The Estancia news. [volume] (Estancia, Torrance County, N.M.) 1904-1912, 1909-04-30
DRY FARMING
IN MONTANA
Practical Farming Outlined by
Practical Farmer

"HSEtDy u new SeLIlSr can Hldhe goOd
the first season, and would suggest the
following:
First--ks to the selection Of home
stead on which to locate. AS livestock
is an essential TO the highest success in
farming in the semi arid belt, a location
should be made adjacent to as much
free range as possible. Naturally this
win take the settler into the more
broken sections Of the country, where
he can find some smooth land on the
bench or along some small stream,
where small diversion dams may be put
in and flood waters turned out on small
bottoms for orchard and garden, thus
nsuring q comfortable home life, as
plenty of domestic and stock water is
absolutely essential TO success.
All kinds Of small fruit and the hard
lest varieties of apples and plums do
well on the bench lands Of Montana,
and there is no reason why an industri-
Gus farmer should not live as well or
better than the aveage farmer in the
corn belt. No more money is required
to carry out the plan as above outlined
than would be needed to stock and run
a 1850 acre farm in Iowa, Illinois or Wis
consin, and the net returns should be
greater from the very first year than
they would be on a rented farm in The
corn belt.
The homesteader should move onto
the land he intends to improve by Nov
enber | at the latest. 1t would be bet
ter for him to be there by October l, SO
as to get up his house before winter
sets in, although in this section of Mon
tana people winter in tents and do not
suffer greatly, Still, to d person com
ing from the more humid east the bet
ter plan is to put up as comfortable
house as he can afford. During the
winter months material can be got on
the ground for stables, corraIs and
fencing, and the early spring months
can thus be left free to break up the
new sod If 3 person waits until spring
to move onto his claim, too often the
summer is we'll along before he has got
up his house, stables and corrals, and
the dry vi 5hef sets in before he fair
ly gets started breaking, and the result
is he loses a whole year.
Let US suppose then that thenew set
tier has moved onto his claim in October
has got his buildings we'll out of the
way and is ready to start in breaking
by the middle Of March, or by the first
of April at the latest His horses should
have been grained all winter, and thus
be ia good shape for good spring :
work He should have at least fom
good 1400-pound horses to pull a l4-incf
sull1y plow, and five would be better
he would thus have an extra horse tC
change off with and run his seeder. lie
should plow shallow, say 215 to inch
es, II his sod is tough, and should rol
each half days breaking before leaving
the field, so as to secure a sod mulci
and conserve all the moisture that ma.
fall during the spring and summer. H
should count on getting 60 days break
ing during April, May and June, beside
doing the other work needed to be done
If he averages 2l5 acres per day am
attends to the other work that must b
done to put in crop he will do well
This should give him $50 acres broke
UP and leave him 10 acres wild pastur
on his homestead, which will be a
thai he will need il he follows "soilin
methods" of handling his livestock
The plan as here outlined pre-. suppose
that the settler has brought ten grad
Jersey heifers, bred to calves in MarcE
and ten Duroc Jersey gifts, bred to pig
in April, out with him in his car: ais
brought corn enough with him to ru
him through the first winter and sprini
His horses he had better purcha:
+ whore he locates, as horses brougl
from the states do not do well Il
first season and will not stand up to t
spring work like horses that a
; acclimated