The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-09-28
Conrad Investment Company's
Ranch in Teton County.
A SYSTEM OF IRRIGATION
That Will Supply Water for 65, 900 Acres
of Land - High Grade Stock.
There Are Immense
Possibilities.

|
Conrad Investment company in Teton
county. and Monday afternoon left
| for Missoula to attend the irrigation
| congress as the representative of this
city. A more apt delegate could not
have been selected, as Mr.. Conrad is
more directly interested in irrigation
| than any other one man in Cascade
county, or perhaps in all of northern
| Montana. The ranch owned by the
investment company includes more
! than 10000 acres, lying to the north of
Dupuyer. Mr.. Conrad and his associ-
ates began to obtain title to the place
over 10 years ago and have added piece
| to piece until they now have the larg-
est ranch in one solid tract in Montana
and one of the largest in the west or
| in the country for that matter.
| About two years ago they began to
/ improve it and to provide for system
| Of irrigating canals and bitches. Work
| has been done at intervals until there
| is now over So miles of ditch in opera
ton and as many more miles to build.
| The water to supply these bitches is
| taken from the Dupuyer and Birch
creeks by canal from each, which
! is 20 feet wide at the bottom and car
| ries, with branches, 5000 miners inch
| Vi
| a little below that, a reservoir cover
! ing 5000 acres and Is feet deep is to
be built, and this will not only irri-
| gate all of the portion of the ranch in
| tended for farming but about $4,000
/ more acres. The vastnesS of the tract,
| the 20, 900 acres and more which are un-
der ditch and fence, is better realized
from a remark made by Mr.. Conrad
yesterday morning to the Standard rep
| resentative. when in speaking of the
| work done there this summer, he said
that the men had fenced in a large
bunch of antelope, but did not know
just where they were.
The value of the tract may be judged
from the fact that about a year ago
the company purchased about 1,200
| acres of land on the northwest line of
the ranch from w. D. Jones of Du-
puyer and paid him $4,000 cash for the
same Figured at this rate the whole
| tract would be valued at over half a
million of dollars.
| The northern part of the tract, the
one which has the least irrigation, will
| be turned into home ranch and de-
voted to the breeding of high grade cat
tie and sheep. OF the latter the breeds
will be Shorthorn Hereford Breeding
| stock for the latter is already pur-
chased and will be forwarded later and
| placed on the ranch. All of the ami
| mails will be blooded stock, for some of
them as high as $3.50 per head has been
paid. These, of course, are animals
imported from England and are regis
| tered. AS starter for the sheep Mr.
| Conrad has now at the sheds across
| the river used this summer by H. H.
| Nelson for shearing 141 head of De-
| laine Merino bucks purchased in Mich
igan. They will be inspected and dip
| ped here tomorrow and then sent
north. This part of the enterprise
| orlyc in he ga h1l
conducted by the Conrads, as it will
| be the object to raise none but the best
| of cattle, and instead of allowing them
| to range and take their chances in Sc
we're weather the calves and the weak
| stock will be brought in during the
cold weather and housed and fed to
| save loss.
The other half of the enterprise has
more nearly a public interest, for it
will be the effort to interest settlers
and induce them to take up land UNI
der irrigation and make homes. No bet
ter place could have been selected for
! this purpose. All of those who have
visited the land say that the soil con-
| sists of a deep black loan which will
| produce excellent crops of everything
adapted to this climate. 1t is not en-
tirely new, this idea, for the Burton
| settlement further to the south has
been in operation for several years
| is not on the same magnificent scale
| however. The possibilities of this por-
tion of the scheme are hardly to be cal
| culated at the present time. 1t is
merely a question of how many people
| can by farming and dairy work OBJ
tain living from 10000 or 60 900 acres
| of land. while the effect of settling up
such a large tract upon the surround
| ing country and even upon this city
/ is beyond expression in figures at this
| stage. While the work of ditching
| is going forward, some As men are
| at work on the tract. but when settle
ment has commenced this number will
not be an item in the total number of
| men who will find employment and a
living on this huge, almost baronial
estate.
| While at the present time the
SCENE is purely a private one, it will
become with the passage of time
matter in which every citizen of north
ern Montana will be interested, for it
| will aid to solve problem which has
| always perplexed this section 1t will
| provide a certainty of crops in I'M
| favorable seasons and it will provide
| food for the state which is now being
| shipped in by the carload 1t seems
| strange that in a country so well adapt
| ed to dairy farming as northern Mon
| tana practically all of the smoked
meats used therein and very nearly all
| or the dairy products consumed therein
! should be brought from other states.
| There is, to be sure, a small proper
| ton of the cheese and butter made
| here. The Burton creamery is MAX
| ing an encouraging daily output and
! gradually increasing it and the pro-
! duct is finding favor with the people:
| the local farmers are also putting
mail quantities of butter and cheese
on the local market. but it is no exag-
| geration to say that nine-tenths of the
| butter used in this city and county
| and the rule, no doubt, applies still
| stronger in the towns east of Great
| Falls-is shipped in from Dakota and
Minnesota, while nearly all of the
! cheese comes from Wisconsin. Poultry
| and eggs are also shipped in almost
| like proportions, and this condition will
never change until the production of
| these things begins at home and on a
scale large enough to promote economy
| in transportation.