742 EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 [ETH. ANN. 17 
No. 156249. This consists of a mixture of seed with a small amount of sand pres- 
ent. The seeds are, in about the relative order of their abundance, (a) a leguminous 
shiny seed of a dirty olive color, possibly of the genus Parosela (usually known as 
Dalea); (b) the black seed shells, flat on one side and almost invariably broken, of 
a plant apparently belonging to the family Malvaceae; (c) large, flat, nearly black 
achenia, possibly of a Coreopsis, bordered with a narrow-toothed wing; (d) the thin 
lenticular utricles of a Carex; (¢) the minute black, bluntly trihedral seeds of some 
plant of the family Polygonaceae, probably au Lriogonum. The majority ef these seeds 
have a coating of fine sand, as if their surface had originally been viscous; (/) a 
dried chrysalis bearing a slight resemblance to a seed. 
No. 156250. This bottle contains the same material as No. 156249, except that no 
larve are found, but a large, plump, brownish, lenticular seed 4 mm. in diameter, 
doubtless the seed of a Croton. 
No. 156251. A thin fragment of matter consisting of minute roots of plants par- 
tially intermixed on one surface with sand. 
No. 156252. This consists almost wholly of plant rootlets and contains a very 
slight amount of sand. ; 
No. 156254. This consists of pieces of rotten wood through which had grown the 
rootlets of plants. The wood, upon a microscopical examination, is shown to be that 
of some dicotyledonous tree of a very loose and light texture. The plant rootlets in 
most cases followed the large ducts that run lengthwise through the pieces of wood 
and take up the greater part of the space. 
No. 156255. The mass contained in this bottle is made up of (a) grains, contained 
in their glumes or husks, of some grass, probably Oryzopsis membranacea ; (b) what 
appears to be the minute spherical spore cases of some microscopical fungus. The 
spore cases have a wall with a shiny brown covering, or apparently with this cover- 
ing worn off and exhibiting an interior white shell. Within this is a very large 
number of spherical spore-like bodies of a uniform size; (c) a few plant rootlets. 
No. 156256. Tie material in this bottle is similar to that, in 156255 except that the 
amount of rootlets is greater, the grass seeds are of a darker color, seemingly some- 
what more disorganized, and somewhat more slender in form, and that the spore 
cases seem to be entirely wanting. 
No. 156257. The material in this bottle is similar to that in No. 156249, contain- 
ing the seeds numbered a, b, c, and d mentioned under that number, besides a greater 
amount of plant rootlets and some fragments of corncob. 
No. 156258. ‘This consists almost entirely of plant rootlets and sand. 
No. 156259. This consists chiefly of the leaves of some coniferous tree, either an 
Abies or a Pseudotsuga. 
All the seeds with the exception of those of the leguminous plant are dead and 
their seed-coats rotten. The leguminous seeds are still hard and will be subjected 
to a germination test.' 
Yor a specific and positive identification of these seeds it will be necessary eisher 
for a botanist to visit the region from which they came or to have at his disposal a 
complete collection of the plants of the vicinity. Under such conditions he could 
by process of exclusion identify the seeds with an amount of labor almost infinitely 
less than would be required in their identification by other means. 
Very sincerely yours 
J of D : ; 
FREDERICK VY. COVILLE, Botanist. 
1 They failed to germinate. 
