The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-12-21
A Highly Successful Past Prophetic
of Great Development Yet
to Come.
Farming and All the Cognate
Branches Have Afforded Re-
turns Many Fold.
Crops That Can be Grown 10 the very
Best AdvantaEe-Yield in
Former Years.

There are limited districts where mining
industries are the chiefest source OF wealth.
and others where manufactures have been
built up and constitute the paramount
soure of livelihood for the people, and also
of wealth. But it is given up as an incontro-
vertible proposition that the country that
possesses desirable agricultural facilities,
whatever else may be its advantages or dis
advantages. is bound to become a popular
and prosperous region. The principal
countries. we have said, are agricultural,
but in some the calling is carried on under
many difficulties. hence we readily conclude
that the better the facilities the more pros
. porous will be the agriculture. Montana,
fortunately. We may say, is one
of these countries that combines re-
sources for a great diversity of interests,
: More than one-half of its area being in
tensely mountainous. the paramount in
dustry is mining, and it is idle to suppose
that any or all of it's other industries will
for years approach anything near the
products of its mines in value. The great
number of its water courses rising IN these
mountains and hurrying over PERCEPTIONS
pathways, cascades and cataracts toward
the sea, also offers facilities for cheap
power which will in time be employed In
manufacturing. and cannot fail to occupy
an important position in the industrial
economy of the state.
Although this is true, that the state
abounds with great mining and manufac-
turing advantages it is fact, nevertheless,
that it possesses an agricultural territory
which, for its arabic acres. is second to no
other country save possibly the alluvial
banks of the Egyptian Nile. When we re-
fer to agriculture we of course include
all the kindred branches of husbandry.
tilling the soil, dairying. poultrying. rails
ing horses, and beef, wool and mutton pro-
duction, These several industries for a
number of years before the dawn of the
railroad era made the profitable develop
ment of quartz mines possible, constituting
the chief source of livelihood to the greatest
number, and have developed to fair proper
tions. But We are unable to give statsti-
cal summary of these products, from the
fact that such is not to be had.
Sutherlin Bros, of the Rocky Mountain
Husbandman, the agricultural advocate of
the state, for a number of years compiled
the statistics on the wool, beef, mutton,
wheat, oats. barley and potato product of
the territory. but this task finally became
too severe a tax upon individual effort un-
assisted by either the general or local gov
ernment and they had to abandon their
purpose, and the reports of late years are
sufficiently reliable to be of value. The
output of beef amounts to about lOO.OOC
head annually, but it would be impossible
to approximate anything near what the
home consumption has been. The same
is true of the mutton product; 10000 would
probably cover the shipments out of the
state, but we have no means Of ascertaining
the consumption at home But the wool
baipr for fha r,raCant alt cent ga OF
to market, can be safely set down MS return
ing m annual revenue of $1,000 900.
Even if we could give the grain product
it would avail nothing, unless we were able
to give the number of acres from which 1t
was harvested and the number of farmers
employed in the labor. The last estimates,
however. that were furnished by the gentle
men referred to above set the average
wheat yield at twenty-six bushels per acre
and the yield of oats at thirty-seven bush
els per acre. Deer Lod &c. and Gallatin
age Of 400 400 bushels of - potatoes
per acre, which were, we believe, the
only districts reported. But the yield of
our fields has not como up to these esti-
mates by considerable for the past three
seasons, for the reason mainly that the
water supply has not been adequate to the
number Of acres under cultivation. This
has been due to two reasons: First, ex-
cessively drouthy summers and snowless
winters have dried up the fountains of the
earth in such a manner as to greatly reduce
the flow of all of our streams; the other,
that there are great many more bitches
taken out and more acres put under cultiva-
.tion, dividing the water up more than in
the earlier days when estimates of crop
yields we're made.
These facts do not discourage us as to
the permanency of our agriculture and its
continued importance to the wealth, health
and haprinpaa nf the nNOnl9 nf the 1tatQ
All that is needed is to insure the success
fol cropping of our valleys ia an
adequate water supply, and this
judiciously applied. Those living
In the old settled states of course and very
naturally look upon irrigation as q great
barrier to successful agriculture but the
truth is this is wherein the chief advantage
lies in Montana farming over that of the
older states With water at his command
the Montana farmer can in manner compel
crop. and crop failure need never oo-
cur. And the increase of production pei
acre, where a perfect season is furnished
such as is in the power of the farmer who
irrigates to supply over that which is pro.
duced by the ordinary season of the states
is such as to doubly paw the cost of irriRat-
ing, to say nothing of the absolute securi.
ty the system gives to our farming indus
try.
Montana grows the cereals, grasses, hard
Ter vegetables, small fruits of all kinds, tn
hardy varieties Of standard apples. PLUMB
and crabs. We do not claim TO
it that it is corn conn
try, although corn for table us
is grown on nearly every valley in the state
and some of the hardest varieties have fire.
quently yielded, with judicious care, i
such mountain valleys as the Prickly Pea
Missouri and Gallatin, thirty-fve bushel
per acre; but the greatest success is al
tanned in the Bitter Root and Yellowston
valleys. MELONS are also grown with create
success in the two last named valleys. u
tomatoes squashes. and many tender veg
tables are grown in the valleys first nance
In the years that have passed but little a
Tbntion has been given to the culture
grasses the farmers relying chiefly upe
native meadows to furnish the hay suppl
This has been good SO far as this quality
feed goes and in many instances blue joi
and upland meadows are superior
the best tame grass meadows. B
the necessity of increasing t
country, which has become apparent by t
too close grazing of the ranges in SUNNI
requires that more attention be given to I
tame grasses. Timothy, alfalfa, clover a
number of varieties of tame grasses 8,
coed admirably and, as they require L
water than grain crops. are bound to
come very popular. The grain area,
though it at present produces very prot
able crop and successive cropping of
land does not necessarily deteriorate it.
land il bound to reduce rather than incre
until sour farmers have had time to
tify themselves with reservoirs on the sn
streams and long canals from our main !
nfa But Montana can never have total G