One Rancher's Experience: In The Grassland Range of Southern Arizona

Abstract

The ranch we are writing about lies near the Mexican border in southern Arizona in some of the best grass country in the West. The topography is rather gentle, the range being crossed by a number of low ridges and intermittent water courses. Most of the soils are of granitic origin and hence very open although some of the ridge tops are charact.erized by more droughty tighter soils. The avergao _ annual precipitation is 18 i&es, of which about 14 inches comes during the frostfree period. The ranch base property was built up by consolidating a number of homesteads. Like many other southwestern homesteaders, those in this area found that the 160 acres allotted by the Homestead Act was too small to make a family living. Those who stayed longest managed to survive by working part-time at nearby mines, but gradually, as the mines closed down, the homesteaders were nearly all forced to leave. The ranch now comprises 1,310 acres of patented land acquired from eight different owners, and 6,700 acres of forest allotment on the Coronado National Forest.