494 PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. [1885. 



vine Creeks. Into these, and the Eio Grande, empty many canons and 

 ravines containing more or less Hackberry, Willow, Nogal {Juglans ru- 

 pestris), Buckeye ( Ungnadia speciosa), Sumac [Ehus copallina and virens), 

 and Mulberry {Morus microphylla)) sometimes, Cottonwood and Texas 

 Green Ash, shading springs. The uplands bear scattered clumps of Ce- 

 dar and Gray Oak. These general remarks apply to the range of smooth, 

 grassy blufls extending to Los Alamos de Cesario Creek ; thence to 

 Agua Fria, the country is more rocky and barren. 



CHISOS MOUNTAINS. 



The Great Bend of the E.io Grande, extending from the Tarlinga on 

 the west, to the Maravillas on the east, is, with the exception of parts 

 of the Staked Plains, the most sterile and unattractive region of West 

 Texas, The Rossillo Mountains are the best part of it and the only one 

 where the grazing of large herds is at all possible. They are covered from 

 base to summit with fine grass in ordinary seasons, and have four or 

 five permanent springs, two or three of which are shaded with Cotton- 

 wood. 



The Chisos Mountains are very imposing from their height and bulk. 

 They contain a fair amount of smnll timber and their valleys and slopes 

 are lined with good grass, but, owing apparently to their ge'ological for- 

 mation, are so destitute of permanent water as to preclude their settle- 

 ment by stockmen. The broad plains surrounding them are barren and 

 dreary in the extreme. 



The only Pine on the Chisos is the Nut Pine {Pinns edulis) which 

 covers the summits and many of the upper slopes ; it is often a foot 

 in diameter and 40 feet high. With it are two species of Cedar, shrubs 

 or small trees, Juniperus occidentalis and J. Jlaccida, the latter not be- 

 fore observed north of the Rio Grande. 



In valleys, the Texas Red Oak {Quercus rubra, var. Texana), a medium 

 tree, is the prevalent kind. Gray Oak {Q. grisea), of small size, is com- 

 mon on foot-hills. Quercus Emoryi, of medium size, occupies almost ex- 

 clusively several of the caiions. More rare is Q. Durandii. 



Other trees seen in high caDous, but uncommon, are: a Maple [Acer 

 grandidentaium), also growing in the Guadalupe and Organ Mountains ; a 

 ('herry-tree {Prtinus CapuU)^ both of medium size; and an Ash (Fraxinus 

 cuspidata) somewhat smaller. 



Of shrubs the following are sparingly found: 

 Gercis reniformis. 



Sophora secundiflora. ♦ 



Arbutus Xalapensis. 

 Samhucus Canadensis. 



Bhamnus serrulata (new to the United States). 

 Spiraea discolor. 



