236 Planted LindheimeriaiKZ. 



Oak. Swampy places are often densely covered with Mar- 

 silea macropoda, like fields of clover. 



" Ten to twenty miles from the coast the country rises into 

 the "rolling prairies." Along the rivers Quercus macro- 

 carpa, Taxodium distichum, and Carya oliva3formis constitute 

 large forests of vigorous growth. The groves of the prairies 

 are principally formed by Sophora speciosa, Condalia obovata, 

 and Diospyros Texana. The prairies themselves are richly 

 studded by flowers, among which the blue and fragrant Lu- 

 pinus Texensis and different species of red and yellow Casti- 

 lejas are most conspicuous. 



"About one hundred miles from the coast the country 

 becomes hilly ; conglomerate rocks are frequently seen ; the 

 streams are more rapid and clear and often expose horizontal 

 strata of cretaceous rocks. Elm and Cypress are the principal 

 trees along the rivers ; Sycamores, Linden, and Hackberry are 

 sparsely mixed with them. Many curious shrubs, among them 

 the Ungnadia, are found in these river-forests. Here, also, 

 the Muskit trees (Algarobia) make their first appearance, 

 indicating the region of the Arborescent Mimosese ; they form 

 open woods, where the level ground, often overflowed in the 

 rainy season, brings forth abundance of the thin and wiry but 

 nutritious " Muskit grasses " (Aristida, Atheropogon, and 

 others). Many other interesting plants are found in these 

 " Muskit-flats." 



" In this region, and at the base of the first plateau, are 

 located the towns of San Antonio, New Braunfels, and 

 Austin, in a delightful climate, where snow or ice are rarely 

 seen, and where the summer heat, tempered by the sea- 

 breezes, never becomes uncomfortable. The spring, which 

 at the coast sets in in January and early February, com- 

 mences here a month or six weeks later. During the sum- 

 mer the weather is usually dry, and the vegetation languishes, 

 but the rains of the latter part of August and September soon 

 cause the whole country again to be clothed in fresh verdure. 



