The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-08-27
Horticultural Hall Is Literally {
Bower Of Beautiful Bios
SONS and Foliage.
The Ladies Have Indeed Made U
Fine Exhibit in Their
Departments.
Custer County's Exhibition OF Grain, Hay,
Fruits, Vegetables, the Great
est Ever Seen Here.

looking daily through the halls, wandering
down by the stock pens or eagerly Watching
the racss. indicate that Montana, although
a state yet in it's infancy, has the resources,
capability and enterprise to compete with
its older sisters in the east in her yearly
exhibits Of products.
Since Monday many additions have been
made to the exhibits in every department.,
among the most noticeable being several
fancy articles which were indicative of tho
aesthetic taste and artistic talent of Mrs.
A. j. Davidson; beautiful bed spread,
with conventional designs worked in cloud
ed yellow rope silk, attracted considerabl Q
attention. This was thework of Miss Swan.
Several elaborate toilet sets and table sets
received great share of fattering COM
ment, Doylies worked on heavy drill in
white rope silk, the design being clover
leaves were very pretty. Many fine paint
ings by Miss Phillips, Miss jackson, Mrs.
McElroy, and Mrs. Burch adorned the
walls.
In horticultural hall the greatest tran
formation had taken place. The tables
we're literally beds of roses. Never before
in Helena has there been SO beautiful a dis
play of flowers. Long tables actually
groaned under the weight of the blossoms,
and the air was redolent with their per-
fume. TO the left as you enter is mon
strous marguerite, a wealth of white and
yellow blossoms. The entire table is COW
cred with tropical growth of foliage, the
table across the hall is equally as beauti-
full. In the center of the room is long
table covered with vases, baskets, crosses
and pitchers filled with cut flowers. A pill
low of white, pink end yellow hollyhock
caused more ordinations of delight than
did all the horse races. Pansies. yellow,
purple brown and golden with their sweet
faces looked from dishes of different shapes
and sizes. Sweet peas and mignonette
shed their fragrance throughout
the room, golden suntlower and dahlias-
red. yellow and white-almost put to shame
the delicate blossoms standing close by
them. The gardens of Mrs. Fretz, Mrs.
Potts, Mrs. Burns, Mrs. Morris, Mrs. Mil
Ter, Mrs. Fack and Mrs. Weston were
robbed of their beautiful treas ures to form
The exhibit of canned and preserved
fruits. jellies and pickles by Mrs. Arnold
would tempt the appetite of epicureans.
Other displays of jellies and canned fru its
of great merit are also there. The cooking
school has produced good results if the ex
hibition made by the scholars is indicative.
Women with talent for making jams, the
ferred to those who had an aptitude for dis
cussing the constitution. Even the august
emperor would have bowed respectfully to
the display of jams and jellies the ladies of
our town have made.
They have great variety of eatables, in
the form of cakes, pies and confections
samples of the culinary art found in
this hall. To be appointed judge
over so varied and meritorious display must
indeed be com pliment, but to judge fairly
and honestly must be no mean task.
Custer county has, at great expense, sent
to the fair an exhibit of more than ordinary
Chamber of Commerce, who placed very
competent gentleman. l.. A. Hoffman, in
charge. Having always been regarded by the
other parts of the state as merely grazing
county, where it was impossible to raise
anything but grass and sagebrush, Custer
people wish to have it understood, nov they
have irrigation, that they are ''in it'' with
the best of them. The exhibit shows a
greater variety of products than has ever
been credited to Montana by the most en-
thusiastc agriculturalist. They come from
the various ranchmen of the county. A
special feature is the corn, lots of which is
raised near Miles City, both with and without
irrigation. The stalks are many of them II
feet high and contain from twenty to
twenty four rows around the cob. The
watermelons intended for the exhibit were
destroyed in transit, though the ranchers
are marketing both watermelons and
tomatoes in Custer county now. There are
exhibit, and they would do credit to any
state in the union, being large and firm as a
dollar. The alfalfa, too. is wonder.
Three cuttings from the same ground are
shown, all made this summer. The first
and second cuttings are four feet high and
the last three feet. California thinks her
four cuttings of alfalfa are wonderful
ing up to the coast state. All three cuttings
were made mile from town. Hungarian
oats of wonderful size and head
are also shown. The squashes
and pumpkins are something surprising.
They are unquestlonably the best ever
shown at the state fair. One squash il
seventy-eieht pounds in weight, and is
twenty-four inches across and fifteen inches
through. There ia pumpkin also twenty
four inches broad and eighteen inches deep,
with lots of others pressing it for first place.
The beets on exhibition prove conclusively
that Montana ranohmen can make money
by cultivating that vegetable for sugar pur-
poses. Some of them must weigh ten or
twelve pounds, and were not picked for
their size, but were taken at random. The
German sugar beets are both large and en-
ticing looking. Both the German and the
req DeetS are rRl6eu IN custer county eltner
with or without irrigation. One raised
without irrigation is eighteen inches long
and six inches thick. The cabbages seen
are from twelve to fifteen inches across
and very firm and heavy. Besides these
vegetables are carrots, red onions of splen-
did size, marvellous rutabagas, red peppers
and Irish potatoes. The potatoes were dug
at random and some Of them will weigh up
in the pounds. There is also good show
ing of CRAP apples and plums, large and
round, and equal to any ever grown. A
tobacco plant six feet high is another at
traction. Altogether Custer Is to be con-
graduated on her advance in an agricultural
way, and threatens to outdo the Bitter Root
ana Galtatin valleys. Custer has an area
of $4,000 square miles, is as large as the
state of Pennsylvania, and ahounds in
luxurious prares and fertile valleys. 1t
has an abundance of water in never fail
ing streams and All agricultural ca-
pacity, with irrigation, of 1,000.O00 acres.
1t has upwards of thirty irriRating canals
in operation, one (the Miles City ditoh)
twenty miles long. This ditch has a
capacity Of 1000 inches of water. and has
lying under it 25.00o acres Of arabic land,
only small proportion of which is under
cultivation. Miles City and Fort keoHh
offer large and convenient markets. 1t is
Thought anything that grows i'll the north
can be raised in Custer county. The sea-
sons are longer at both ends than any other
part the state.