The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1909-06-09
CULBERTSON


several large store buildings and bu
mess blocks with many convenience
of larger cities and the advance i
real estate values in the last tw
years has made several property hole
ers on the main street practically il
dependent.
Culbertson owes its prosperity t
the development of the surround
ing country which is essentially a dr.
farming region. Along the vale
there are some efforts at irrigation
on comparatively small scale, bu
even here many Of the farmers ar,
using so-called dry farming methods
for conserving the moisture, having
found by experience that by so doing
they get better results from less wat.
er than where irrigating has been
oyerdone.
The Culbertson Commercial Club
has taken much interest in the work
of the Dry Farming Congress and es-
pecially in the Fourth sessions which
will be held at Billings, Montana,
next October 1920, and will have an
exhibit of the crops of that region on
display at the Second International
Exposition of Dry Farming Products
which will be held at Billings in con-
nection with the Congress. Walter
Mathews, secretary of the Club, has
taken up the matter of an exhibit and
has the cooperation of G. W. Tan
ner, |. O. Slette, Reno Rruegger, /.
l.. Brooks, and other prominent bus
mess men in arousing interest among
the farmers in the preparation of
products for the display.
The climate of this region is much
milder than that of North Dakota,
being subject to the moderating in
fluence of the chinook winds and
compares favorably with that of Ne
braska. The soil contains only a
slight degree of humidity.
The soil varies in character from
sandy loan to heavy clay loan. 1t
is ten to eighteen inches deep and the
subsoil generally is hard pan clay,
The lighter soils are particularly
adapted to the growing of alfalfa and
forage crops, while on the heavier
soils good yields of wheat, barley,
and fax are produced. In several
parts of the district potatoes have
been raised with success and practic-
ally everything in the way of garden
truck is grown in this vicinity. The
entire region is practically free
from stone and fully Is per
cent of the ground in the eastern half
of Valley County is suitable for cul-
aviation.
The average rain fall, according to
she reports of the volunteer observer
here, is fifteen to eighteen inches, the
greater portion of the precipitation
coming in the spring and early sum-
mer when most needed for growing
crops. During the last six years,
which covers practically the entire
period which farming has been prac-
ticed i'll this vicinity, it is said there
never has been crop failure.
Among the successful farmers near
here is Edgar Williams, who is locat-
ed in the valley, but uses irrigation
only upon a small part of his land
He has harvested % bushels of wheat
and as high as 50 bushels of oats to
the acre, the latter crop the last two
years being thirty-fve and forty
bushels. He is summer following 40
acres and believes he can greatly in
crease his harvest by this method.
He believes that a crop of field peas
is almost as good as summer fallow-
ing, and this year has four acres
seeded to peas s an experiment. He
planted the peas six inches deep. Mr..
Williams said he thought many far
mers in this country limited their
crops by not seeding deep enough.
He also thinks trees can be grown
successfully on dry farms and to test
this he has planted diamond willow
cuttings on four acres and fruit trees
on another tract. Mr.. Williams has
promised to send some of the results
of his crop to the Dry Farming Con-
gress at Billings.
North of Culbertson the bench
lands stretch to the Canadian line,
about sixty miles. The surface is
rolling prairie and for miles has been
settled upon by homesteaders who
are dependent almost wholly upon
dry farming methods. In the vicini-
ty of Dane Valley, post office re-
Gently established in region where
until two years ago several thousand
acres that is now III crops was the
range for live stock, grain of various
kinds, flax, potatoes, corn and other
crops are being raised. AS far as