Fergus County Democrat. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-1919, 1906-11-20
The UndevelOped fApanCes of Rich
Central Montana Land Need the
Touch OF the PlOw.
300, 900 BUSH. OF JUDITH WHEAT
Conservative Estimates Place Output
at That Figure -lewiStown Mill
Will Grind.

Three hundred thousand bushels of
wheat, valued at $150,O0O, Is the total
output of Fergus county's fertile wheat
belt this year Men who have closely
watched the wheat industry in this
county, and who have had ample op-
portunity to gain authentic data upon
which to make an estimate. say that
the crop will not be bushe short OF
that amount, with the chances that tho
total yield may be many thousand in
excess of 300, 900 bushels Had II not
been for an untimely drouth In the
Moore country, at the time when tho
kernels were filling, the output would
have pushed the half million mark
closely.
THESE figures are not stupendous and
in an older wheat growing country
would not stand for anything unusual.
But when 1t Is considered that a few
years ago it was thought impossible to
raise bushel Of wheat where these
thousands are now successfully grown,
the figures have deeper significanse.
When II is further considered that ev-
en- al the present time the broad bench-
es have been but touched by the plow
and fhat wheat growing Is vet In ita
varicst infancy in the Judith Basin,
the full meaning of the figures become
evident They point to the possibilities
Of the future.
Although on the Rock creek bench
country and other section Of the Basin
removed from the mountains, the yield
per acre Is little more than one-half an
ordinary crop, in the regions along the
foothills of the Judiths, Snowies and
Moccasins full crops were realized. In
some sections, notably near Kendall,
crops were better this year than last.
One crop in the Judiths averaged 80
bushels of wheat per acre. Many 9TH
ers showed nearly as heavy a yield and
the average Of the mountain crops was
little short OF 40 bushels.
In practically every section Of tho
county the acreage of wheat land has
been materially increased. Especially
Is this true of Rock creek and Sage
creek benches. The latter section is
just beginning to take its rank as
premier wheat growing region. The
country Is being rapidly settled and
thousands Of acres will produce their
first crop next year in that fertile ems
uire
What the Judith Basin needs more
than anything else, now that we are as
sured of railroads and markets, Is
farmers. Thousands of acres OF the
most fertile land Is lying idle, awaiting
the coming of the farmer The soil, the
moisture. the climate the markets, are
here, or will be with the completion Of
the Milwaukee and Burlington. All the
country needs is the brain and Drawn
of man to use natures resources and to
develop latent possibilities.
If Max Bass, general immigration
agent of the Great Northern. is suc-
cessful in what he Is about determined
to do viz, to bring $4,000 people to the
Judith Basin within the next five years,
and Bass Is usually successful in
whatever he undertakes in the line Of
settling untitled lands-this great want
will be supplied within the next few
years and the Judith Basin will take
its rank among the greatest wheat
growing regions of the northwest
Much of the wheat i'm fact nearly all
Of the crop, has been broght to the ele-
vators at IewistoWn and Moore. When
taken to the latter point, the wheat Ia
usually shipped to BOzeman, where It
Is ground into flour At Lewistown the
wheat is ground into flour of a good
grade. About 100000 bushels of wheat
is raised on land tributary to this city
and mill
The only reason that flour has not
been manufactured at the big mill dur.
ing the past month is that all the avail
able space in and around the mill is
filled with flour Several hundred
thousand pounds of flour is now on
hand and stored about the premises.
But at the rate which the flour has
been disposed of since A. b. Lehman
has gone on the road for the company
the present supply will not last long.
Mr. Lehman has been drumming up
trade all along the line of the Montana
and in other cities of the state as we'll
as Seattle Many carloads of flour have
been sold within the past two weeks.
Even the far distant orient will eat
breadstuffs made from Judith wheat,
which is the peer of any raised in the
state.
The local plant is one of the best
mills west of Minneapolis and the
grade of flour turned out with it's first
class machinery and good hard wheat
of the Judith Basin, is hard to beat.
The large elevator has been receiving
. wheat from every part of the country
tributary to Lewistown and is now
nearly filled with the yellow kernels.
The Judith Milling company's grain de-
pository has capacity of $4,000