1889.] Botany. 633 
first time. This is a profusion of echinid species and genera in a 
limited area surpassing anything hitherto found. Some of the thirty- 
seven genera are very rare and four are new. These are Pygospatan- 
gus, among the Spatangidae, Stomaporus among the Brissidae, 
Microlampas (CassibuHdae), and Radiocyphus (Diadematidae). 
BOTANY. 
The Flora of Central Nebraska.— A botanical collecting field 
perhaps as interesting as any to be found in the United States is the 
sand hill region of Central Nebraska. Not particularly interesting 
from its rare or remarkable flora, perhaps, but from the general igno- 
rance in regard to it. Year after year Eastern collectors have passed 
over this arid region on their road to the Rockies, preferring pleasanter 
collecting fields. 
This summer, while on a collecting trip for the Department of 
Agriculture, in company with Lawrence Bruner, western entomological 
agent for the Department, I spent several days on the Dismal and Loup 
Rivers, in Thomas county, Nebraska. As this is in the very heart 
of the sand hill region, a few notes especially on the Dismal River 
trip may not be without interest. 
We started for the Dismal River, of which we had heard much from 
the settlers, in the early morning of the 1 2th of July. We were accom- 
panied by Mr. Wright, a farmer of the place (Thedford), and Mr. 
Harper, a sportsman. For several miles we drove up the valley of the 
Middle Loup River, here a stream about fifty feet wide, averaging 
three feet deep, and with a remarkably swift current (about eight 
miles an hour). In the valley the grass is very rank, composed chiefly 
of Agropyrum glauatm R. & S., Kceleria cristata Pers., Elymus cana- 
densis L., Panicum virgatum L., etc., intermixed with sedges, and in 
places with rank growths of Onoclea sensibilis L., and Aspidium thelyp- 
teris (L.) Swartz. 
We soon left the bottom lands, and began climbing the sand hills up 
over the divide. From all that I had heard of them I expected now 
a long, tedious ride, but not so. I was surprised at the great variety 
of flowers we found. We were kept constantly busy pointing out the 
different kinds and watching the flight of insects. At times we 
wearied our driver not a little by the frequency of our stops, although 
for a farmer he was quite a naturalist. The prairies were spotted with 
the great white flowers of Argemone platyceras Link and Otto, and 
