490 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. [1885. 



Juniper, Maple, Madrona, Choke-cherry, Mulberry, Willow, Shrubby 

 Trefoil, &c. The Arroyo Grape ( Vitis riparia) is abundant in places. 

 About 8 miles above the point where the trail joins the cafion, Pine tim- 

 ber begins, and is thereafter quite common southward. Near its head 

 the cafion spreads out and discloses vast grassy slopes covered with 

 fine groves of large Gray Oak. 



On old trails are found mescal pits where the Indians used to bake 

 the bulbous bases of the Agave Wislizeni, the common Maguey of these 

 mountains. 



FROM THE GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS TO EL PASO. 



West of the Guadalupe Range, on the El Paso road, are small, iso- 

 lated mountains: The Cornudas, irregular agglomerations of huge vol- 

 canic boulders; Wind, Alamo, and, farther west, Hueco Mountains, all 

 containing, in the shelter of canons, a fair growth of small tim ber, consist- 

 ing principally of Gray Oak {Quercus grisea), under several interesting 

 forms which seem to connect it with Q. Urnoryi, and Red Cedar [Juni- 

 perus occidentalis), the latter bearing a peculiar pink-berried Mistletoe 

 (Phoradendron BoUeanum). On the southwest slope of Alamo Mount- 

 ain is a seeping spring around which stands a conspicuous grove of 

 Cottonwood; it might prove interesting to speculate upon the manner 

 of introduction of this tree at this remotely isolated point. 



From the Cornudas to the Hueco Mountains, the luxuriant gra«8 

 (mostly Gramas) could hardly be excelled in quantity and quality; un- 

 fortunately, water is almost entirely absent. 



LIMPIO MOUNTAINS. 



These mountains consist of several ranges extending north and west 

 from Fort Davis for many miles. Several of their summits and slopes 

 are finely timbered, while the main valleys are watered by clear, swift 

 brooks emptying into the Limpio. Northeast of Limpio Peak is the 

 " Pinery," where a Government saw-mill has been in operation for sev- 

 eral years. 



The timber trees are: Yellow Pine {Pinus ponderosa), most prevalent, 

 yielding clear lumber 18 inches wide ; Flexible Pine (Pinus JtexiUs), of 

 about the same size but not so common ; Nut Pine {Pinus edulis), pleu 

 tiful on lower ridges and in valleys, often large enough to be sawn but 

 making inferior lumber; Thick-bark Juniper (Juniperus pachyphloea), the 

 only kind seen in the Pine district. 



Along the branches of the Limpio, grow: A shrubby Oak {Quercus 

 hypoleuca), not before observed outside of Arizona ; a somewhat larger 

 kind, Quercus rubra, var. Texana, and scattered specimens of Texas 

 Green Ash. The horridly spinose Adolphia infesta is abundant on in- 

 terior foot-hills, and the hardly less obnoxious Ceanothus Fendleri hedges 

 many arroyos. A new Astragalus {A. giganteus, Watson), remarkable 

 for its size, was collected near the base of Limpio Peak. 



Fort Davis stands under the Limpio Mountains, at an altitude of 



