32 



ing region, the Sabinal Valley, perhaps one of the most inviting regious 

 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 v w r ere being re- 

 ceived. The first evening at Uvalde Mr. Hale, my teamster, brought me 

 a fine specimen of Leersia oryzoides 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 Helica 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 Eiver. 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 haccata, that forms a prominent feature of the flora of 

 this region and is frequent all over 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 seerc 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- 

 age. 



Leaving Eagle Pass, we rode for some distance along the Kio 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, Uragrostis 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 placiug together the stems and leaves of the 

 Spanish bayonet, Yucca baccata, thus making a serviceable fence. The 



