The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-12-31

ogniZed as one of the greatest stock
raising, fruit growing and agricultural
states in the west, and among its most
prominent industries will be that OF
beet sugar growing. The possibilities
of Montana in this latter respect have
long been discussed, but only in the
past year have any attempts been
made to demonstrate what might be
done in this part of the country in
that respect About a year ago Henry
Altebrant of New York, president Of
the Manhattan Mating company, be-
came interested in the question. He
was convinced from what he saw on
his company's big farm at Manhattan
in the Gallatin valley, that this state
offered exceptional facilities for raising
sugar beets, and he sent to Germany
for an expert on beet raising and the
manufacture of sugar. The expert Wis
tied different parts of Montana and ex
amined the soil and secured a number
of beet. samples which he took away
with him and had analysed on his re-
turn to Germany. His report was very
favorable and since then a number of
capitalists and men interested in the
sugar industry have been at work to
establish the industry in this state with
present prospects of success.
The department of agriculture has
also been investigating the matter and
in its recently published report speaks
of Montana as promising field, though
the government experts do not speak so
well of the Montana beet as did the
German expert.
One of the new and important indus
tries of the state is the paper mill
which has just been started UP at
Manhattan. 1t is said to be one of the
largest in the country and since the
enterprise was first started it has be-
come necessary to increase the capac-
ity of the mill and it was built much
larger than was at first contemplated.
The mill is owned and operated by the
Montana Pulp & Paper company. and
all grade of paper is to be manufac-
tured.
Big Irrigation Scheme.
The state arid land commission has
Just inaugurated a scheme that will
result in the greatest good to the state.
The commission has succeeded in in
teresting Butte capital in a proposition
to construct an irrigating canal by
which $1,000 acres of land in the east
ern part of the state will be reclaimed.
1t is the plan of the commission to is
sue bonds in order to raise the neces-
sary money and the Butte capitalists
will take them at par. The commits
sion has already let contract for
will reclaim $4,000 acres when COM
pleted. and plans have been outlined
Cor retaining the whole of the million
acres the state secured through the
Carey act. At present the prospects are
very bright for reaping a vast benefit
from the reclamation of these lands.
Agricultural Outlook.
Evidence of the states outlook from
an agricultural standpoint is given by
Moses Folsom, the immigration agent
of the Great Northern, in a conversa-
ton with The Herald correspondent
few days ago. He said:
Montana is about as large as the
original thirteen states of the Union
and contains a greater variety of nat
ural resources than can be found in the
original Union, and. for that matter, in
any state east of the Mississippi river.
New and comparatively unknown, ex-
cept to those who have kept pace with
growth, it may be sur
prise to the general public when / say
that Montana leads the Union in aver
age per capita wealth. in the number /
of sheep owned and in the number of
pounds of wool and in pounds of cop
per produced annually"
There is room there for millions of
people in all sorts of gainful occupa-
tions. Along the Milk river. which the
Great Northern follows for $50 miles, |
of farms can be taken up in
sight and hearing of daily trains. In