76 BULLETIN 1031, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
More complete information will be found on both lice and ear 
ticks in publications by the United States Bureau of Animal In- 
dustry.?° 
REDUCTION IN LOSS FROM POISONOUS PLANTS. 
There are a number of poisonous plants on the semidesert ranges 
of southern New Mexico. Among these may be mentioned two sus- 
pected species of Astragalus, rattle-weed loco and blue woolly loco,?? 
which occur on and in the vicinity of the Jornada Range Reserve. 
Heavy losses among both cattle and horses on range adjacent to 
the Jornada Range Reserve were attributed to the rattle-weed dur- 
ing the winter and spring of both 1917 and 1918. The range was 
so closely grazed that there was little other forage available, and 
both classes of stock ate the rattle-weed freely. The same species 
occurs to a considerable extent on the Jornada Reserve, but other 
forage was always available, and no losses were experienced from it 
under these conditions. This leads to the assumption that cattle do 
not begin to eat the rattle-weed as long as there is sufficient other 
forage on the range. 
The most effective means of avoiding losses from rattle-weed, 
unless eradication is practicable, appear to be to avoid grazing the 
range too closely and to feed susceptible stock. 
OTHER CAUSES OF LOSS OF STOCK ON THE RANGE. 
Some other causes which contribute to the aggregate losses on 
southern New Mexico ranges are predatory animals, accidents which 
may or may not be avoided, and grazing horses and mules on the 
same range with cattle. 
Coyotes cause occasional loss among young calves, but such losses 
occur mainly when cows are too weak to protect their calves. An 
occasional lobo wolf or mountain lion may cause some loss. The 
work of the Biological Survey of the United States Department of 
Agriculture in eradicating these animals has been a very important 
factor in decreasing losses from this cause, and with continued activi- 
ties of this bureau such losses should eventually become negligible. 
Weak cows are sometimes lost in spring from getting stuck in bog 
holes. ‘Such places should be fenced or watched to see that weak 
cattle are kept away and that any cows that may have become bogged 
down are pulled out. 
Horses and mules will often stampede around watering places and 
run over and injure weak cattle and sometimes kill young calves. If 
it can be avoided, this class of stock should not be allowed among 
weak cows or those with young calves. 
26 Tmes, Marion, ‘ Cattle Lice and How to Eradicate Them,” U. 8S. Dept. Agr., Farmers’ 
Bul. 909, February, 1918. Also, ‘‘ The Spinose Ear Tick and Methods of Treating In- 
fested Animals,” U. S. Dept. Agr., Farmers’ Bul. 980, May, 1918. 
27 Rattle-weed loco—Astragalus allochrous ; blue woolly loco—Astragalus bigelovii. 
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