Forage collected by esophageal-fistulated cattle varies in chemical composition between days and animals. The number of samples needed for a given degree of accuracy was determined. Silica content of fistula steer feces was significantly different from feces from the non-fistulated steer. There were no significant differences in crude protein, crude fiber, and ether extract.

Yields of 38 species of native and introduced grasses were found to be significantly reduced by scale infestation. Grasses are grouped into three classes: (1) grasses with reduced yields, (2) grasses infested but not affected and (3) resistant grasses. Twenty-eight new hosts of rhodesgrass scale are recorded. The data indicated that rhodesgrass scale is of economic importance in south Texas.

Rangeland users can expect to share in the growing market for beef in the next 20 years. But they may face increasing competition from other types of producers. Good range management in the future will require prudent investment and the ability to benefit from business management and partial ownership of resources.

A search for Range Management History led the ASRM Historian into a compilation of the libraries and repositories of published and unpublished Range Management literature, mostly in the USA. This interim report calls for further work to locate and describe historical and documentary material on range management and a solid plea for preservation and protection of such material.

Esophageal fistula samples of tropical forage contained 66.4% more crude protein and 7.7% less crude fiber than the average figure for the clipped pasture forage. The percentage crude protein of herbage leaves was approximately 55% higher and the percentage crude fiber was approximately 17% lower than the whole plant.

Actual observations for 3 years and utilization surveys for 4 years were used to determine the grazing distribution patterns of Hereford and Santa Gertrudis cattle in southern New Mexico. The grazing patterns of the 2 breeds were similar in the pastures studied. There was good distribution throughout the pastures which extended 3.5 mi. from water. In larger pastures, Santa Gertrudis cows may graze farther from water than Hereford cows because they walk farther. Earlier studies indicated a decreasing degree of utilization with an increasing distance from water. In this study, where a variety of species were available, cattle readily grazed a distance from water to obtain certain species. It is suggested that an important tool in obtaining better livestock distribution would be to encourage the growth of palatable species at a distance from water.

Four previously published classifications of intermountain shrub vegetation and a new classification based on maximum salt tolerances and water relationships are presented. Maps show that the geographic range of salt desert shrub species far exceeds the distribution of mappable communities in which these shrubs are dominants. Species differ in their capacity to tolerate soil osmotic stress, but variable results from measurements of osmotic stress in 20 different plant communities indicate that additional factors must be important in determining species present in different habitats. Data obtained by the use of a new method of measuring total soil moisture stress in field samples show that the capacity of different species to remove soil moisture to different maximum stresses appears to determine the kinds of plants that occupy different habitats. Total soil moisture stresses for 14 plant communities sampled ranged from 19 to more than 90 bars.