This being the first year of the existence of the sheep sanitary board of New Mexico, much of its time at the early part of its organization was consumed in adopting rules and regulations for its government, and appointing sheep inspectors, as provided by law, and doing other work necessary and prerequisite to put into execution the business of the new law.

The first work by the board was the preparation and distribution by its secretary of a pamphlet containing a copy of the new law and a circular letter addressed to the sheep owners of New Mexico, calling their attention to the new law, and soliciting their co-operation for its enforcement, copies of which I herewith inclose you. After the publication and distribution of this pamphlet, the board drafted and adopted a set of rules and regulations, copies of which are also herewith inclosed. At that same meeting at which the rules and regulations were adopted, the board appointed sheep inspectors for all the counties of the Territory, as provided by law, and gave them instructions to proceed under the law and the rules and regulations

of the board.

When the board organized, it found itself without a penny in the treasury, and with very inadequate means to raise funds to defray the expenses which necessarily would have to be incurred to carry out the provisions of the law, so that the first problem to solve was how to raise money for that purpose.

The law provides 13 mills to be levied on each head of sheep and goats in the Territory, and an additional tax of 5 cents per head on sheep brought in from without the Territory, as an inspection fee, which, when collected, is to be used to defray the expenses of the board.

Alter mature consideration, the board came to the conclusion that the money thus raised would be madequate to meet all expenses necessarily incurred in carrying out the provisions of the law; therefore a tax of 1 cent per head, as an inspection fee, to be charged on all sheep inspected to be shipped out of the Territory was agreed upon. I have kept a record of all sheep brought into the Territory, as well as of all sheep leaving the Territory, which record shows the following result:

Sheep brought into the Territory from other States and Territories from
June 3, 1897 to June 30, 1898

Sheep going out of the Territory, and inspected by the inspectors at the
stock yards during same period

95, 548

560, 984

Revenue collected from sheep brought into the Territory..
Money collected from inspection of sheep leaving Territory

$4,266.00 5,609.84

Total collected....

9,875.84

Of this amount we have expended in paying inspectors, salaries, mileage, and attendance of members of board, and other miscellaneous expenses. 5, 356.92

Balance on hand................

4, 518.92

As we were not certain when we started that we would have enough money in the treasury to defray all the expenses of the board, the inspectors were given orders to inspect only such sheep as were reported to them as being scabby, or as they might have personal knowledge were infected, and for that reason my books do not show a complete record of all sheep now ranging within our Territory. However, basing my opinion on the number of sheep returned for taxation in the Territory for 1897, which was 1,800,000, and on the number of sheep which were inspected by our inspectors, which was 1,200,000 according to the reports which I have on hand, I estimate the total number of sheep in our Territory to be about 4,500,000.

I find from my records that of the owners of sheep in the Territory of New Mexico, 85 per cent are Mexicans, and, aside from 50 owners of this number, such as the Pereas, Lunas, Oteros, and other large owners, that the rest own on an average of about 800 head apiece.

This year, having some money in the treasury to defray expenses, and being better prepared in other respects to do the work, we expect to have the inspectors visit each and every flock in their respective counties, so as to have by the end of the year a complete list of all the sheep men in New Mexico, and the number of sheep owned by each individual. Besides this we hope to have by that time almost eradicated the disease called the "seab," which heretofore has been such a drawback to the industry in New Mexico.

During the short time we have been in existence, while we have not been able to entirely cure the scab, still we have accomplished one good result, which is to make the people realize the importance of such a law on cur statute books, and I am glad to say that in this work we have had the co-operation of most all the sheep men of the Territory.

I find that in the past all the sheep men of New Mexico have been in the habit of

dipping their flocks every year; but the reason why the scab has not been stamped out is because a very small percentage have used dips properly. For that reason the board prescribed the mode of using the different "dips," adopting rules to that effect, and issued orders to the inspectors to supervise as far as practicable the dipping of such flocks as were badly infected with disease.

I find that the law regulating the sheep sanitary board is very defective as it now, exists, but care not to make any suggestions at the present time, as I intend to address myself on that point to you later on, in time for you to embody it in your message to the next legislature.

Very respectfully,

Hon. M. A. OTERO,

Governor of New Mexico, Santa Fe, N. Mex.

Members of the sheep sanitary board of New Mexico are as follows:

Solomon Luna, president, Los Lunas, N. Mex.; Jose M. Gonzales, vice-president, Baca, N. Mex.; W. S. Prager, Roswell, N. Mex.; Antonio Lucero, secretary of board, Las Vegas, N. Mex.

CATTLE.

Hon. M. A. OTERO,

Governor, Santa Fe, N. Mex.

DEAR SIR: I have the honor herewith to transmit the report of the cattle sanitary board of New Mexico for 1897, and incidentally to call attention to the importance of this industry to the material interests of New Mexico. Since 180, and up to 1897, the prices for their product have been so discouraging that more than half of those engaged in that pursuit have gone voluntarily or have been forced out of the business, and their holdings have disappeared from the range; but notwithstanding all this no other interest in this Territory can to-day show anything to compare with it in its material results.

Before the passage of the law of 1891, requiring the inspection and release of all cattle taken out of the Territory, no records had been kept showing the numbers or the classes of the cattle sent out, and it is not accurately known how many of our native-grown cattle were marketed; but from the records kept and now on file in this office since the above-mentioned law went into effect there must have been, on a conservative estimate, not less than from 2,750,000 to 3,000,000 head sold and delivered during the boom days of the 80s, and that at the prices prevailing during that period must have produced for their owners not less than $35,000,000.

During the years from and including 1891 and 1896, the records show that 1,340,960 were disposed of-77,353 head of them being slaughtered within the Territorywhich, estimated at $10 per head, a very low figure, for they largely consisted of grown steers, footed up to nearly $13,500,000. During 1897, 244,495 were marketed outside and 11,419 were slaughtered within the Territory which, at current values, show a return of not less than $6,250,000.

The following table will show the movement of cattle in each year since the law providing for inspection went into effect:

With the exception of a scarcity of surface water in a few localities the range is in fine condition and cattle are wintering well. The season is now so far advanced that no destructive storms are likely to occur before spring opens.

One very serious danger, however, now threatens the live-stock interests of the Territory. During the hard times lately experienced owners of both cattle and sheep have relaxed their efforts to destroy wolves and they have increased to such an extent that their ravages are a serious loss to stockmen, and consequently to the material interests of the range in our Territory. There is an urgent necessity that some measures be taken looking to concert of action by all the counties for their

destruction. Such efforts as have heretofore been made have only resulted in driving them from one locality to another, without affording much relief to any, and it is only fair that the two greatest interests and sources of revenue to the Territory should have adequate protection.

Since the laws of 1893 and 1895, authorizing the cattle sanitary board to take possession of and sell unclaimed and unlawfully handled cattle, went into effect, 1,656 head of such have been sold, the proceeds amounting in the aggregate to $24,500.44; and in every case where their ownership could be established by the records in this office the money collected by the board has been sent to their owners. Those of the brands that are not of record or were otherwise unknown have been placed on the stray list and will be paid for on identification.

The scarcity of cattle throughout the Union is just beginning to be felt, and as there is also a shortage of sheep it is inevitable that much higher prices for both must prevail for some years to come. There is good reason to believe that well graded cows will sell for $35 per head before this year is ended, and that they will reach $50 per head in the near future.

The board present their financial statement to December 31, 1897, together with the names and addresses of the inspectors now employed. All of which is respectfully submitted.

LAS VEGAS, N. MEX., June 20, 1898.

W. H. JACK, President.
J. A. LA RUE, Secretary.

I am happy to be able to report that the outlook for the stock-growing interests of New Mexico was never so encouraging as at present. Abundant and timely rains have put the ranges in the finest possible condition, and the demand for all their products by far outruns the supply at much better prices than have for a long time if ever before been realized.

The shortage of both cattle and sheep throughout the Union is now well understood, and that the prices now prevailing, and even much higher ones in the near future, will be continued for a long time to come must be evident to all who give the matter the slightest consideration. For intending investors in this industry no other section of the range country can offer anything like the inducements here to

be found.

The nutritious grama grass, indigenous to this altitude, here reaches its fullest development, the nature of the soil, containing as one of its elements a large percentage of gypsum, being especially favorable and in fact the cause of its luxuriant growth. Its habit of seeding late in the season and curing up into hay on the ground furnishes an abundant supply of feed all through the winters (which are mild and open) until the grass comes again in the spring, nature thus furnishing without cost that food supply which must be provided with much labor and at great expense

to carry stock through the winter in more rigorous climes. So well nourished are both cattle and sheep on this feed alone that fat beef and mutton of unexceptionable flavor can be found on the range during any month of the year; it is only in a late and backward spring that the feeding of old and weak "coming-in cows and ewes" is required, but progressive stock men generally make provision in such cases with profit to themselves.

An immense plateau, known as the "Llano Estacado," or "Staked Plains," perennially clothed with the most luxuriant growth of the before-mentioned grass, having a mild and equable climate, has heretofore, on account of the absence of surface water, been considered unavailable for stock-raising purposes. But the experience of the last few years has shown that an abundant supply of the best and purest water at no great depth underlies the whole region; that both flocks and herds, away from the insect pests that at some seasons are troublesome in the valleys and along the streams, find perfect health, thrive wonderfully, and that their increase is almost phenomenal. This section is now practically unoccupied, but the possibilities for successful stock raising there are almost unlimited. It is also a fact that both cattle and sheep raised on these plains have a special flavor of their own, imparted by the herbage on which they feed, and which still pertains to their product when finished for market on grain in the corn-growing section of the Mississippi region, as will be shown by an incident related to the writer by an English gentleman, himself largely interested in cattle for a number of years here in the West. During his recent visit to his home, at a dinner with a large party of his countrymen, a joint of beef on the table, of exceptionally fine quality, came under discussion as to its origin, it being stoutly maintained by nearly all the guests that the joint in question was of English growth; that, in fact, beef of that quality and flavor could be produced nowhere else. He, being in the minority, but believing that he recognized a flavor to which he had become accustomed on the ranges here, took the pains to trace that particular cut to its origin, and found, through the London butcher who sold the meat, that it was American beef, and, upon further investigation through him to the consignee who had had the animal slaughtered at Deptford and had sent the carcass forward to the London butcher, that it came from a high-grade steer of a very well-known New Mexican brand that had been fattened in Kansas and shipped from Kansas City to Liverpool direct.

That this special flavor so highly prized by that discriminating nation of beef eaters should be retained after being fattened and shipped across the Atlantic shows that what has always been maintained for the grama grass, as to its value, is true, not only in producing the carcass, but also for the flavor of the product when finished by intense feeding on grain, and must inevitably before long become a factor in the selection of cattle to be finished by feeders for the foreign market.

In addition to this nutritious forage which in New Mexico nature provides, the use of alfalfa for carrying steers through the winter and preparing them to be quickly finished on grain for the markets is being extensively prosecuted with very satisfactory results. About 7,000 head were so handled in the Mora Valley during the last winter, very nearly all of them going into the hands of Kansas feeders in the early spring at strong prices. It is claimed that with the start given them with the alfalfa they can be finished for market in about six weeks of high feeding on grain, thus making a great saving not alone in the amount of grain used but in the interest charges on capital invested; and that this means a great deal to the cattle interests of the whole of New Mexico goes without saying.

As the alfalfa crop returns on irrigated land a yield of from 3 to 6 tons during the season, and in addition furnishes during the fall and spring a much-valued pasture that cattle can be driven to and fed on the same ground on which it is grown, saving the loss in handling and the cost of transportation, the value of the manure returning to the soil, making a market for all that can be produced; that both successful farming and stock raising along this line to an unthought-of extent is easily possible, opens another line of profit to both. Alfalfa feeding has also been carried on to a considerable extent in the Pecos Valley from Roswell to Eddy, at which latter place, mixed with the by-products of the beet-sugar factory, it has been fed to both cattle and sheep and, as reported, with success.

The experience of the tyros who during the boom days of the 80's turned loose on the range thousands of cattle, without any knowledge of the business or thought of its capacities for grass, and more particularly water, believing that the mere possession of cattle in their brands was an earnest of fortune to come, and which for these visionary investors ended as it only could, in disaster to themselves, also to their neighbors-anything of this sort, it is safe to say in the light of that experience, will not be repeated.

It has been known to some, but only a few have realized, that since the event just spoken of the numbers of cattle throughout the entire Union were greatly diminished. It is only a few years ago, and particularly within the knowledge of the

writer, that New Mexican wethers were practically unsalable, but the shortened supply and the advanced price of beef led to the feeding of sheep as a meat supply, which, owing to the superior feeding qualities of New Mexico sheep and the extraordinary quality of the mutton so produced, originating from the same cause as that claimed for New Mexico cattle, that is, the herbage on which they feed, has already created a demand by far exceeding the supply, and for which within a short time prices before unheard of were paid; so that New Mexico, instead of having as heretofore an indifferent market for her wool, has now one greater than can be supplied for her mutton, and that the production of both cattle and sheep on her practically free pastures can be twenty times increased without overloading the range is also a fact; for, as before stated, water, the chief factor to be looked after in these industries, can be found in sufficient quantities in a vast unoccupied region where its existence was not believed in or even suspected. The work of the land court, too, in adjusting the title to enormous tracts of fine pasture lands that have heretofore been closed to the public by grant claimants will soon be utilized and stocked with-what is, without doubt, New Mexico's chiefest reliance and most valuable production-cattle and sheep.

Not only are the maturing grounds of Montana, Idaho, and the Dakotas ready customers for our young steer cattle, but the corn-growing States on our eastern border furnish a market with an ever-increasing demand for all range products to by feeding concentrate their farm crops so that they may be marketed at remunerative prices. Though the cattle holdings have been greatly reduced during the recent period of depression, the hard times having been very severely felt by cattlemen, the increase of the last few years has gone a long way to repair the deficiencies in numbers, and through the intelligent interest taken by those who have gone through the struggle to improve the grade, their product is much more desirable and sought for than ever. The number of cattle on the ranges is again increasing, the calf crops for the last three years having been very good and nearly all saved. The increased demand and the stimulation of better prices have encouraged their owners to take better care of them, and the business now seems to be looked after with something like the old-time zeal. During the current year many thousands of cattle from neighboring States and Territories and the Republic of Mexico have been brought into this Territory to secure its advantages of pasturage and climate and freedom from insect pests and contagious or infectious diseases, none of which exist in this altitude.

From data accessible to this office, there were in New Mexico in 1897 about 800,000 head of neat cattle. Those brought in, together with the calf crop of this year, will increase the holdings to over 1,000,000, all of which, being in the hands of experienced cattlemen, will soon show the influence of fine pasture and improvements in grade.

During the year ending June 30, 1898, there were marketed in round numbers 200,000 native New Mexico cattle, producing at current values about $6,000,000. Since April the movement of cattle to market has been very much retarded in consequence of the war and the conservatism of the banks, who declined to furnish expected and, in many cases, promised funds to enable them to be handled, as well as in a large measure the firm belief of their owners in the increasing value of their property. From January 1 to June 30, this year, this amounted to 60,000 head less than the number that were handled during the same period of 1897, but from the signs of the times now visible all fit cattle will be disposed of before the close of 1898.

I submit a few extracts from the reports of inspectors in different parts of the Territory, giving the views of practical cow men there on the ground.

From San Juan County: "Calf crop about 90 per cent; grade very much improved; owners are taking extra good care of their stock, which have about doubled in numbers during the last two years."

Mora, Colfax, and Union counties: "Calf crop good; cattle in fine condition, and feed everywhere."

Socorro, Sierra, Donna Ana, and Grant counties: "Abundant rains and feed, all that could be asked for. Calf crop for 1898 at least 70 per cent, and grade very much improved."

San Miguel, Gaudaloupe, and Taos counties: "Everything as good as has ever been known as to the range conditions, calf crop, and the growth of young stock." Lincoln and Eddy counties: "Range was never better; everything fat; calf crop immense."

Chaves County: "Cattle and range in fine shape; calf crop above the average and well graded, and practically no loss; market acute and strong; greatest demands for good grades, but all classes sell at strong prices. About 150,000 head in my district."

Now that peace has come again and the corn crop assured, stockmen in this Terri