Book Reviews : The Mexican Mesta: The Administration of Ranching in Colonial Mexico. By WIL LIAM H. DUSENBERRY. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1963. Pp. ix, 253. $5.50.)
| Date | 01 March 1964 |
| Published date | 01 March 1964 |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591296401700117 |
| Author | Robert Dykstra |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
137
She
traces
the
origins
of
the
Farm
Bureau
and
the
development
of
its
functions,
with
particular
emphasis
upon
the
symbiotic
alliance
which
developed
between
it
and
the
Extension
Service.
She
also
describes
the
competition
given
the
Farm
Bureau
by
the
other
interest
groups
that
sought
to
represent
the
various
segments
of
American
agriculture.
The
decentralized
character
of
the
Farm
Bureau
is
viewed
as
a
consequence
of
its
federal
system,
and
while
it is
pointed
out
that
decisions
were
made
largely
by
the
board
of
directors,
the
author
is
quick
to
assert
that the
Bureau
was
anything
but
oligarchical
in
its
structure.
The
author
comes
to
the
conclusion
that
&dquo;it
represented
primarily
the
interests
of
commercial
farmers
-
that
is,
those
who
depended
upon
the
sale
of
farm
products.&dquo;
She
also
demonstrates
that
more
than
half
of
the
mem-
bership
resided
in
the
Midwest.
It
is
with
great
skill
that
Mrs.
Campbell
delineates
the
conflicts
over
policy
generated
by
the
economic
interests
of
the
other
areas
of
the
country
having
representation
in
the
organization.
The
formation
of
an
alliance
between
the
Midwest
and
the
South
is
seen
by
the
author
as
having
been
a
major
contribution
of
the
Farm
Bureau
to
agricultural
unity
during
this
period.
She
discusses
the
development
of
the
chief
symbols
of
its
policy:
first,
&dquo;McNary-Haugenism,&dquo;
and,
later,
parity.
She
focuses
much
of
her
attention
upon
the
activities
of
Edward
A.
O’Neal,
its
president
during
the
years
on
which
the
study
is
centered,
in
effecting
unity
within
agriculture.
Indeed,
it
was
this
achievement
which,
in
the
opinion
of
the
author,
constituted
the
most
significant
role
played
by
the
Farm
Bureau
during
the
New
Deal
period.
The
author
illustrates
the
degree
of
closeness
that
arose
between
the
Roosevelt
administration
and
the
Farm
Bureau
by
examining
the
way
in
which
the
latter
in-
fluenced
the
shaping
of
the
Agricultural
Adjustment
Act.
It
was
after
the
presiden-
tial
election
of
1936
that
this
relationship
began
to
dissipate.
The
Department
of
Agriculture
failed
to
consult
the
Farm
Bureau
as
frequently
as
it
had
done
in
the
past,
while
at
the
same
time
the
Farm
Bureau
hoped
to
play
an
even
larger
part
in
the
policy-making
of
the
Department.
The
author
advances
some
hypotheses
to
ex-
plain
the
deterioration
of
this
once
close
relationship.
Although
not
entirely
satisfy-
ing,
they,
nevertheless,
pose
some
interesting
alternatives
for
the
reader.
Using
the
techniques
of
the
historian,
the
author
has
produced
a
study
which
is
not
couched
in
the
vocabulary
of
political
science
but
which
treats
a
political
sub-
ject
in
a
highly
sophisticated
manner.
It
is
regrettable,
however,
that
Mrs.
Campbell
was
obliged
to
restrict
her
analysis
to
such
a
brief
period.
Her
book
is
deserving
of
the
attention
of
students
of
interest
politics.
CHARLES
G.
MAYO
San
Francisco
State
College
The
Mexican
Mesta:
The
Administration
of
Ranching
in
Colonial
Mexico.
By
WIL-
LIAM
H.
DUSENBERRY.
(Urbana:
University
of
Illinois
Press,
1963.
Pp.
ix,
253.
$5.50.)
This
book
won
the
Agricultural
History
Society
award
for
1962.
Whatever
the
other
compensations
of the
prize,
the
exceptionally
handsome
physical
makeup
of
the
finished
product
must
be
not
the
least
of
Mr.
Dusenberry’s
gratifications.
The
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