1885.] PEOCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 529 



Vol. VIII, i¥o. 34. Washington, D. C. Sept. 30, 1885. 



and excellent pastures in the Limpio, Guadalupe, and Eagle Mountains, 

 on the Staked Plains, Upper Pecos, Delaware Creek, &c. 



Texas Grama {B. Texana) ; small but excellent, common about San 

 Antonio, thence eastward and southward to the coast and the Rio 

 Grande. 



B. Humboldtiana, common on the mesas of Eagle Pass and Lower 

 Rio Grande ; B. Havardii, on the high prairies of Presidio County. 



Equal or superior to the Gramas in quality, but less generally dis- 

 tributed, is the famed Buffalo or Mezquit- Grass (Buchloe dactyloides). 

 This invaluable grass, densely tufted and spreading by stolons into 

 broad mats, is the best constituent of sheep pastures. It extends from 

 Northeastern Texas, San Antonio, and Laredo westward to the branches 

 of the Concho. Although hardy and fast spreading, it does not thrive 

 on the dry, sandy plains of the far Southwest, and is rare beyond the 

 Pecos. 



A bunch-grass, frequently seen on the bluffs of the Rio Grande and 

 its tributaries, from El Paso to the Great Canon, with the habit of a 

 Grama, and of excellent quality, is Cathestechum erectum, hitherto unno- 

 ticed north of the Rio Grande. 



From the Concho and Abilene westward to El Paso the most coni- 

 mou grass on bottoms and low prairies is Hilaria mutica, sometimes 

 called Wire-Grass, which, in the absence of Gramas, affords good graz- 

 ing for horses and cattle. It forms the bulk of the hay consumed at 

 Camp Rice. Another species of this genus, S. cenchroides, a smaller 

 and more delicate grass, grows on the high prairies of Eagle Pass, ex- 

 tending sparingly westward to the prairie district of Marfa. 



Common and important is the Red Awned-Grass (Aristida purpurea). 

 Under different forms it extends from Dallas, San Antonio, and the 

 Lower Rio Grande to the Rio Concho and the Pecos ; thence, in less 

 frequency, over the Staked Plains to El Paso. It forms a large pro- 

 portion and is one of the best constituents of the hay cut about San 

 Antonio. Another species, A. dispersa, is likewise common in the 

 West, but of inferior quality. 



The Pappophorum ^Yrig]ltii, which from its hue might be called Pur- 

 ple Grass, is fully the equal of Grama or Buffalo-Grass in nutritive 

 value. I have seen horses and mules turn from green and thrifty 

 Grama to feed on this plant. Unfortunately it is nowhere common; I 

 noticed it on the Pecos and Concho, in the Guadalupe Mountains, and 

 on the broad plains between Alamo Spring and the Hueco Mountains. 

 Another species, P. vaginatum, common about Eagle Pass, is a coarser 

 grass. 



Less important than the preceding, but also of considerable value, are 

 the following : 



Sporobolus airoides, the Salt Grass of the Pecos •, grows on all the low 

 Proc. Nat. Mus. 85 34 



