68 Expedition to the 



look an extensive waste of sand, terminated towards the 

 south and east, only by the verge of the sky, towards the 

 west and northwest, by the snowy summits of the Spanish 

 mountains. As our way led across the general course of the 

 streams, we met with no water, except such as was still 

 standing in puddles, which had been filled by the late rains. 

 Near one of these we halted to dine. The thermometer hang- 

 ing in the shade of our tent, which was the most perfect, and 

 indeed the only shade we could find, stood at 100». The 

 little water we could procure was thick with mud, and swarm- 

 ing with the larv« of mosquitoes, but this we regretted the 

 less, as we had no cooking to perform. We dined upon jei-k- 

 ed meat from our packs. Some animals seen at a distance, 

 were at first mistaken for bisons, but were found by the hun- 

 ters sent in pursuit of them, to be horses, and too wild and 

 V)gilant to be taken. 



A species of cone flower (Rudbeckia tagetes^ with an 

 elongated receptacle, and large red brown radial florets, was 

 observed, about the margin of the stagnant pool, near which 

 we halted.* 



We also collected the Linum rigidumP and a semiprocum- 

 bent species of Sida, which appears to be undescribed. It is a 

 little larger than the S. spinosa^ to which it has some general 

 resemblance. 



The whole tract, passed in this day's journey of twenty- 

 seven miles, is sterile and sandy. At sunset we were so for- 

 tunate as to meet with another small pool of water, at which 

 we pitched our tent, and kindled a fire with the dung of the 



* R. lagetes, Hirsute, stem much branched, somewhat grooved', radical 

 leaves subentire spatulate, linear or pinnatifid; cauline leaves interrupted- 

 ly pinnatifid, the divisions irregular in form and position, but usually li- 

 near; branches alternate or scattered; peduncles grooved, short, few flow- 

 ered, terminal: ray fioiorets [5-8] recurved, red-brown: disk dark-brown: 

 receptacle columnar but proportionally much shorter than that of R. colum- 

 naris, to which species the one under consideration is allied. Flint about 

 twelve inches high, growing in clusters, and having by its numerous 

 branches and finely divided leaves, a remote resemblance to Anthemis 

 cotula. 



