MEADOWS, FIELDS AND PASTUBES—SPBING 111 





round siliquas, about half an incli in diameter, with a broad wing 

 notched at the top. 



The same order includes the Cuckoo Flower, Lady's Smock, 

 or Meadow Bittercress {Cardamine pratensis), which is certainly one 

 of our prettiest spring flowers, growing in abundance in most moist 

 meadows, and flower- 

 ing from April to June. 

 It has a short root- 

 stock, with small, 

 fleshy scales, often so 

 much swollen as to 

 resemble tubers ; and 

 the stem is erect, either 

 simple or branched, 

 and a foot or more in 

 height. The leaves 

 are pinnately divided, 

 the leaflets of the lower 

 ones being ovate or 

 round, and those of 

 the upper ones very 

 narrow. The flowers 

 are rather large, white 

 or Ulac in colour, 

 with stamens about 

 half as long as the 

 petals, and yeUow an- 

 thers. The fruits are 

 usually more than an 

 inch in length. 



One of the common 

 weeds of cultivated 

 fields is the pretty 

 Wild Pansy or Heartsease {Viola tricolor), of the order Violacece. 

 The plant may be easily recognised by its resemblance to the Garden 

 Pansy, which is a variety of the same species. It is very variable, 

 both in regard to its general build, and to the colour and size 

 of the flowers. The plant is either smooth or sHghtly downy, 

 and its branching stem varies fi'om four to ten inches in length. The 

 leaves are oblong or cordate, with crenate edges ; and each one 

 has a large, leafy stipule which is divided into oblong or very narrow 



THE RAGGED ROBIN. 



