The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-06-28

grazing and timber lands. According,to off.
cial reports the territory contains oyer 90.
900, 900 acres OF agricultural lands or nearly
1000 square miles. This gives Montana az.
| riclltural lands that would make a state near
ly as large as either South Carolina or Ohio
or Maine or Kentucky or Indiana, or if the
lands were divided VI they would make five
states each the size of the following, namely:
New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts,
| Delaware and Connecticut The arabic lands
of the principal valleys alone would form a
belt 1000 miles long averaging four miles
wide, a belt that would extend from Boston
to San Francisco. If all the agricultural
lands in the territory were divided up into
| farms each containing 160 acres they would
furnish l25, 1000 homes for farmers. These fig
ures will give some idea of the arabic lands
of the territory. The fertility and product
iveness of these lands are unquestioned by
those who have any knowledge of them. 1t
is no unusual thing to see fields of wheat or
Gals that will average from IS to 100. bushels
per acre. Corn is successfully and profilahly
ldlSCu III tSallN all II fnlINsS '" ~ 'N'iito-
ry. Fruit bearing trees produce well in some
localities, while all vegetables including mel.
ons. tomatoes, etc, are not exceilad in size
and quality anywhere.
To water or irrigate our lands the finest wa
ter system in the world is at command. 1t is
here in Montana that the Missouri and Col
umbia !ivers-the W. largest rivers in Amer
ica-have their source, and the thousands of
streams which feed and swell these rivers to
their huge proportions may be diverted
for the rancher. There is no
lack of water in Montana. In
the matter Of the climate of the Terri
tory W. s. is as ill-informed as he is in other
matters respecting it. From observations
which have been taken running through a
number of years it is found that all places in
the Territory on the 4Sth parallel of latitude
has the same mean annual temperature as
of st. Joseph, Mo-, and that those on the
10th parallel have the same. as that of Phila-
delphia. The area of, timber lands in the
country nearly equals that of its agricultural
lands. 1t is estimated from Official sources
that there is nearly 5000, 900 acres of these
in the Territory. While timber may
not be found at the door of every resident it
S always attainable at no great distance and
1t a reasonable cost. In nearly every valley
II the Territory timber for fire fencing and
building purposes may be procured from the
contiguous mountain sides. We have never |
before heard of a complaint being made by
ny one that the country suffered for want
# it.
There are many other misstatements inthe
otter of W. S. that may appear to call for at
.ention, but for the present we shall pass them
y. 1t would require more space than we
at command to notice them at length.
he main counts in 1.-THE long indictment which
hesswriter has drawn up against the territory
ave been, however, briefly referred to. We
hail leave the more extended answer to them
} the future, feeling assured that "time will
ct all things even," though they be such ir-
ocular eftuslons as those of W. S.