Our first species is the Rough Hawkbit (_Leontodon hispidus_), which is very abundant in all parts of Britain except the extreme north, its rather large, yellow flower-heads being often mistaken for those of the Dandelion that are frequently seen in company with them on pasture land. Its specific name is due to the short, stiff hairs, often more or less branched, that clothe all parts of the plant. The leaves are all radical, long and narrow, decreasing in width towards the base, and either coarsely toothed or deeply cut into pointed lobes. The flower-stalk widens immediately below its solitary head, which is surrounded by hairy bracts--two or three whorls of short ones without, and a whorl of long ones within. All the florets are ligulate or strap-shaped, and yellow. The fruits are long achenes, narrower towards the top; and the pappus consists of a few short, outer hairs, surrounding about twice the number of brown, feathered ones three or four times as long. The flower stalks vary from a few inches to a foot or more in height, and the flowers bloom from June to September. [Illustration: THE ROUGH HAWKBIT.] Equally abundant is the Autumnal Hawkbit (_Leontodon autumnalis_), which is also found in pastures. It is a very similar plant in many respects, but may be easily distinguished by its smaller heads of flowers on branching stalks. The flowering stems are erect, from six to eighteen inches high, each with one or two branches bearing a few small scales and a single head of flowers. The involucre consists of several rows of smooth, closely-overlapping bracts, and is narrowed at the base into the enlarged upper part of the stalk. The florets are all ligulate, as in the last species; and the pappus consists of brown, feathery hairs, all of the same length. The flowers appear during August and September. The Meadow Thistle (_Carduus pratensis_) is abundant in some of the southern counties of Britain and Ireland, but is rarely seen in the north. Nearly all the leaves of this plant are radical, and these are long, narrow, and covered with cottony hairs. The few leaves of the stem are narrow, with short teeth that are only slightly prickly. The stem itself grows from twelve to eighteen inches high, and is usually unbranched, with a single head of flowers; sometimes, however, it has one or two branches, each terminating in a flower-head. The involucre is globular in form, covered with cottony hairs, and composed of closely-placed bracts. The flowers are purple. The plant grows chiefly in moist pastures, and flowers from June to August. [Illustration: THE AUTUMNAL HAWKBIT.]