82 



even currants and gooseberries, but these two last do not' 



d.0 well. n J • 



Elcearia lias a few acres of various kinds oi fruit 

 around inany of its dwellings . • 



There Col. Jno. M. Moore, measured a pear tree, which 

 is called by him the Caroline pear tree, in honor of a little 

 daughter of its proprietor, whose name I have forgotten. 



The tree has a circumferance of ten feet at the height of 

 six feet from the ground, a spread of limb of more than sixty 

 feet and estimated height of about fifty feet. It is 

 pyramidal in shape. 



All things considered, this valley seems to be one of the 

 laest fruit regions in the State. 



1 



TREES AND PLANTS. 



The "Siempre vivre," of the Mexicans, or the "Resur- 

 rection plant" of the florists {Selaginella lepidopJiylla), 

 grows on limestones, at or near the tops of hills and moun- 

 tains, from the Pecos river, near old Fort Lancaster, 

 westward to the Rio Grande. 



It has the remarkable property of reviving when placed 

 in water or in a moist soil, after having been dry and 

 apparently dead for xuonths or years. 



Some of the western grasses are almost equally tena- 

 cious of life: during drouths they are dry, withered and 

 apparently dead, losing their green color; but when rains 

 come and thoroughly wet the ground, these same grasses 

 become green and begin to grow again, imparting addi- 

 tional beauty to the landscape, and afford nutritious food 

 for herbivorous animals. 



The buffalo grass (Buchloa sesleroides), is a well knowji 

 example. ' 



There is a plant which is a native of Palestine and 

 Arabia, which also will recover its original form, however 

 dry it may be, on being immersed in water. jIt is called 

 the rose of Sharon, or rose of Jerico. Its botanical name 

 is Anastatica, of the natural order crucifera. The follow- 

 ing somewhat exaggerated notice of it appeared in a late 

 publication : 



The rose of Sharon is one of the most exquisite flowers 

 in shape and hue;' Its blossoms are bell-shaped, of many 

 mingled hues and dyes, and its history of legendry are 

 romantic in the highest degree. In the east,' throughout 



