The Yellow Rattle (_Rhinanthus Crista-galli_), of the order _Scrophulariaceæ_, is abundant in damp pastures, flowering from May to July. It is a parasitic species, deriving a portion of its food, in the form of ready-made organic compounds, from the roots of surrounding grasses, and its parasitic habits are referred to in Chapter XXIII. Its stem is erect, from six to eighteen inches high; and the leaves are sessile, opposite, lanceolate, and coarsely toothed. The calyx is almost globular, slightly flattened, with four small teeth. The yellow corolla has a tube longer than the calyx, and terminates in two lips, one or both of which have often a purple spot. The stamens are in two pairs; and the fruit is an almost globular capsule, containing a few large, flat seeds. In similar situations we may find the Field Louse-wort (_Pedicularis sylvatica_) of the same order, also a parasitic species, extracting nourishment from the roots of grasses. It has spreading branches from three to ten inches long, more or less recumbent. Its leaves are alternately arranged, and pinnately cut into small, toothed segments. The flowers are sessile in the axils of the upper leaves, and vary in colour from rose to white. The calyx is broadly oblong, with five unequal lobes. The tube of the corolla is considerably longer than the calyx; and its upper lip has a very small tooth on each side, just under the tip. The plant flowers from April to July. [Illustration: THE HENBIT DEAD NETTLE.] The only common spring labiate flower (order _Labiatæ_) of fields is the Henbit Dead Nettle (_Lamium amplexicaule_), which is frequently met with on sandy soils, flowering from April to the end of the summer. It is a low plant, seldom reaching a foot in height, with a branching stem that is too weak to stand erect. The upper leaves are sessile, round, much wrinkled, and deeply crenate; while the lower ones, of the same form, are on long petioles. The flowers are arranged in a few compact whorls, in the axils of the upper leaves. The calyx is much shorter than the tube of the corolla; and its five, pointed teeth, which are as long as the tube, bend together as the fruit ripens. The lipped corolla is of a rose or purple-red colour, about half an inch long, with a comparatively long, straight tube.