March ii, 1891.] 



Garden and Forest. 



1 1 1 



and in a foot-note he refers his readers for further proof of 

 this to a comparison of Thunberg's " Flora Japonica" with the 

 "Flora Virginica" of Gronovius. Again, in his account of 

 the Catalpa, p. 212, he remarks : "This is one of the plants 

 common to the eastern coasts of America and Asia which 

 prove the analogy of the two climates." 



The three plates give good figures of the Franklinia, made 

 undoubtedly from the specimen in Bartram's Garden, the 

 Poison Sumach and the Bear Oak, though I cannot find that 

 they have ever been cited. 



It may be added that the simple grace of his style makes 

 Castiglioni's work one of the most readable of the early con- 

 tributions to our botanical literature, and it deserves to be 

 known to all lovers of our plants acquainted with his 

 language. It has been so strangely neglected, however, that 

 many to whom the book would be of interest are perhaps 

 ignorant of its very existence, and it may be doing some 

 service, therefore, to call attention to the fact that " the story 

 is extant and written in very choice Italian." 



Jamaica Plain, Mass. C. h. ra.XOTl. 



The Sleepy Grass. 



IN contributions from the United States National Herbarium 

 (No. 2, issued June 28th, 1890), Dr. Vasey describes Stipa 

 viridula, Trim, var. robusta : A stout, leafy, densely tufted 

 grass, four to six feet high, growing in thick clumps, with 

 broad and loose sheaths longer than the internodes, and flat, 

 wide blades often two feet long. Dr. Vasey informs me that 

 it is very common in New Mexico, reaching northward through 

 Colorado, probably to the hilly parts of South Dakota. South- 

 ward it extends through Texas into Mexico. 



In 1879 Di\ Palmer collected this plant in Coahuila, Mexico. 

 He noted that it was considered poisonous to cattle, horses 

 and sheep, having a temporary narcotic effect upon them, and 

 that it was only eaten by strange animals, being shunned by 

 the native animals which have once experienced its effects 

 {Bull. Torrey Bot. Club, xiv., 99). Dr. Vasey also noticed that 

 it was not eaten by cattle during the summer, being eaten 

 only under stress of hunger in winter or spring. 



In 1888 I received a letter from my friend Dr. M. E. Taylor, 

 of the army, then stationed at Fort Stanton, New Mexico, 

 which I quote in parts : " Hereabout grows a grass . . . the 

 eating of which by horses will, within a few hours, produce 

 profound sleep or stupor, lasting twenty-four or forty-eight 

 hours, when the animals rally and give no evidence of bad 

 effect. It is known among cowboys as 'Sleepy Grass,' and 

 dreaded by them on their 'rounds up,' as their horses are 

 liable to eat it, and cannot then be kept up with the herds. 

 . . . The tradition is that horses having once eaten of it will 

 not touch it again." 



This letter was accompanied by another from Mr. J. E. Cree, 

 a stock raiser, whose ranch is near Fort Stanton. From this 

 letter, addressed to Dr. Taylor, I also quote in parts: "The 

 Sleepy Grass invariably grows in the immediate proximity of 

 water, and where the ground is no doubt sub-irrigated. I have 

 never known cattle to suffer. . . . Happening to be with our 

 'roundup' this spring, we camped at Three Bear Springs. 

 That night, although our foreman took precautions to guard 

 against any of our horses getting the grass, we found in the 

 morning that three or four had succeeded. Out of this num- 

 ber it seemed as though one would succumb altogether. He 

 would stand in one position for hours atatime, his head sway- 

 ing backward and forward as if asleep, and, if I remember 

 correctly, was trembling all over. It appeared to very strangely 

 affect his kidneys, as he had an unceasing desire to pass urine. 

 ... It was fully seven days before he recovered, and was then 

 weak and drawn. One of the other horses seemed to be all 

 right on the start, but before long it became evident he was 

 also suffering from the effects of the Sleepy Grass, and it was 

 only by a free use of the spurs thathecould be made~to move 

 along. His recovery was much quicker. ... I may mention 

 that we have not found a horse that has once suffered ever 

 again to eat it. We had a number of ' Bronchos ' this year, 

 and while under its influence one could walk up and catch 

 them. Whether a sedative can be procured from this grass 

 or not, I venture to suggest that some valuable extract affect- 

 ing the kidneys may be obtained from it." 



From the same gentleman I received a letter in 1890, in 

 which he says : " Since I corresponded with Dr. Taylor it has 

 been brought to my notice that cattle are affected in a similar 

 way to horses, and that the curious properties which so affect 

 animals are contained in the blades. Quite a number of our 

 horses have been ill this spring after having eaten it. It usually 

 takes them about a week to recover, during which time they 



are unfit for work, and specially so during the first three 

 days." 



Captain Kingsbury, of the Sixth United States Cavalry, under 

 date of March, 1890, wrote me from Fort Stanton that "the 

 Sleepy Grass affected nearly all my horses at two camping 

 places. It was hard work to make them walk." 



A specimen of the grass in question was received from Fort 

 Stanton and submitted to Dr. Vasey, who identified it as his 

 Stipa viridula, var. robusta. 



The similarity of symptoms, whether observed in Coahuila 

 or in New Mexico, is certainly remarkable, and furnishes 

 strong evidence of the substantial accuracy of the observa- 

 tions as reported. It would seem, then, reasonably estab- 

 lished that this plant possesses narcotic or sedative properties, 

 affecting principally horses, but also cattle and probably other 

 animals ; that animals are not fond of it, but eat it inadver- 

 tently or when under stress of hunger ; that cases of poisoning 

 occur specially in the spring, when the radical and lower 

 blades first come up, and that the active principle resides in 

 these blades, and perhaps only during that season. 



Now let us turn to the species itself, Stipa viridula. It is a 

 western grass, abundant beyond the Great Lakes and from 

 British America southward to Colorado. It appears to be com- 

 mon in Oregon and California. It is considered a good pas- 

 ture and hay-grass by stockmen, both foliage and seed-tops 

 being much liked by cattle. In good land, specially if moist 

 or irrigated, it attains a height of three feet or more and yields 

 excellent hay. Being widely diffused it furnishes a- consider- 

 able part of the wild forage of the Rocky Mountain-region. 

 This plant has never been accused, so far as I can ascertain, 

 of containing any deleterious principle or of giving rise to any 

 unpleasant symptoms ; it is such a common constituent of 

 pastures and hay, and so extensively consumed, that it is not 

 possible it should possess any deleterious properties without 

 attention having been called to it. Here we are, therefore, in 

 presence of a botanical variety possessing marked properties 

 which are absent in the species, an occurrence which, I am 

 inclined to believe, is quite rare among native plants, and 

 might, perhaps, be used as an argument for raising the variety 

 to the dignity of specific rank. 



There are some twenty-two species of Stipa in North Amer- 

 ica. Outside of S. viridula few possess economic importance. 

 S. spar lea, according to Professor Macoun, is the " Northern 

 Buffalo Grass " of the Canadian ranchmen ; it " constituted the 

 winter food of the buffalo, and is now the delight of horses in 

 the winter season." In other parts, this species, as well as S. 

 comata, under the name of Porcupine Grass, is considered a 

 great nuisance by stock raisers on account of the sharp-pointed 

 and barbed callus which penetrates the flesh of sheep and 

 other animals. 6". occidentalis, S. setigera and 6". pennata, var. 

 Neo-Mexicana, are also mentioned as desirable elements of 

 pastures or as sometimes furnishing hay. None of these, so 

 far as known, possess narcotic or other unusual properties. 



Fort Bui'ord, N. Dak. V. Havard. 



Can the Gypsy Moth be Exterminated 



r FHE recent action of the Governor of Massachusetts in dis- 

 ■*■ missing the original Gypsy Moth Commission as inex- 

 pedient and incompetent, and the appointment of a new com- 

 mission without remuneration selected from members of 

 the State Board of Agriculture, and to be under its direction, 

 once more brings into prominence the question of the war 

 against this now notorious insect. It seems probable that the 

 commissioners appointed last spring were named rather on 

 account of their political capacity than their entomological 

 knowledge, since not one of them even knew the nature and 

 habits of the insect with the extermination of which they had 

 been entrusted. The advice of entomologists, given gratuit- 

 ously when asked for, probably prevented some serious blun- 

 ders. The large sum voted by the Legislature gave ample 

 means for prosecuting the work, and the results arrived at in 

 reducing the pest last season were better than many people 

 anticipated and as good as was to be expected from inex- 

 perienced and more or less careless management. 



Land-owners naturally made much complaint and opposition 

 to the invasion of their grounds by employees of the Commis- 

 sion for the purpose of searching for the cocoons of the Gypsy 

 Moth, or more particularly for the application of insecticides 

 (chiefly arsenical) to trees, shrubs and other vegetation. The 

 act establishing the Commission gave it power to invade any 

 private place in furthering its object, and the ignorant work- 

 men employed were in many cases apparently very careless in 

 the use of the Paris Green and indifferent as to the thorough- 

 ness of their work. 



