Fergus County Democrat. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-1919, 1905-03-14
Special Correspondent for the Dem
OCrat Tells of Beautiful and
Fertile Country.
SOME MAGNIFICENT RANCH HOMES
Several of the Finest Places in the
State Adjacent to UtiCd---The
Village Is Prosperous.

AS fertile section as in the Judith
Basin is the big scope of country
stretching from the foothills Of the
Belts at the head of the Judith river
east to Ross Fork and north to Rocky
Ridge, taking in the districts sur
rounding Utica, Stanford, Philbrook
and Geyser All grain crops INDECENT
to this section OF the continent are
raised with success while the root
crop is good in the bottom lands and
where irrigation is possible.
In the immediate vicinity of the
Judith, from the foothills to Phil
brook, are some Of the richest farm
lands in the west and crops raised on
the farms in that locality are far
above the crop statistics of the state.
From the time when the earliest set
tiers penetrated to this garden spot of
the state it has been noted for it's
natural resources and agricultural
possibilities. AS fine a grazing coun-
try as there is in the west, it was the
headquarters of some of the largest
stock ranches in the county until the
rapid settlement Of the district neces-
STATED the removal of the larger herds
to the more unsettled country further
north.
The oldtimers yet tell of the time
when the succulent prairie grasses
reached the hubs of freight wagon
and the entire country was covered
with so heavy crop of wild hay in
The fall that work horses would pull
through the winter in excellent shape
without extra feeding. This scope of
country is situated in natural basin
and is protected from the more rigor-
Gus billiards which rage further north
and it is a well known fact that the
precipitation of moisture during the
year is far above the average for the
state. 1t is very seldom that fail
ure of crops is reported as the result
of non-sufficiency of moisture and in
fact but once during the past fifteen
years has such been the case and that
only on higher lands.
There are in the neighborhood of 25,-
900 acres of good ground under cultiva-
tion within a radius of ten miles
from Utica and revenue derived from
the working of these lands and the
raising of stock in that section ma
terially assists in the prosperity Of
the county. The grain crop will ay-
erage 40 bushels to the acre: two crops
of alfalfa are harvested each summer
and three tons of meadow hay to the
acre is procured on the bottom lands.
Excellent stands of alfalfa have been
raised in the immediate vicinity. The
Sage Creek Sheep Co., S. S. Hobson
and Waite & Morse are the largest al
falfa growers in the neighborhood,
while it is raised as one of the princi-
pal crops on many Of the smaller
ranches.
The two crops of alfalfa raised dur
ing the summer will average five tons
to the acre each crop, while on some
of the river lands three crops are
grown. The Waite & Morse ranch is
one Of the largest properties in the
neighborhood of Utica and there is in
the neighborhood of ten thousand
acres under fence. A considerable
portion OF this ranch is under crop
cultivation. S. S. HObson owns one
of the prettiest ranches in the county,
which is situated about two miles
from Utica. This property is located
on both sides of the Judith river and
on it are raised some of the largest
crops per acre that are harvested in
the district. The Sage Creek Sheep
Co., situate about eight miles from
Utica in the direction of Stanford, is
very valuable property and in the
neighborhood of 5000 tons of hay is
stacked there during the summer.
There are many smaller ranches and
farms scattered throughout the Sec
tion and the intending settler with
money will find no difficulty in secur-
ing home; though the greater por-
tion of the land suitable for home
stea are already filed on. Expert
ments are being conducted by S. S.
Hobson with view to ascertaining
what kind of crop OF winter wheat