b woman is forced to climb Into
the tiOe and drink. If the devil Insula U
in good humor, then the girl will be al
lowed to get down apaln in safety. If he
was feeling ugly, however then the poor
girl was out of luck Exactly how the treo
was going to prevent her Jumping down !
could not make out, but I was to learn
eventually.
"I desired to draw elor and examine
the tree carefully, but m guide begged
me not to. warning me that the 'tree god
would certainly be angered at my sacrl
'.ege and would take my life in revenge,
xj laining that tho leaves would rise up
and crush me. Of course. 1 did not pay
much attention to this, but, nevertheless,
left the tree alone, for It has always beeu
my habit Jo respect native superstitions
and customs.
"One evening my guide presented him
self to me and told me that what Jie had
been waiting for would take place that
nisht.
"That nisht, having made the chief a
present to insure that I would be welcome
to wltne.ss their ceremony, I followed the
tribe into the forest The made their way
to the sacred tree, and round it built
twelve fires, so that the whole surround
ings were lit up brightly Then they dis
posed themselves about them and made
themselves at home, some eating, but most
Of them drinking huge gourdfuls of native
ferment Very soon they were all of them
more or less Intoxicated, both the men and
the women, with the exception of a young
girl nearby, who neither spoke nor moved,
but glanced about her as if sho were terri-
ncu oui oi ner w us
"Suddenly without warning the yelling
ceased and they scattered away like fright
ened deer Tho crucial point had arrived.
For a moment there was complete silence
but for the crackling of the fires. Intuition
told me that tho girl I had noted before
was tho one that was to be the sacrifice.
I looked at her and saw mortal terror im
printed on her features. Yet for the life
of me I could not Imagine why, and put
down her fear to imagination.
"By now the first group of dancers had
somewhat recovered, and, suddenly spring
ing up. rushod upon the poor girl with un
earthly shrieks and yells They surround
ed her. and with shouts and gestures or
dered her to climb the tree Terrified she
shrank back, apparently begging for.mercy.
At that the whole crowd joined In. furi
ously bowling at her to obey. Once more
the dancers gave out their orders; then,
i' s
A Remarkable Photograph
of a Rat That Has Been
Caught and Killed by a
Giant Species of the Pitch
er Plant. In the Cup of
This Plant' Is Secreted a
Sweet But Stupefying Liq
uid. The Rat Has Drunk
of This and the Plant Has
Closed Upon It and Smoth
ered It, the Flanges Hold
ing the Body Tightly in
Place.
I
as she still refused and struggled, they
armed themselves with spears, and stab
bing at her forced her to retreat in the
direction of the devil-god. For a while she
resisted, seeking to hold their spears with
hor hands, and only getting wounded as a
reward for her plucky defence.
"At last, seeing it was useless to fight
further, she turned and faced the tree
For a moment she stood still, gathering
herself up for a supreme effort, then quick
ly she sprang toward the tree. Like a
monkey she scrambled up. and reaching
the top knelt and drank of the holy liquid
Quickly she jumped up again, and I ex
pected to pee her Jump down, thinking all
was over, in that dim light not noticing
instantly w hat caused her so to shriek w ith
terror.
"Suddenly I realized what was happen
ing, and I seemed to bo paralysed with
(C) lO'O. International Feature Service. Inc.
"The tree, seemingly so dead and motionless a moment before, had
come to life. The palpi, 20 frail looking, had suddenly ceased to
quiver, and had coiled themselves about the girl's head and shoulders,
holding her so firmly that all her
efforts to free herself remained ab- which the maddened natives fought and
solutely useless. trod each other down to get one mouthful
of the intoxicating fluid from the tree and
the blood of the human sacrifice
"Then the 'easting began again amid
much rejoicing. The devil was appeased."
TllO nlant floiTihH hv Tlr T.n.M,a Vine?
horror The tree, seemingly so dead and
motionless a nfomenl before, had come to
life. The palpi, so frail looking, had sud
denly ceased to quiver, and had colled
themselves about tho girl's head and shoul
ders, holding her so firmly that all her
efforts to free herself remained absolutely
useless
"The green branches so rigid before be
gan to writhe, and coiled themselves round
and round like snakes. Then as that mass
Struggled there arose a horrible slpht I
shall never forget the great leaves began
to rise, slowly, very slowly. Those evil
looking thorns were now on the inside,
pointing toward tho victim and closing on
her with the force of a hydraulic press.
"As they .ame together tightly there
trickled down the trunk a pinkish mixture,
Great Britain Kifhts Reserved.
more points in common, perhaps, with the
Venus flytrap tnan any other. This pecu
liar specimen is found nowhere in the
world except in the swampy districts of
North Carolina, and even there is quite
rare It subsists by catching and eating
flies and other nsects. Dr George Y
Crlle. professor of surgery' in tho WesterL
Reserve University and our greatest war
surgeon in France and author of surgical
book-; on the war. Is authority upon the
habits and anatomy of this plant.
It is an Inconspicuous, low growing
plant, peculiar to boggy places All day
long Its trap-leaves stand agape, waiting
for prey. On the insido surfaces of each
blvalvc-Iike leaf is some sticky sweetish
stuff, attractive to insects Along comes
an unlucky fly. Unsuspecting he steps
into one of the traps. Instantly it closes
upon him with a snap and he is a "gouor."
Close examination of any one of the
trap-leave- 'eveals the fact that three very
minute hairs spring from the middlo of the
inside of each of its gaping valves. A
touch upon ono of these hairs (which are
cpnc.itlvp nflrvo.onrlcl
makes the plant
aware of the pres
ence of tho fly, and
the "clamshell"
snaps shut
If one of the hairs
be touched lightly
with the point of a
Wd pencil tho trap
will instantly close.
The plant does not
know tho difference;
it simply reacts me
chanically to the ir
ritation. But the
touch of the pencil
must not be too light
or too heavy; it must
be Just enough to
Imitate the contact
of a By or other
small insect If a
smart blow be struck
tho trap will not re
spond at all; It stays
open,
Suppose, however,
that it is a real fly.
The trap closes, its
marginal spikes in
terlocking to prevent
escape of the prey.
Folows then a re
markable phenome
non. The trap be
comes a miniature
stomach, which at
Photograph of th. Peculiar Leaves of the ?S7ti5S
Venus Flytrap Opened and Closed. tion of the captured
The process of digestion requires a num
ber of days, during which the trap lemalns
hut This being finally accomplished, it
opens, drops out the refuse of the meal
tho non-nutritious part and is ready for
another fly. It is hungry again.
Dr. Crlle says that the plant exhibits
almost as much power of perception and
discrimination as a frog a creature that
undeniably possesses a mind. It catches
flies, eats and digests them, and ejects the
refuse. A frog does tho same, responding
to the stimulus of the sight of a fly as tho
flytrap responds to the touch of the insect
If the lensitlve hairs of one of the traps
be repeatedly touched in Just the right
way it will enap shut again and again
But not more than three or four times
The energy of the plant, Mke that of man
IE
A
Mr
A Warrior of the Mkodos, the
Tribe That Sacrifices Women, Ac
cording to Dr. Leche, to the Ex
traordinary Madagascar Plant.
can be rapidly and surely exhausted by re
peated stimulation.
Finally, says Dr. Crile. if the plant bo
exposed to the fumes of ether or chloro
form, it loses consciousness for tho time
being, Just like a man. and Its traps do not
respond to irritation while the effect of tho
anaesthetic lasts. The Juiciest and most M
appetizing fly can walk all over them with- M
out peril of capture.
The treo described by Dr. Leche would
seom to bo animated by the same mys
terious reactions as activate the Venus
flytrap.
And this mechanism is mysterious, In- j
deed' Many plants exhibit all the pheno- I -
menn of nervous reactions. The common
Sensitive plant, which belongs to tho
Mimosa family, and which closes its leaves
not only at a touch, but actually at a sud
den abrupt sound, would seem to predict
for that little growth not only tactUe sesJ
but hearing The opening and closing 0?
he human hand and the opening and clos
es of the Sensitive plant leaves are p?e
Clsely the same. How are these sensation,
!SSSf What 15 lh SovernfnTboS;
roSio'ns0""" reaCtlQS from
The researches of tho famous Dr Boso I id
the Hindu scientist, have recentlv ti j SHI
great light upon the matter, and thev e0
far toward confirming Dr Leche's storv iJfifl
By means of mapnlfleatm,, , !2.ftory-
rangements of intense lights Dr Rn ?
'T''lb;"d t0 Puce actual p?ct"u?eB d "i
plant's growth and life While th 1 ? W
seem to have no fibre such J Pl&nta kit
there is a tremendous TelZlll' Ik
tween their cells The cells arl inL "
a granulated nrve Tho . ' lndeed,
be madu that SSgSSSS
nerves may be likened to J? Dlut EJ2
are a series of small bod o "with Llll
communicating impressions each fn
other. What and where the direefinl , hd W J
Is in a fentencrv what and k S, force HI
Plant brain T one of tnJ hero 18 tn
ece .tUl have to reveal my3terl Mt
tetserarewwh? w?U SS7S
Impossible it is to be Vnn Au 6ay u is
tific expedition win .VPd that a "den.
indicated b the Gcrnin l ,the place
make a careful study JFK. n??101 aa4
plant. y 01 Ule eitraordjriarg j