THE NATURALIST AND COLLECTOR 
2 5 
istry. The physical lecture and chem¬ 
ical apparatus for demonstration alone 
has cost about $15,000. The curator’s 
private laboratory is very completely 
fitted up for analytical and general 
work. It contains a well equipped 
working table, a table for blowpipe 
analysis, and a corner table for occa¬ 
sional work with the microscope, hoods 
with automatic burners, cupboards, 
etc. A balance room adjoining the 
private laboratory gives protection to 
two pulp and pharmaceutical balances, 
a Becker long arm analytical, a Sartor- 
ius short arm analytical, a Troemner 
assay balance, and a Mohr specific 
gravity balance. These are mounted 
on marble slabs, carried by iron sup¬ 
ports independent of the floor. The 
curator’s private office, an assistant’s 
laboratory, and a dark room complete 
the apartments of this floor. 
The third floor is occupied wholly by 
the museum. The stair landing carries 
two upright cases, in which is an ex¬ 
cellent display of the finest of the 
selenite crystals taken from the Wayne 
County geode. The main room extends 
the entire length of the building and 
is 32 feet wide It holds thirteen up¬ 
right floor cases, and wall cases along 
one entire side. This room is devoted 
mainly to mineralogy and geology, 
though some cases are occupied by 
shells and corals. Two other rooms 
are given up to zoology and ethnology 
respectively. At present the catalogue 
shows upward of 3,000 mineralogical 
and lithological specimens; a thousand 
paleontological specimens; 500 verte¬ 
brate preparations, whole or parts; 
2,000 invertebrate preparations; and 
nearly 1,000 ethnological specimens. 
The Deseret Museum enjoys the dis¬ 
tinction of having been admitted to 
membership in the Museums Associa¬ 
tion. H sent an officer to the London 
meeting of this association in 1893, and 
expects to be similarly represented at 
the approaching- Dublin meeting set for 
June, 1895. 
—Scientific American. 
Sleepy Grass. 
In some parts of New Mexico there 
grow 7 s a grass which produces a som¬ 
niferous effect on the animals that 
graze upon it. Horses,eating this grass, 
in nearly all cases sleep standing, 
while- cows and sheep almost invar¬ 
iably lie down. It has occasionally 
happened that travelers have stopped 
to allow horses to feed in places where 
the grass grew pretty thiculy, and the 
animals have had time to eat a consid¬ 
erable quantity before its effects mani¬ 
fested themselves. In such cases 
horses have gone to sleep on the road, 
and it hard to arouse them. 
The effect of the grass passes off in 
an hour or two, and no bad results 
have ever been noticed on account of 
it. Cattle on the ranches frequently 
come upon patches of this grass, where 
they feed for perhaps an hour, ahd 
then fall asleep for an hour or more, 
when they wake up and start feeding 
again. 
The programme is repeated perhaps 
a dozen times, until thirst obliges them 
to go to water. Whether, like the 
poppy, the grass contains opium, or 
whether its sleep-producing property 
is due to some other substance, has 
not been determined. — Pearson’s 
Weekly. 
Mr. Fredrick V. Colvill, Botanist 
United States Department of Agricul¬ 
ture, says: “The so-called sleep grass 
is technically known as Stipe viridula 
robusta and is known from reliable 
to have a narcotic effect on horses and 
other stock.” 
—Scientific American. 
