The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-07-15
GRASS is CURING RAPIDLY
Ranges Becoming Brown and Grazing
Poor in Several Counties-Har.
vesting Begun.


greater portion of the state, says Sec
ton Director r. F. Young in his week
ly crop bulletin, issued last Tuesday.
The exception is in some of the cen
trail counties and portions of Carbon,
Custer and Rosebud, where refresh
ing local showers occurred. Ranges
are becoming brown and grazing very
poor in portions of Chouteau, Cascade,
Jefferson, Lewis and Clarke, Madison,
Powell and Valley counties. Cattle
are doing still fairly well, except
where water is inaccessible.
Rye and timothy harvest has begun
in several counties. Irrigated crops
are making excellent growth. Dry
land meadows promise a short crop.
Winter wheat and oats are heading.
Bugs have injured potatoes in places;
garden truck made rapid growth.
Strawberries, c%urrants and cherries
are being marketed in Missoula, Flat
head and Yellowstone counties.
Reported by Correspondents.
Extracts from the reports of cor
respondents in different counties fol-
low:
Observation-Disclosures: Very hot
and dry; haying in progress; streams
holding out well; stock OF all kinds
doing well. Winston: Crops looking
we'll, but late; alfalfa a fine crop;
a shower on the 9th helped wonder
fully. Canton: Dry and warm; good
haying weather; first crop of alfalfa
about half up; grain looking better
since the rain; potatoes look promis-
ing; water getting short.
Dawson-Tokna: Dry and windy;
hay will be short on account of
drouth; feed is good and grass is cur
ing; crops suffering for rain.
Fergus-Utica: Rainy week, excel
lent for grass and grain; alfalfa being
cut, an excellent crop; wild hay ex-
ceptionally good; grain poor and back
ward. Elso: Hot, dry weather con
tinues; range has turned brown; cat
tie looking well; first crop alfalfa
about all in stack; grasshoppers get
ting numerous.
Gallatin-Sexton: The weather con-
tinues c~hangeable; but very little rain;
some grain is burning badly; crops
vary much according to locality; pota-
toes late; some alfalfa cut; prospects
for farmers not so good as they might
be.
Lewis and Clarke-Birdseye: Dry
and warm; irrigated crops doing fairly
we'll; range bare; grass burned up.
Madison-Norris: Range needs
moisture; rye in stack; crop short;
some alfalfa cut; not so good as last
year, and ten days later; water in
streams holding out well. Spanish:
Weather warmer; timothy heading;
rye soon ready to cut. Cameron:
Crops growing finely; grain all irri-
gated once; water plentiful; no haying
done; very dry and range dried up.
Meagher-Two Dot: Fine rain Fri
day, reviving grass on range; hay
and grain looking we'll; alfalfa being
cut, and a good crop expected; veg
etables fine. Shawmut: Hay of all
kinds a better crop than seemed posi-
BILE two weeks ago.
Missoula = Missoula: Unirrlgated
grain almost ruined; fine cherry crop
being gathered; strawberries about
gone; plentyo of water in small streams.
Rosebud-Lock: Heavy rain and
hail on 4th; grain making good pro-
gress; will be an average yield; hay
is green, some being cut; potatoes a
fair crop, but badly damaged by bugs;
outlook for a corn crop is good; gar
den truck an average crop.
t Sweet Grass-Howie: Haying in
! full progress; weather dry and warm.
; Valley-Milk River: Dry weather at.
t fecting everything; hay will be a
, short crop. Poplar: Dry weather af-
fecting everything; grass curing rapid,
~; haying begun, prospects fair, al.
though the grass is not thick on the
ground. Oswego: Weather very warm:
, all growing crops greatly damaged;
, wild hay crop drying up.
} Yellowstone-Billings: Past week
has been dry and warm; rye being har.
vested; all grain crops doing we'll
irrigation in progress generally; sec.
ond crop of alfalfa making excellent
t growth; all vegetables looking fine.