Great Falls weekly tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1894-1???, 1895-02-08
GRAIN GROWING ON BENCH LANO
Editor Sutherlin of the Rocky Noun.
tain Husbandman Writes an
Open Letter.
Since Visiting Great Falls He Has
Changed his Mind About Dry
Bench Land Farming.

Bench Land Farming.
To Hon. Paris Gibson, Chairman of the
Great Falls Farmers Institute:
Since attending the farmers institute
which convened IN your city at a recent
date and listening to the experience OF
those farmers actually engaged in bench
land farming, we feel far more capable
of preparing a paper on farming in your
section, and offer this as a second edition
to what we have already written. The
marvellous success of G. l.. Stork or a
bench land farm with only a few little
springs atfordiDg water for irrigating a
garden is convincing proof that there are
many locations in yUur vicinity that can
be SUGGEST uily farmed without artificial
watering. 1t was d great surprise to US to
learn of bench land farms yielding thirty
eight bushels Of gram per acre, and hear
bench laud farmers talk confidently of
growing twenty-five bushels of hard Fife
wheat per acre on an average one year
with another. So long have we devoted
our energies to farming by irrigation
that we are unwilling to risk the posi-
bilities Of loss in farming without it, but
it must be admitted that there are few
sections of the Older states that ha re
~chrOnicled better results in farming than
have oeen secured by the farmers about
Great Falls.
The report Of the Royal Milling com
pany Of your city in regard to the in
crease of wheat production is of itself
evidence of the SUCCESS of the bench
land farmer. According to this report
the crop Of the entire region tributary to
Great Falls as purchased by that com
pany in 1893 was orly 5000 bushels,
while in 1894 it was 10000 bushels. At
this rate of increase it will not be
but a few years until this great milling
plant will be able to draw it's entire sup
ply of wheat from the farms of northern
Montana. But the greatest marvels
about these lands is that the wheat pro-
duced is SO much superior to the wheat
received by the same company at it's
plant at Minneapolis. Certainly our
system OF irrigation cannot improve on
the quality of grain raised in your sec
ton, although it would increase the
yield to a material extent. 1t has long
been conceded by the farmers of the
Gallatin valley that the on-irrigated
fields produce the best quality Of hard
wheat, and the success of wheat raising
LII yOuI CGLttCu StIouSly pOlAI5 w Liz
production of the bread supply of our
state in tie near future from non-irri-
gated fields, and we assure you that you
will have our cooperation in furthering
your endeavors to grow bread making
grain on your vast tablelands. We be-
lieve, however, that the region Of North
ern Montana Is especially adapted to ex-
%tensive irrigation projects. The Burton
and Hotter canals are gigantic under
takings and are grand in their achieve
ment, inasmuch as they make crop rails
ing on the vast extent of lands lying be-
meath them absolutely safe each and
every year. These are but the beginning
of the work Of irrigation IN the bench
lands of this great agricultural district.
There are some wonderful sites for canal
Z building in this region yet unpre-empted.
5 We know of no finer site anywhere for d
great canal project than is offered by the
plateaus lying between the Missouri
j., river and Belt. The waters of the Smith
river may be caught up into a large
ditch IN the vicinity of the mouth of
Hound creek or above and carried on to
this inviting farming section, and would
| prove of great value to the farmers To-
J Gated there, inasmuch IA it would enable
l them to diversity their crops so as to
make their farms vastly more valuable.
They would thus be enabled to grow
, cats, barley, peas, soft wheat, alfalfa in
larger quantities. and other feeds very
, desirable in the production of milk, but
ter, beef, pork and mutton, and would
add an hundred fold to the value of
these bench land farms and is. therefore,
Z, an enterprise that should be encouraged
and will, we are confident, ultimately be
----1.-l~I fIL~-- -, nIr~ ,n,nty
a other desirable irrigation projects that
are promising that in the achievement OF
, years will become a reality aud make that
part of the state tributary to the Cataract
City, as safe and profitable a farming
: region as can be found on the continent
D But IN the meantime and while these
projects are but in prospect, hundreds
, and perhaps thousands of farms may be
/ opened on these high lands and a success
I achieved IN tho growing of a superior
quality of milling wheat. Some idea OF
what may be attained in this direction as
I compared with what farmers ale doing
, elsewhere may be deduceQ from the fac,
q that the Oregon farmer received twenty,
five cents per hushel for his soft wheat
last fall. while the northern Montana
a farmer received tifty-seyen cents for hi.
hard wheat product. The Montana hare
wheat producer can thus afford 10 take
{ "a much smaller crop from the land anc
still live, than the Oregon and Washing
ton state farmer does. Just what may
i yet be accomplished in increasing the
4 yield Of hard fife wheat by irrigation
! without impairing its quality, remains tc
= be demonstrated. 1t ia just possibl,
= that we may yet tiud tAat by irrigation W.
may be able to bring the average Slei'
Z of hard wheat up to forty bushels pei
: Rcre and still preserve its supertu.
quality, Some imminent mill men are o
!, this opinion. 1t is a wei. known fac
= that irrigation Is d science, and to pro
" euro the best results In wheat growing
= as we'll as in tn. growlGg OF other crops
the farmer must well understand whel
y to lrrigate his crope. We are we'll aW,r,
n that the quality of soft wheat If Otter
materially injured by late Watering an,
= it is Just possible when Montana farmer
d learn Just when to water, as The honci
= - l --