482 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. [1B85. 



the slender-stemmed Acacia constricta, and the ample-panicled Bigclovia 

 pulchella. Common also is a narrow-leaved, large-fruited form of Yucca 

 angustifoUa. 



The other plants noted in the Sand Hills are : (Enothera trichocalyxy 

 rhomboidea and serrulata ; the tall Ganra villosa, with crisp, silvery 

 leaves ; a large-flowered flax {Limim Berlandieri) ; the showy HeUotro- 

 pium convolvulaceum ; the remarkable spectacle-fruited Dithyrwa Wiii- 

 lizeni; a small- flowered form of Jatropha Texana, and — Cristatella Jamesiiy 

 Hoffmanseggia Jamesii. Dalea Janata, Ahronia fragrans, Oxyhaphus an- 

 gustifolius, Pentstemon amhiguus, Oldenlandia humifusa, Artemisia Can- 

 adensis and JiUfolia, Gaillardia puIcJiella, Palafoxia Hoolxeriana. 



The only Grasses seen were a stout Andropagon (near A.furcatius), 3 to 

 5 feet high, with running roots holding the loose soil in their meshes j 

 a Sporoboliis (probably form of S. cryptandrus), likewise erect and tall j 

 and a large form of Cenchrus myosuroides. 



PEAIRIES. 



East of the Staked Plains, above, and of the Pecos, below, the land 

 of Western and Southern Texas, either as broken plain or undulating 

 prairie, is more or less covered with nutritious grass, and its capability 

 for the raising of stock is chiefly limited by the water supply. 



In the Pan Handle the grass is abundant and nutritious, but water is 

 scant away from the Canadian and the forks of the Bed River. 



West of the Pecos there is a vast prairie region bounded about as fol- 

 lows : East, by a line running from the mouth of San Francisco Creek to 

 Fort Davis ; north, by the Limpio Mountains and the line of hills and 

 bluffs extending thence to Sierra Blanca ; west and south, by the moun- 

 tain ranges lining the valley of the Eio Grande, viz., Eagle, Vieja, Ca- 

 pote, Chenate, Bofecillos, and Chisos Mountains, thus excluding the Eio 

 Grande Valley and the Chisos Basin. Within these limits the grass 

 can hardly be excelled. Unfortunately water is very scarce; there is 

 no running stream, permanent springs are few, and most of the water- 

 holes give out in dry seasons. There is hardly any doubt that in many 

 places an abundant supply could be obtained by boring, as at Marfa. 

 This prairie region is traversed by many ranges of hills and bluffs, and 

 cut up by many arroyos and ravines ; much of it, however, is simply 

 undulating or nearly level. At Marfa, the eye ranges in all directions 

 over a vast expanse of meadow land, level and smooth like a sea of 

 grass. 



Other excellent prairie land, west of the Pecos, deserves mention : A 

 large area watered by Independence Creek and extending thence to- 

 wards Meyer's Spring; the Delaware Creek Basin, and the eastern 

 base of the Guadalupe Mountains north of this creek ; the belt from 

 the Cornudas to the Hueco Mountains extending north and south 

 many miles. 



