small in membership, the real gain is greater, as many have removed who still hold membership in the church; so all who have united can be counted as gain, which is greater than is apparent in the figures.)

FRATERNAL SOCIETIES.

Throughout Arizona fraternal societies are very strong in membership. Almost every city, town, or settlement has organized societies which hold honored places in their respective communities and exert great influence in promoting a condition of brotherhood and good will. Every organization of fraternal orders is represented in the Territory, and during the past year the growth has been very great in the membership of these societies.

THE LIVE-STOCK INDUSTRY.

Submitted herewith is the report of the live-stock sanitary board. As in the past, this industry stands second in magnitude among the great resources of the Territory of Arizona.

The laws governing and regulating the raising and handling of live stock, a review of which is hereinafter given, is administered by a board of three commissioners known as the live stock sanitary board. An office is maintained where all records are kept, and a veterinarian is provided for by law, whose duty it is to act at all times under the instructions of the board, to prevent the ingress of live stock affected with any contagious or infectious disease, and to stamp out any such disease as may at any time be found within the confines of the Territory.

The following brief synopses of the laws enacted since the last report was rendered, and the results that have been accomplished, will convey a general idea of existing conditions of the live stock of the Territory.

THE STOCK LAW.

Act 27 of the twenty-second legislative assembly of Arizona, amending title 42, live stock, R. S. A., 1901, as enacted, embodies the official recommendations of the board, made to the legislature, as required by the statute. Its passage has marked a new era of prosperity and protection to those engaged in stock raising, and will undoubtedly reduce the cow thief and rustler to a mere matter of tradition.

The law of 1897, with the amendments adopted prior to 1903, was without doubt an excellent measure, and accomplished much good; but, owing to lack of revenue with which to enforce its provisions, the board was seriously handicapped in extending the protection contemplated by the law.

The essential changes made by the last-named enactment are: The provision for the seizure and sequestration of live stock the ownership of which is questioned, by cattle inspectors or other civil officers.

This enables the enforcement of the branding law, as live stock in brands that are not used in conformity with the law are subject to seizure, and the burden of proof of ownership is placed on the claimant. Also, where reasonable grounds exist to question the ownership of too many young stock for the number of stock cattle owned, a remedy is provided, as the claimants may be required to show how and where they obtained them.

Upon the seizure of any live stock under this provision the officer making the seizure is required to make a report of it to a judge of the district court or justice of the peace, according as the value of the stock seized comes within the jurisdiction of either of said courts, and the judge or justice is required to issue a citation "to whom it may concern," setting forth the seizure, and commanding them to appear at a certain date and show cause why such live stock should not be forfeited to the Territory and sold.

The law regulating butchering is now such that no person can lawfully expose for sale in the Territory of Arizona the meat of any domestic animal unless he holds a Territorial butcher's license. This brings all slaughtering places under the supervision of the inspectors of the board, and also subjects imported meats to such inspection, except in the case of meat products that have passed the United States Government inspection.

The beneficial effect of this provision can not be overestimated, insuring the public as it does, from diseased and unwholesome meats, and effectually checking the illicit traffic in "jerky" (dried meat), that has cost the range cattlemen of Arizona hundreds of thousands of dollars in past years.

The cost of procuring a license to butcher varies from $30 to $150 per annum, based on the population of the town within the 4-mile limit of which such business is conducted.

All fees received for such licenses are turned into a special fund, in the hands of the Territorial treasurer, known as the "License and inspection fund." This fund is subject only to warrants drawn on demand of the chairman of the board, countersigned by its secretary, for the payment of inspectors, attorney's fees, and such other expense as may be incurred in enforcing the law or regulations of the board.

Probably the most important feature of the new law is the imposition of a “brand tax" of $2.50 per annum on all range brands and marks that are used in the Territory.

The prime object of this measure is revenue, but, in addition to this, it remedies a serious defect in past legislation, in that it confines persons owning a number of recorded brands to the use of certain specific irons and enables the board and its inspectors to determine just what irons are lawfully in use.

It at once curtails the profits of the rustler, who could in years past start a herd with no capital but a horse, rope, and running iron, as wherever freshly branded stock may be encountered in brands upon which the tax has not been paid it becomes the duty of inspectors to seize the same and report the seizure to a court of competent jurisdiction, as already alluded to. The fact that ample opportunity is given to claimants to prove their property and that all such seizures are dealt with by the courts precludes the possibility of injustice to any honest person.

The moneys received for brand taxes are deposited by the board with the Territorial treasurer in the license and inspection fund.

OPERATION OF THE NEW LAW.

The last reorganization of the live-stock sanitary board occurred in October, 1902. The conditions then obtaining in regard to the inspection service were unsatisfactory from the fact that some of the great range sections in the southern and eastern parts of the Territory were absolutely without inspection service. This condition was due to the fact that under the then existing law no funds were available for the compensation of inspectors, outside the per capita fee charged for inspecting herds at points of shipment and for the inspection of the hides of cattle slaughtered.

On October 16 a meeting of the board was called and the much-needed changes in the law were discussed. The board instructed its secretary to draw up, in the form of a bill, the changes that seemed so necessary, with a view of offering it to the legis lature for enactment, as required by the statute. Subsequently this bill was passed by the legislature, practically without amendment and almost unanimously, as the responsible cattle men throughout the Territory were a unit in favor of its essential features and so advised their representatives in both houses of the legislative body. The policy of the present board from the beginning has been to refer, as far as may be, all questions of great moment to as many of the stockmen as possible, by letter, thereby getting the benefit of the experience and suggestions of those having praetical knowledge of the existing local needs. It is the sense of the board that it is, and should be generally considered, a Territorial live-stock protective association, of which every person owning a recorded brand is a member and enjoys the benefits and protection it extends.

Upon the enactment of the law a meeting was held for the purpose of condensing the inspection service from its previous unwieldy dimensions of about 125 districts, most of which were largely nominal and only partially operative, to 34 districts, in the hands of as many inspectors, who should be made responsible for as much territory as possible, and be aided by a system of deputies, whose responsibilities should be to these principals, themselves in turn accountable to the board.

It was determined to compensate such inspectors as liberally as the revenues accruing would admit, and wherever possible secure the best men and require them to devote their entire time to the work. Range detectives have been employed at salaries varying from $35 to $100 a month in sections from which no revenues accrued under the old law.

The wisdom and efficiency of these changes are clearly demonstrated in the review of the work, accomplished in little over three months, which is embodied in this report.

As nearly all of the violations of the stock laws are of a penal nature, it naturally follows that those engaged in a systematic violation of such laws have been closely allied with the most dangerous criminal element of the Territory, and in the suppression of the various bands of rustlers, who have been put out of business since the present law became operative, the board has been extended the most valuable and efficient assistance by the Arizona Rangers.

This organization, composed as it is of men absolutely fearless in the discharge of their duties and directed by officers whose integrity and discretion are beyond question, has been a great factor in starting the exodus of the rustlers from our ranges, as well as other classes of the criminal element from the Territory. And it is safe to predict that in the not far distant future holdings of range live stock will actually have as secure a collateral value as though confined within the limits of fenced inclosures. The stock interests of the Territory have been favored during the last year to an extent never before realized, both from the standpoint of natural and human agencies. Never in the history of the Territory has nature so bountifully supplied us with rain and the fine range feed consequent thereto, nor has there ever been more wise and conservative legislation enacted to foster that which nature has provided. The amendatory act, which has made possible this new condition of things, was approved March 17, 1903, and on May 18 the first case of seizure of 26 head of cattle, the ownership of which was questioned, was tried at Willcox, Cochise County. An attorney was employed by the board, and the result was a victory for the Territory. The trial developed the fact that the parties from whom these calves were seized had but 1 cow for every 6 calves in their possession, certainly a greater disparity than was reasonable, even in Arizona. Since that time, 19 cases of a similar nature have been tried, and in every instance the Territory has been sustained and the thief deprived of his profits.

This procedure, being civil, is merely to determine the ownership of the stock involved, and in no wise interferes with the criminal prosecution of claimants where unlawful possession is proved. That the law is wise, and its enforcement a step forward in the line of better moral conditions, is best evidenced by the following extract from the official report of the grand jury of Cochise County: "The grand jury recommends that the district attorney and sheriff of this county extend to the live-stock sanitary board all assistance within their power in the enforcement of the laws of the Territory, to the end that the illegal branding and killing of cattle in this county be stopped and put an end to; and we request the district attorney to personally or by deputy prosecute all cases of a criminal nature arising within this county, whether the same be misdemeanors or felonies."

As in the past, all live stock about to be driven or shipped off their usual range must be inspected for brands and marks at the point of starting. This inspection is to prevent the unlawful handling of live stock. A record of all such inspections is permanently kept in the office of the board, and is at all times open to the public. A similar inspection is required of all live stock to be slaughtered, for health and for brands and marks, and after slaughter the hides of all cattle slaughtered are inspected, and a tag is affixed to the hide which is a certificate that it has been inspected.

The law prohibits any person or common carrier from moving or handling any untagged hide; so it will readily be seen that a complete record of every individual animal disposed of in the Territory is available in the office of the board.

RANGE CONDITIONS.

The tendency to the improvement of the grade and quality of range stock has been marked during the past year. The Hereford breed of cattle ranks in popular favor on account of their long-recognized merits as foragers on the range and the high esteem they enjoy at the great live-stock market centers of the country. The climatic conditions have been most propitious, and, with ample feed and water, the outlook for the range cattlemen is, indeed, favorable. The ranges which, owing to the heavy draft that has been made on them during the last few years, threatened to become depleted, are now fast being filled up with a better grade of cattle than ever before.

The valleys are in a relatively prosperous condition, and heavier crops of alfalfa have been harvested during the past year than ever before. Cattle feeding, which has long been found the most profitable disposition of the alfalfa crops, is being carried on on a greater scale, thousands of head of cattle having been imported as feeders, in addition to the native range stock that is being fed. And in no section of the United States can beef be produced at so small a cost as here, owing to the prolific yield of the native and cultivated grasses and alfalfa, of which from four to five crops a year are raised.

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Considerable attention is being directed to horse raising, an industry that was not extensively engaged in until the brisk demands created recently for animals for military and transportation purposes stimulated the markets. There have been heavy shipments of range horses made during the past year, and stockmen throughout the Territory have shown a disposition to get rid of the scrub range horse at any price.

During the year there have been slaughtered within the Territory for home consumption 41,803 head of cattle; and during the same period there have been exported from the Territory 78,846 head of cattle, 2,880 horses, and 2,426 hogs, while the internal shipments of cattle amounted to 39,175 head.

The operations of the inspection service and sanitary work of the veterinarian are directed by the board from its office at the capitol at Phoenix. A secretary and one assistant are employed to perform the office work and care for the records of the inspection service, and the office is at all times open to those interested or desiring information.

The volume of work consequent on the operation of the new law has largely increased and necessitated the addition of more room and better filing facilities, which have been procured. As far as possible the card-index system of filing has been inaugurated and up-to-date methods adopted, with a view of reducing the work to a point where it could be handled with a minimum amount of labor.

As the brand-tax law does not become actively operative until July 1, 1903, but little can be said in regard to it; but it is safe to predict that at least 1,800 brands will be taxed, which will insure revenue sufficient to place the inspection service on a footing of efficiency far exceeding any that has been maintained in the past.

The cost of maintaining the inspection service for the year just ended was $6,147.88, but in future will be far in excess of this amount, as it will be strengthened to the point of limit that the revenues will admit. The balance in the license and inspection fund June 30, 1903, over and above the unpaid demands to that date, is $3,940.02.

SANITARY CONDITIONS.

The following extracts from a report of the Territorial veterinarian to the board will convey an adequate idea of the general health conditions of the live stock of the Territory:

"The equable, dry climatic conditions generally prevalent in Arizona are favorable to the health of all classes of live stock. Malarial diseases are practically unknown in the Territory except where infection has been introduced with importations of stock, and the dry conditions assist largely in their eradication. The intense heat of the semitropical sun acts as a disinfectant, and is detrimental to insect life which is the cause or the carrier of many forms of contagious diseases.

"Though the Territory has climatic conditions favoring freedom from disease her geographical location is not as favorable. Southern California, on the west, is under Federal quarantine because of the presence of splenetic or Texas fever, and the Republic of Mexico, on the south, has few sanitary laws for the control of contagious diseases among stock. Also large shipments of cattle from points both north and south of the quarantine line in Texas pass through Arizona to California, and must be carefully watched to prevent the spread of infection.

"Because of these conditions it is one of the important features of the work of the sanitary board to guard closely the admission into the Territory of all shipments or entries of live stock, whether destined for points in the Territory or beyond, if unloaded en route. For ten years past all shipments of live stock entering the Territory have been admitted only on permission of the sanitary board. Shipments destined to points within the Territory are required to be accompanied by certificates of health signed by a Government or State veterinarian, or pass the approval of the Territorial veterinarian. Shipments en route through the Territory can be unloaded in corrals only upon approval of the board.

"Under the brand inspection laws of the Territory, which are also under the direction of the sanitary board, all live stock shipped or driven from the Territory are inspected for ownership and brands recorded. These inspectors are instructed to stop the shipment of any stock that they consider diseased or exposed to infection. All such shipments are inspected by the Territorial veterinarian and quarantined, if found infected. By these methods a complete record is kept in the office of the sanitary board of all stock shipped into or from the Territory, and the chance for the spread of infection is reduced to a minimum. These precautions have increased the confidence of other States in the sanitary work of the Territory, and as a result no class of live stock has ever been quarantined against.

“Blackleg has usually caused severe losses among young cattle, especially in the irrigated valleys. By forcing the burning of the carcasses of all animals dying from blackleg, and the systematic vaccinating of all susceptible animals, the losses have been very materially reduced. Most of the vaccine used has been obtained from the United States Bureau of Animal Industry, and the losses have been reduced from 20 per cent to less than 1 per cent.

The history of sanitary work in Arizona is proof of the wisdom of the early passage of sanitary laws, giving the governor authority to appoint a sanitary board, composed of stockmen, and a Territorial veterinarian with liberal powers. Under the law the sanitary board has authority to make quarantine regulations governing the admission of stock into the Territory and the control of outbreaks of contagious diseases, and can authorize the veterinarian to destroy any animals affected with a contagious disease, when it is considered necessary to eradicate the infection. No compensation is allowed owners for animals destroyed unless by subsequent special legislation.

"Even though sanitary laws have been enforced in the Territory for many years, glanders, Texas fever, scabies, and tuberculosis were introduced into some of the central valleys by early immigrants, and have only been controlled with difficulty. However, not a single tuberculous cow has been found during the past two years and no herds are under suspicion. In the early nineties as many as 50 glandered horses were destroyed in the Territory in a single year, while but 10 have been detected during the past four years, and all of these obtained the infection from glandered horses recently brought into the territory overland. No glandered horses have been found during the past year, and it is thought that the disease is again eradicated.

"The rules of the board have required that all importations of swine, except those for immediate slaughter, be held in quarantine on arrival until there is no possible danger of their spreading infection, and as a result hog cholera has never been known in the Territory. Swine plague has caused some losses, but is usually promptly checked."

A comparison of the statistics as to shipments of live stock during the last year will show a large decrease, which is attributable to the renewed confidence of many of the largest range owners in the propitious range conditions and additional protection extended by the present laws.

REPORT ON SHEEP INDUSTRY OF ARIZONA FOR THE YEAR 1903.

[By Mr. E. S. Gosney, of Flagstaff.]

Much of the best summer range for sheep in Arizona is on the higher plateau lands of the northern districts, most of which have in recent years been included in Government forest reserves, and during the series of dry years the restrictions as to numbers grazed and regulations made by the Department of the Interior have greatly reduced the number of sheep in the Territory and scattered them over a wider area, and, in some cases, less favored districts. Heavy snows and rains in all parts of the Territory during the present season have produced abundant feed, particularly upon the more arid plateaus and valleys, where vegetation, rich in nutriment and particularly adapted to sheep grazing, in the late winter and spring of this season, was abundant. This feed lasts only two to three months, hence can only be harvested by animals under herd, and is not available, except in limited localities, for range cattle and horses. To this abundant early feed in the Salt River and other valleys is due the phenomenally good lambing of this season, which is conservatively estimated at 90 per cent of lambs saved for ewes in lambing bands; and the same conditions have produced the very fat mutton and lambs which have brought the highest prices of the season on the markets, both East and West, and will result in a close sale of both lambs and dry sheep before the summer is ended. The grade of sheep in Arizona is a very fine Merino, producing about 7 pounds of wool per head, that compares favorably with the