The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1908-10-30
IL. e. WEsToATE OF BELFRY
MAKES PREDICTION.
SPLENDID PROGRESS


E = ~ O0N6SSSt uO N04
bon County News, and one. OF the most
enthusiastic boosters Clark's Fork
valley has ever produced register
a At the Grand. MI. Westgate Is ac-
companied.b BY his wife and will remain
until Saturday. Here. ID what the Car
bon county editor has TO say about
fruit raising in Southern Montana:
Ten. years from now Southern
California will have to look to It's
laurels, as far as fruit raising is con-
cerned, for Southern Montana, especi-
ally Clark's Fork valley, is forging to
the front and at no distant time pro-
misses to become a dangerous rival.
""Of course orange and lemon. grow
Ing Is out Of the question, but apples,
plun1s, grapes, berries and melons do
exceedingly well in the valley around
Belfry, Bridger and Fromberg and
there is no comparison when 1t comes
to quality.
Even now, while the ranchers are
busy harvesting a bumper crop Of
sugar beets and pocketing the fat
checks which the Billings Sugar COM
pany sends them, agents for various
nurseries r delivering fall orders
and taking more for spring delivery.
AT Belfry nearly $500 worth Of
fruit trees were delivered Monday and
Tuesday, and like amounts were de-
livered at Fromberg and Bridger.
"Profiting BY the experience Of ]. g.
Clark Of Fromberg, who has sold $10,-
900 worth OF fruit from q thirty-two
acre orchard this year, the ranchers
are going into the business on a large
scale.
IN. ID. Hall Of Belfry has purchased
enough apple and other fruit trees to
set out q ten-acre orchard and others
are setting out all the way from fifty
to 1000 trees.
Eat Fromberg work has already
started on the new canning factory
to cost about $4,000. Fruit and vege-
tables will be canned and because OF
the saving in freight and the splendid
quality Of goods which the factory In
tends to put out, it Is predicted Mon
tana merchants will be quick to patro.
nize the home industry, the first one
Of its kind, by the way, in the state.
~. G. Clark Of Fromberg has just
installed q factory which will enable
him to put up jellies, marmalades and
boiled cider in large quantities. These
products will also find a ready sale
Mr.. Clark has decided to 9 IS .
catch phrase in advertising his can.
ned goods, Just q little better thar
mother yer made
The beet sugar this eason viii
break all records. From Laurel t.
Belfry the side tracks are filed witt
loaded cars, thousands Of tons Of beets
are piled like SO much cordwood along
the tracks, wagons filled with the
beets are to be seen in every field and
along the roads and the crop 10 only
half harvested.
While it Is impossible to accur'
ately estimate the crop at this time
Il is no idle boast to claim that the
beets are going from twelve to twenty.
Ave tons to the acre. OF course The
latter figure only refers to a few fields
where the soil received special pre-.
paration and care after the beets were
in the ground, but there are q few
such fields and the men who do thu
weighing will back up the statement.
THE average is placed at from fit
teen@to eighteen tons to the Gre.
~. o. Higham, Of Belfry, estimates
at this time that his crop will average
eighteen tons to the acre, and at The
prevailing price he will receive abou1
$50 from each acre Of land. Mr.. Hig'
ham rented his land on a percentag.
basis. but he viii receive from thirt,
to forty dollars an acre, net,
Next year It e freely. predicted
the acreage will be doubled. and wha1
was considered an idle dream q few
years ago concerning q large factor,
for the valley, Is now not only feast
bic. but practically assured. With th,