1890.) Zoölogy. 183 
By the side of the creek, at the base of the rock, I found Zatomia 
obtusata Gray, Elymus canadensis La, Panicum virgatum L., P. crus-galli 
G., and P. crus-galli var. hispidum Gr., Aristida purpurea Nutt., Bou- 
teloua oligostachya Torr., Munroa squarrosa Torr., Oryzopsis cuspidata 
Benth., Sporobolus mans Torr., and Cenchrus arideloides I. 
The Sand-burs have probably ‘ii introduced in the Pampkin creek 
valley in the wool of sheep which have been herded there. 
Nores.—I did not find Munroa north of the Platte river valley. 
Andropogon hallii grew on the foot hills between Camp Clarke and the 
Court House ridge. These hills are sandy but are not true “sand 
hills,” as that name is applied in the West. 
Distichlis maritima is the chief pasture grass of the Platte valley in 
this vicinity! Other grasses, Buchloé, Bouteloua oligostachya, Spartina 
cynosurotdes, Agropyrum glaucum, Hordeum jubatum, Setaria glauca, S. 
viridis, Munroa squamosa, and Panicum crus-galli also occur, but by no 
means as abundantly as the Distichlis. 
I visited from fifteen to twenty of the islands in the river at this 
point. I found two grasses other than the common Platte valley 
species. They were Giyceria distans Wahl., and Sporobolus depaupe- 
ratus Torr. The characteristic plant of these islands is Shepherdia 
argentea, a small shrubby tree known as the Buffalo-berry.—Jarep G. 
SMITH, Lincoln, Neb. 
ZOOLOGY. 
The U.S. Fish Commission.—Anthozoa and Echinoderm- 
ata of the Gulf Stream Slope of the New England Coast. 
—At various times during 1882, Prof. A. E. Verrill has given to the 
world notice of the remarkable marine fauna, to a great extent tropical 
in character, occupying the outer slope of the continental plateau off 
the southern coast of New England. The abundance of animal life 
on these banks may be judged from the fact that at a single haul, made 
on September 1, 1881, over ten thousand specimens were procured. In 
Prof. Verrill’s words ‘‘a large number of species, belonging to various 
zoological groups, in this region are found living gregariously, in vast 
numbers, at particular spots, while they may not occur at all, or only 
sparingly, at other stations in similar depths, and apparently identical 
in temperature and character of bottom.”’ 
Among the discoveries of new and rare species during 1881, are 
the following Anthozoa: Urticina longicornis, U. perdix, U. callosa, 
