BULLETIN OF THE 



u 



No. 211 



Contribution from the Bureau of Plant Industry, Wm. A. Taylor, Chief. © 

 May 26, 1915. 



FACTORS AFFECTING RANGE MANAGEMENT IN 



NEW MEXICO. 



By E. 0. Wooton, 

 Agriculturist, Office of Farm Management. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Introduction 1 



The topography of New Mexico 2 



Climate 3 



Soils 7 



Subdivisions of the land 8 



Relative importance of stock raising 10 



Legal status of the business 15 



Page. 



Nature of the forage crop and its distribution 20 



Undesirable range plants 23 



Erosion 25 



Range management 26 



Character of the present opposition to 



control 37 



Summary 37 



INTRODUCTION. 



Stock raising is more patently influenced by and dependent upon 

 its physical environment than most other industries appear to be. 

 The topographic and climatic conditions are fundamental, because 

 they determine the kind and quantity of feed the animals must eat, the 

 temperature and other extremes they must endure, and the various 

 dangers which they must avoid. 



The laws and customs of the region determine the character of the 

 tenure and control of the land which produces the feed upon which 

 the animals subsist. They are but the expression of the public opinion 

 that warrants the existence of that industry in that place. And not 

 less important, but probably less often considered, is the relation 

 which the business bears to other industries in operation in the same 

 region. From this standpoint, the industry is to be considered as in 

 a certain stage of development toward a better and more complex 

 adjustment among all industries, and a statement of its present con- 

 dition must be taken as in the nature of a report of progress. It is 

 not what it once was, nor yet what it will be. Thus, while we are 



Note.— The various factors influencing the live-stock industry in New Mexico, especially as affecting 

 range management, are presented and discussed in this bulletin. 

 34972°— Bull. 211—15—1 



