50 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 70 



Two sections were made from the coast across the western range 

 of the Andes to the interior Andean \'alley ; one in the south from 

 Santa Rosa to Loja and the other near the center of the country from 

 Guayaquil to Rioljamha. A longitudinal section was made down 

 the Andean A'alley from San Antonio to Loja. This last section 

 was over the route followed by Alexander von Humboldt at the 

 beginning of the eighteenth century. Alany of the plants collected 

 by him on this memorable journey were recollected. 



Figures 45 to 56 show the nature of the country, some unusual 

 types of vegetation, the class of buildings, market scenes, and native 

 inhabitants. 



BOTANICAL FIELD-WORK IN THE SOUTHWESTERN 

 UNITED STATES 



During the month of August, 1918, Mr. A. S. Hitchcock, syste- 

 matic agrostologist of the Department of Agriculture and custodian 

 of the section of grasses of the Division of Plants in the L". S. 

 National Museum, visited Arkansas, Oklahoma. Texas, and Colo- 

 rado for the purpose of studying the grasses. In Arkansas, Okla- 

 homa, and eastern Texas the season was unusually dry and hot. As 

 the grasses were in an unfavorable condition for stud}' little time was 

 spent in these states. Collections were made at Fayetteville and 

 Pine Blufif in Arkansas, Stillwater in Oklahoma, and Fort Worth 

 in northeastern Texas. At Amarillo in northwestern Texas the 

 season was more favorable and the grasses were in good condition 

 for study. 



Amarillo is situated in the midst of a ])lain and the flora is charac- 

 teristic of much of the Great Plains region of the western parts of 

 Texas and Kansas, and of the eastern parts of New Mexico and 

 Colorado. Grasses form the dominant vegetation, and the collection 

 here represented 30 species. Bufifalo grass (Biilbilis dacfyloidcs) 

 forms patches of sod, but most of the species are bunch grasses and 

 do not form a continuous covering to the soil. The most common are 

 the grama grasses (Boufcloiia liirsiita and B. gracilis) and the needle 

 grasses {Aristida loiigiscta, A. purpurea, and A. wrightii). An 

 interesting species (Eragrostis harrclicri) was found here in small 

 (piantity, evidently being a newcomer. The species is a native of 

 southern Furope and appeared a few }ears ago in southern Texas, 

 the first collection being made in 1894 by A. A. Heller at Kerrville. 

 In 1897 J- ^'- Smith collected it at the same place and also at Llano. 



