[Illustration: THE VERVEIN.] Passing now to the Labiates, we deal first with two species of Calamints (genus _Calamintha_), which are to be distinguished from the other genera of the order by their axillary cymes of flowers, with calyx and corolla both lipped, and the upper lip of the latter erect and flat. One of these, the common Calamint (_Calamintha officinalis_), is a hairy plant, with an erect, branched stem, one or two feet high, and stalked, ovate, toothed leaves. The whorls of flowers are compound, in forked, axillary cymes. The calyx is tubular, with thirteen ribs and five pointed teeth. The three upper teeth are united at their base to form the upper lip, while the other two, longer and narrower, form the lower. The corolla is almost twice as long as the calyx, with an upper, erect lip, and a lower lip with three broad lobes. The stamens are four in number, in pairs, under the upper lip. The Lesser Calamint (_C. Nepeta_) is a very similar plant, by some held to be merely a variety of _C. officinalis_. Its leaves are shortly stalked, but slightly toothed, and only about half an inch in length. The flowers are about as long as the leaves, arranged in whorls of eight or ten, with corolla about half as long again as the calyx. In both species the mouth of the calyx is hairy, but the hairs are much more prominent in the Lesser Calamint than in the last. Both plants are frequently seen on sunny waysides, flowering during July and August. [Illustration: THE BALM.] The Balm (_Melissa officinalis_) is a common garden herb in some parts, and in the South of England it is now fairly established as a wild flower, though, at present, it is not often found very far from the habitations of man. It is a hairy plant, much like a Calamint in general appearance, growing from one to three feet high, and bearing white flowers in July and August. Its leaves are stalked, ovate, acute, toothed or crenate, of a pale green below; and the flowers are shortly-stalked, in few-flowered, axillary whorls. The Black Horehound (_Ballota nigra_), shown on Plate III, Fig. 2, is a coarse, hairy plant, with an unpleasant odour, commonly seen on roadsides and wastes, flowering continuously from the beginning of June to September or October. Its erect stem often exceeds three feet in height, and branches more or less freely. The purple flowers are in dense clusters in the axils of the leaves, and beneath them are several narrow, stiff bracts. The calyx is about a third of an inch long, green or purple-green in colour, with ten prominent ribs, and five broad teeth which usually terminate abruptly in a fine, stiff point. The corolla is of a purple colour, twice as long as the calyx, with an arched, oval upper lip; and a slightly longer lower lip of three segments, the middle one of which is the largest. THE HEDGE WOUNDWORT.