The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1901-07-26
ONE RESULT OF TRANS-h1s-
SIssIpPI CONGRESS.
IRRIGATION A LIVE TOPIC
Delegate O'Donnell Talks Entertain
ingly Concerning Recent Meet
ing at Cripple Creek.

/. D. O'Donnell, who vas n of the :
two delegates from this state that at :.
the Trans-M Mississippi congress, :
has much OF interest to tell concerning :
the deliberations Of that body and the .
work accomplished, while at the same !
time 1t is the source of much salts :
to the people Of the city and :
county to know that he ,
was one of the mostactive participants .
in the numerous debates and discus ,
sions incident to the session. He
took an especially active part in the
proceedings Of the day devoted to irri-
cation and his name was one Of those
prominently mentioned in the press
dispatches sent out giving the proceed
sings Of the body. To a Gazette re-
porter yesterday Mr.. O'Donnell gave q
short sketch Of the session and Of the
part he took.
One OF the papers read on irrigation
day and which attracted great atten-
tion, not oaly from the delegates, but
from the corps Of newspaper cores.
pondents present was contributed by
Mr.. O'Donnell. The subject was RE
suits Of Irrigation" In addition to
containing much information Of q gen.
eral character, 1t was also replete with
actual figures and statistics, which
feature gave it special worth and
caused it to be considered more ser.
iously, perhaps, than any Of the other
numerous papers and addresses. The
figures submitted were gathered by
Mr.. O'Donnell in this part Of the Vel
lowstone valley and were based on
actual conditions and results as OBJ
tanned here by those who have made a
study Of the matter Of irrigation, be-
sides employing it in the development
Of their farms. To this information
Mr.. O'Donnell added his W expert
.ence, and 1t must be admitted that he
il probably as competent to speak on
the subject as any man who has ever
opened a gate of IN irrigation ditch
and watched an arid patch Of land turn
into a fertile, productive field. Though
the medium of the figures submitted
by him Mr.. O'Donnell showed that in
this part OF the Yellowstone valley,
which may be accepted as fairly rep
resentative OF the agricultural dis
tricts Of the state, an acre OF
irrigated ground given over to the pro-
duction of alfalfa will feed a steer
400 days, while the same area OF
fenced pasture will sustain the same
animal for a period Of only 20 days
Again taking the same amount OF open
range pasturage and at the end OF ten
days the feed will have been exhaust
ed and 1t will be necessary to remove
the animal to other feeding ground.
Stating to the delegates present
that there might be some among them
who did not like cattle and had ne
use for figures giving information
interesting only to the men who feet
cattle, he showed the results OF irri
CATION as applied to the feeding O
sheep. Taking the average OF tn
land holdings of the farmer OF tn
west he demonstrated that a farm Q
100 acres, irrigated, planted to alfalfa
III capable Of producing sufficient fee
to supply a flock Of 1000 sheep for
period of one year. The same amour
OF fenced pasturage will sustain onl
so sheep for the same length OF time
while 100 acres Of range will supper
only 40 sheep for that length OF time
After fully explaining the matter an
answering the numerous question
which his statement provoked, M
O'Donnell next showed what irrigatio
had done In other ways for this pal
Of the state. He gave the cost OF tn
big bitches in this part Of the valley
3c5O.OOO, and the total acreage su
plied with yater from them as 5000
He placed the value Of the Ian ware
ed from the bitches at $50 per acr
thus making the total value OF $1,SO(
go. On this land there are annual
wintered 100000 sheep, of a value
s75O,O00; 10000 cattle, at $50 per hea
Mn 5000, 900; 1900 horses, $4,000; TO-
900 tons OF alfalfa are gathered OF
market value OF $500, 900; 100000 bus
|# w 81 grain, valued at 100000; 100
#aAtKn Of timothy and other hay, $40
400: vegetables, fruits, etc, $4,000
making the aggregate value of all Il
PRODUCTS OF the land $~3.722,ooo.
lhis he added the cost OF the ditch
which must be considered as n
fne assets.a and the hgures ne had
Sand amazed even The most enth,