Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1885-1890, 1886-07-17
LAND AMI FOOD.

MI. Edward Atkinson contributes
to the last number Of Bradstreet's a
of the land question, which dis
covers the immense productive pow
ers yet ~undeveloped in this country.
Mr.. Atkinson has been stirred by the
agitation against farther land appro-
priation, to consider how far our
sources of supply r really utilized.
He finds that We have yet hardly
scratched the surface Of the national
treasure farm. Placing the whole
of the United States, exclusive of
Alaska, at 100000 square miles, me
half Of this, Or 1900, 600 square miles,
is arabic land. There is really more
than this which might properly be
called arabic, but there is this much
that is fairly adapted to successful
agriculture. It is estimated that,
with ordinarily careful cultivation, our
average cor crop of from 100000
900 to 1900 ,OO0,0 900 bushels could be
produced from 1880 square miles Of
land. About 6O,O square miles only
are now sown to wheat. "This little
patch" says Mr.. Atkinson, at only
thirteen bushels bushels to the acre,
would yield 10000 ,0GO bushels Of
wheat. In the same way, u hay
crop Of 40,00O,0O0 tons mightb be gath
cred from $4,000 square miles, 500,-
100000 to 600,O00,OOO bushels Of oats
from 10000 square miles, 100000 to
100000 bales Of cotton from 10000
square miles, and 10000 miles more
would answer for all the miscellaneous
crops OF roots, Vegetables, sugar, to-
bacco and side products, Less than II
per cent. Of our total area, Or less than
. per cent Of the 100000 square
miles which we have seen constitutes
the area available for agriculture,
would therefore yield all our field
products in the quantities now pro
duced.
Dividing the remaining 100000
square miles roughly, one-half of il
is cIassed as pasture land, and the
other half as mountain and timber. Il
is estimated that 10000 square miles
would easily produce al our beef, CO.
900 more all our dairy products ane
10000 more support all our sheep
Less than IS per cent. of this division
is apparently sufficient for the ma
t:onal herds and hocks. And Of the
remaining section, described as noun
tain and timber a considerable por
ton, consisting Of sheltered and fer
tile valleys, is also available for agri
culture OF grazing, From this it ap
pears that even with Il wastefu
| system, on the basis Of which thest
calculations are made, the nationa
| area is far from being called into list
to supply the national wants. Blu
says Mr.. Atkinson, mo one yet know;
the productive capacity of a singh
acre Of land anywhere, When LAM
is treated as a laboratory. and not a
a mine, subsistence may become NOR
Of a science than it now is, and Meth
er prosperity nor adversely may the]
be attributed either to abundance o
to lack Of Iand.o Our richest soil
are not half developed. A list. give1
by NJ. Atkinson, of counties yieldin,
farm products exceeding in valu
81, 000, 900 annually, shows that near
~ all Of them are in New York, Penn
~sylyania and Illinois. It is a fac
known to every one that these are nc
equal in productive power to the soil
Of the Northwest; but a.denser popu
lation and a system Of intensive farm
ing have yet to develop the resource
Of the latter, 1t is impossible to es
innate the population which thi
country can sustain when that shall
have been done.
THE GROWLER BUSHES.