154 ERYTHEA. 
Madre on the south, and at the point of junction is Gorman, 
a few miles on this side of the summit of the pass that lies 
within thirty miles of Bakersfield. The soil immediately 
surrounding Lancaster, and for twenty miles west thereof, is 
little cultivated, but beyond that point the valley, in almost 
its whole extent, may be considered as land fertile and 
fruitful. 
About midway on this journey is the Colony of Manzana 
where about three thousand acres of the land bordering the 
southern foothills is occupied by neatly cultivated and thriv- 
ing orchards of almond trees. The remainder of the valley 
where cultivated is sown with wheat. This year, doubtless 
owing to the opportune rains of winter, the wild plants all 
over this section have not only been more abundant than I 
have ever seen them but the colored species are of a deeper, 
richer tint. The mind may picture, to some extent, perhaps, 
the gorgeous effects produced by the acres on acres of 
wheat fields and hillsides aglow with Eschscholtzias, their 
petals of burnished gold and crimson reflecting the rays of 
the noon-day sun, while here and there large and deep blue 
patches of Salvia carduacea and the purple of Orthocarpus 
purpurascens amidst the golden Eschscholtzia heightens 
the beauty of the scene. Amsinckia spectabilis, F. & M., 
known here by the rather appropriate name of “ Woolly 
Breeches,” is very abundant, and in the uncultivated or neg- 
lected fields it seems for a season or two, with Tropidocar- 
pum scabriusculum, Hook., to monopolize the soil. 
As we continued our journey, the valley gradually nar- 
rowed until the terminus was reached at Gorman, where it is 
but a narrow pass. There we arrived at six o'clock and 
made our quarters in the old hostelry. The next morning 
the stiff breeze of the day before had increased to a gale, so 
we turned our faces to the southern hills, and explored the 
sheltered valleys on that side, 
As the object of this paper is to list the various plants of 
this district that are mostly unrecorded for the county, I 
shall omit all reference to the commoner species. The first 
