The weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1891-1894, 1892-12-02
IMPORTANT
To FARMERS.
They Must Sunnpr-Fa|I0v
To Raise Grain Successfully in Mon.
tana Without Irrigation,
Useful Hints and Practical IniOrma.
ton from One Who
KNOWS

The following important letter las
been handed to the TEIHuHh hy Hon, i
Paris Gibson:
The Rocky Mountain IlushandmaL is
pleased to note that the farmers Of Dccn
creek who were the most successful pro
duccrs of grain in the Missouri valley
region this year are right in line again
for another crop. They have learned
that To raise good crops the land must
hc either summer fallowed or fall plowed
and are employing themselves and their
teams in plOwing. 1t has only been
few years that any Of the Mcagher coun-
" farmers thought il necessary to do
summer OF fail blowing and it is pleas
ing 10 note the freedom with which they
are taking to this plan Of securing good
results from their labor in grain raising.
The above from the Rocky Mountain
IIusbandman is timely and Of interest
to us all. as there is probably no other
state in the union where summer and
fall plOWng is as essential to the sue
cessful cultivation Of wheat and oats as
Montana. The farmers of Cascade amt
. Chotcau counties especially should bear
/ this in mind. aS the wheat raising Of
these counties must in the future be
carried on mainly upon the bench lands
which cannot be made irrigable. The
reason why fields designed for small
grains should bc plOwed III the summer
or fall is based upon the theory Of keep
ing as much moisture as possible IN the
ground in order 10 start the gram IN the
spring and To keep II growing until ma +
turity. Lands piowed in summer and
fall are put in proper condition to alb
srrb moisture from the fall SHOWS aud
rains. and when the grain Is sOwn late IN
the winter or in the first spring month
as il almost invariably can be when
Il g ground has been plowcd the proceed
ing summer OF fall-lt Will sprout with
the first spring warmth and thus get an
early start. The succeeding sn0|talIs
and rainfalla between march and July
will not fail to grow ami mature the
crop.
Now. if ploving is done in April or
May As is usually the case, the dry sur
face soil Is turned under and the moist
sul is turned up to the surface to be
dried up by the sun and winds ot April
n my farming upon the bench lands Of
this section, during the past eight years.
with the exception Of one year, have
never failed To- raise good crop OF wheat
where plowcd the lard the summer or
rall before seeding. Many of the people
Of Great Falls can testify to the excel
lent rrop Of hard wheat that | raised
from thlrty-acrc HELD near town
IN the first year of the drouth ,lSS.N,
mis- land was broken in June 1888. and
vas never back set or disturbed until it
EahrIarN WIth a
broad cast sccicr. After seeding, this
field was narrowed and thoroughly
rolled. The wheat came up early and
very evenly. and in spite of no rains IN
the spring aud summer, and frequent
hot winds. IT grew and luatured the
field giving me Il little over 900 bushcl $
or trifc more than 20 bushels to the
acre. Adjacent to this field had ton
acres Of old, mellow ground which |
I.owed and sowed to wheat in the
spring. \ part of this grain only. came
up and none Of it maturcd.
| nayc now 40 acres of land plowei,
which shall seed with wheat, oats and
barley at the earliest possible time the
earlier the better. Another advantage
from summnr-falowing is that weeds
and volunteer grain may, in this way.
be killed out. Unless our fields are plowed
in June or early July, co1nnt see how
we are to raise clean craln-and our
grin must certainly be clean. If We eX
meet to meet the demands of the mi!lcrs
and brewers Of Great Falls
There are about 100000 acres of rich
urairie and table lands in Cascade and
rhUteau counties. These lands. IN my
opinion are the best wheat lands OF
Montana, excepting perhaps the Gala
tin valley. If properly cultivated they
will produce one year with another.
without irrigation, much larger crops OF
wheat. oats and barley to the acre than
are grown in Minnesota and the most ot
Dakota. Tine conditions which exist
hpre. however. are different from those
that surround tine Minnesota farmer, ana
if is necessary in order to produce the
brst results to follow the plan ot cuiti'a-
lion have Indicated
If should be borne in mind that excel
..ut crops of wheat can be grown upon
land, that from want of sufficient mons,
,nr. are incapabl" Of producing E"o"
,.r,.p- Of vegetables.