﻿298 
  Harper:. 
  A 
  week 
  in 
  eastern 
  Texas 
  

  

  the 
  eastern 
  marginal 
  prairie.) 
  The 
  topography 
  is 
  undulating 
  to 
  

   moderately 
  hilly, 
  and 
  the 
  prevailing 
  color 
  of 
  the 
  upland 
  soils 
  is 
  

   black 
  or 
  very 
  dark 
  gray. 
  The 
  soil 
  is 
  so 
  fertile 
  that 
  the 
  greater 
  

   part 
  of 
  the 
  area 
  is 
  cultivated 
  now,* 
  but 
  from 
  all 
  accounts 
  it 
  must 
  

   have 
  been 
  originally 
  a 
  typical 
  prairie, 
  for 
  there 
  seems 
  to 
  be 
  no 
  

   record 
  of 
  any 
  forest 
  except 
  along 
  streams 
  and 
  in 
  rocky 
  places. 
  

  

  Many 
  geographical 
  details 
  about 
  this 
  region, 
  with 
  occasional 
  

   references 
  to 
  vegetation, 
  can 
  be 
  found 
  in 
  Hill's 
  monograph 
  on 
  

   the 
  Black 
  and 
  Grand 
  Prairies 
  and 
  Deussen's 
  Water 
  Supply 
  

   Paper 
  335 
  previously 
  cited. 
  Published 
  botanical 
  information 
  is 
  

   rather 
  meager, 
  the 
  writer 
  having 
  found 
  nothing 
  better 
  in 
  that 
  line 
  

   than 
  a 
  list 
  of 
  a 
  few 
  of 
  the 
  characteristic 
  plants 
  published 
  by 
  

   Pammel 
  in 
  1893,! 
  and 
  another 
  short 
  list 
  in 
  Bray's 
  Bulletin 
  82. 
  

  

  The 
  species 
  observed 
  most 
  frequently 
  from 
  the 
  train, 
  between 
  

   the 
  eastern 
  edge 
  of 
  Williamson 
  County 
  and 
  Palm 
  Valley, 
  and 
  

   between 
  Austin 
  and 
  the 
  eastern 
  corner 
  of 
  Travis 
  County, 
  in 
  

   August, 
  191 
  8, 
  were 
  as 
  follows: 
  

  

  Small 
  trees 
  

  

  Prosopis 
  glandidosa 
  Hicoria 
  Pecan 
  

  

  UJmtis 
  crassifolia 
  Salts 
  longifolia? 
  

  

  I 
  

  

  Shrubs 
  and 
  vines 
  

  

  + 
  

  

  Opuntia 
  Engelmanni 
  Vitis 
  cinerea 
  

  

  Aloysia 
  Ugusirina? 
  

  

  Herbs 
  

  

  {Euphorbia 
  marginata) 
  {Sorghum 
  halapense) 
  

  

  {Ambrosia 
  Irifida) 
  ^ 
  Petalostemon 
  sp. 
  

  

  {Heliantkiis 
  annuus) 
  {TrihuUis 
  terrestris?) 
  

   {Xanthiu7n 
  sp.) 
  

  

  vegetation 
  

  

  the 
  black 
  prairies, 
  for 
  the 
  trees 
  and 
  shrubs 
  are 
  chiefly 
  confined 
  to 
  

   rocky 
  places, 
  and 
  the 
  herbs 
  are 
  nearly 
  all 
  weeds. 
  Most 
  of 
  the 
  

   herbs 
  were 
  pretty 
  well 
  dried 
  up 
  (like 
  the 
  corn 
  mentioned 
  a 
  little 
  

   farther 
  on), 
  but 
  in 
  a 
  wetter 
  season 
  doubtless 
  more 
  species 
  could 
  

   have 
  been 
  recognized. 
  

  

  * 
  Over 
  60 
  per 
  cent 
  of 
  the 
  area 
  of 
  the 
  black 
  prairie 
  counties 
  was 
  classed 
  as 
  

  

  *' 
  im- 
  

  

  proved 
  land 
  in 
  farms 
  - 
  in 
  1910. 
  and 
  along 
  my 
  route, 
  in 
  Williamson 
  and 
  Travis 
  Counties, 
  

   the 
  proportion 
  must 
  be 
  above 
  the 
  average, 
  for 
  I 
  would 
  have 
  guessed 
  it 
  to 
  be 
  something 
  

   like 
  90 
  per 
  cent. 
  

  

  t 
  Proc. 
  Iowa 
  Acad. 
  Sci. 
  t^: 
  62. 
  1S93. 
  

  

  