The Great Falls leader. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1888-1900, 1889-03-17
Farms Without Irrigation.
Mayer Gibson Discovers and Ex-
poses the Palaces of the
Husbandman.
NORTHERN MONTANA GRAIN
WITHOUT IRRIGATION.
The White Sulphur Springs Cham
pi0n Of Irrigation out Of
His Latitude.

man, made two or three weeks since,
charging that the bench lands of North
ern Montana, like the section he lives in
must be irrigated in order to produce
crops Of grain. Mr.. Gibson, in his letter,
which we publish entire, speaks from his
own personal and long experience IN
grain growing in this part of the Terri
tory, and substantiates his statements by
that Of several other well-known, respon-
sible aud old residents OF this section.
lie also exposes in no measured terms
the Husbandmans ignorance Of Northern
Montana, its grain growing capacity, the
| nature of its soil and the characteristics
Of this region--so different ia most re-
spects from the White Sulphur Springs
country where the Husbandman's theory,
no doubt, holds good. But the error Of
that otherwise excellent paper consists
chiefly in being determined to measure
Northern! Montana's climate and re-
sources by those Of the cold, rugged and
forbidding surroundings of the bleak and
arid southwestern slopes Of the Belt and
other ranges. Following is Mr.. Gibson 8
letter:
EDITOR HusBANDMAN: In your issue
Of February 2Sth you state that an in
jury is being done by certain Montana
journals in claiming that successful farm
ing can be carried on over much Of
Northern Montana without irrigation,
With all respect for yourself and your
most excellent paper, | think you are
doing this part of Montana great injustice
by yonr statements made on this subject
in the issue of the Husbandman referred
to-
am aware that you have lived in Mon
tana q long time, but if lam not mistaken
your personal Knowledge of Northern
Montana is very limited. | have lived
in this country north OF the Judith Basin
Tor the past ten years and during that
time do not remember having seen you
here even once, hence | cannot believe
that your statements are based upon per-
sonal observation.
In claiming that upon large areas OF
lard in Northern Montana crops of wheat
and oats can be successfully grown, one
year with another without irrigation,I am
met With opposition coming almost invar-
iably from stock men, who, from the ma
ture Of their business, are opposed to the
development ef agriculture in Montana;
or from those who have never attempted
to grow crops here. am aware that in
many parts of Montana successful ayricul-
turc cannot be carried on without irriga-
ton, but this Is due to the peculiar soils
| Of those secti"na;
| AS a general rule. the soil Of the valleys
or low lands Of Montana is very rich, hut
carries in its composition so much clay
that it is easily dried by the hot winds
The beautiful and fertile Sun River valley
cannot grow paying crops without irriga.
tion for this reason. The bench lands and
high prarics of Northern Montana are
generally very different in their compost
| ton, tilt surface being Il mellow, sandy
In some sections Of the country, notabl.
the bench lands Of the Judith Basin nd
| 1acent to the Belt mountains, the surface
soil Is upderlald by gravel, and upon such
lands crop raising without irrigation mus
be a failure. The bench lands betwecr
Fort Benton aud Hiyhwood and from For
Benton to Great Falls, and also from
Great Falls to Belt river, as we'll as the
great plateau between the Missouri anc
i Teton rivers have rich, mellow soil un
derlai'l by clay. ",.d arc among the cholc
est and richest lands to bc found il
Northern Montana. The roots Of grain
sown on these lands easily strike down tt
the moisture which cannot penetrate the
CLAY sulsoil, thus supporting the grow
ing crops when the surface is dry.
During the past seven years have
raised large crops Of oats and wheat eve
nv year without irriSating my lands. The
area Of land cultivated by me has Ranged
from forty to two hundred acres each
year, and am now seeding two hundred
acrcp mostly with hard fife wheat, Dur
ing the period Of my grain growing IN
Montana | have never had rIlstcd OF
b!iglted grain. Three years ago this
summer when we had no spring rains, II
being the dryest season known by the
'.oldcst inhabitallt." ! raised 10 bushels ol
wheat to the acre on bench lands neal
Great Falls which had been plowed the
second time, and there was field OF oats
within mile and half OF my tleld
which gave - bushels to the acre. With
the exception of this dry year my bench
lands have Invariably yielded IRON % tt
40 bushels of wheat to the acre. Fol
twenty years IRON 1910, l. "No iutAHAts.Clo y
connected with wheat growing i'll Min
nesota, and during that time when Whea
raising was at its hest in tAa, State,
never knew such continuously good re
suits AS have seen here in Northern
Montana the past seven years. More
than this, have not seen any countr,
east of Montana where. The conditions arc
as favorable for wheat growing aa the,
are in Northern Montana. J will also as
sert it as my opinion that IN the grail
growing countries Of the world the whea
CROP suffers more from too much moist
ure than from an insufficient supply. The
rainfall in Northern Montana during thu
past seven years has averaged about tel
inches yearly during May, June and July
which on our bench lands is amply sutfi
cieu1 to mature wheat and oats wheI
sown early, rs they should i,e in all north
ern latitudes. After July the more rain
the greater is the danger OF rust and dam
aged grain. Fortunately 1t seldom rain
here in August and thus we have per
feet harvest season.
If fyou will make me visit this sprin!
or summer, Mr.. Editor. ! will show yo
thousands of acres in this reg ion unde
cultivation in wheat and oats where 1t
impossible to rriyate the lands. Of thes
acres many have hca4 successfully cult
waited for seven or eight years Gn'!tin'
o,,sly aud with rar better results than
:, have ever known in the Missis 'ppi Va