_ 82 
ing region, the Sabinal Valley, perhaps one of the most inviting regions 
in Texas to the botanist. 
Passing from the Sabinal to Uvalde, a similar vegetation presented 
itself as that towards the Hondo; the same kinds of shrubbery and 
cactus growths. All over these western regions vegetation at that time 
was probably at its worst, the dry weather having continued so long. 
It may be noted here that some of the settlers had asked for State aid, 
which had been granted. I heard that in several of the settlements 
west of San Antonio provisions and ‘ drought-money ” were being re- 
ceived. The first evening at Uvalde Mr. Hale, my teamster, brought me 
a fine specimen of Leersia or yzoides: that he found in a swampy place 
by a creek, one of the branches of the Nueces. Probably this is the 
western limit of this grass. We visited Leona Mountain, near Uvalde. 
On its summit I found a few specimens of Melica diffusa, Panicum lacnan- 
thum and Setaria caudata, At Uvalde I was informed that not only 
loads of prickly pear were hauled into the town, but also that quantities 
of sotol, for stock feed, were brought from the mountains west. 
Soon after leaving Uvalde we crossed the Nueces, by whose clear 
water several grasses were flourishing—the same kinds that I found by 
the San Antonio River. From the Nueces to Eagle Pass, with our route 
still marked by the absence of grass and the abundance of prickly pear 
among the numerous shrubs, I noticed the few cattle here and there, and, 
as some one said, ‘looking like walking skeletons.” I heard sundry 
reports of a number of cattle dying from starvation. I saw some of the 
cattle feeding or trying to feed on the prickly pear, and in two or three | 
instances I noticed the cattle attacking the long leaves of the Spanish 
bayonet, Yucca baccata, that forms a prominent feature of the flora of 
this region and is frequent allover western Texas. At Eagle Pass the 
surrounding country looked indee d barren and desolate; in most places 
on the hills not even a shrub with green foliage. But I was informed 
that after continued rains the mesas of this region are covered with 
good grass. All over western Texas it would seem as if there must be 
quantities of seed in the soil. No matter how barren or rocky a place 
may be, a season of rain is followed by a coating of grass and other herb- 
e. 
Leaving Eagle Pass, we rode for some distance along the Rio Grande _ 
and came to a place on the bottom land favored with a very luxuriant 
vegetation. Here I found excellent specimens of Setaria setosa, Sorghum 
halepense, Eragrostis capillaris, and other grasses that flourish in moist — 
situations. The grasses at this place were mixed with luxuriant growths ‘ 
of other herbaceous plants. Prominent here were the tall stalks of — 
Phragmites communis, and still more conspicuous on the islands in the — 
river were the taller stalks of Arundo donax. From the river our route — 
led by one of the coal mines, and near one of the shafts I took notice 
of an inclosure formed by placing together the stems and leaves of the 
Spanish bayonet, Yucca baccata, thus making a serviceable fence. The 
