The Glasgow courier., 1916-04-28
MONTANA LEADS
IN DEVELOPMENT
WONDERFUL AGRICULTURAL
ACHIEVEMENTS DURING LAST
FEW YEARS.


tana has been one Of the marvels of
this great age of achievements. A
man who 25 years ago would have
said that Montana would in 1915 pro-
duce 100000 bushels of wheat or
six million bushels of potatoes, the
greater portion from non-irrigated
land, would have been laughed to
scorn.
And yet today, so changed is the
Montana idea of it's own agricultur-
al possibilities, that the well inform
ed citizen of the state looks upon
last years record-breaking crops as
merely an indication Of what may be
expected in the next few years when
we get the people necessary to cul-
tivate the 35,OO0,000 acres of fertile
agricultural land which lies within the
borders of this great empire.
Some half dozen years ago it be-
gan to be realized that the great
need Of Montana was people-active
energetic people. For such people it
was realized this state offered op-
portunities not to be found elsewhere.
Repeated experiment and thorough
trials had demonstrated, much to the
surprise of our old-timers, that the
bench-lands of this state were capable
of producing enormous crops of grain
and that properly farmed Montana
was destined to become one of the
great cereal producing states Of the
Union.
During the last six years more
than 100000 acres of public and
Indian lands have been entered by
settlers in Montana and during every
year of this time Montana has led
all the states in the Union in provid-
ing new homes for homeseekers
Thus far there has been no slack
ening of this great tide of immigra-
ton, and there is no indication that
there will be any until the last Of the
public lands suitable for farming has
been filed upon by some energeti!
homebuilder.
During the last fiscal year almost
100000 acres of land were patented
to settlers, the largest area trans
ferred from the government to pri-
vate persons in any year in the his
tory of the state. When it is con-
sidered that the land patented to set
tiers last year could not all be placed
within the borders of the state OF
Connecticut and would occupy more
than half of the state of Maryland
one can begin to realize something
of the size of the empire which the
newcomers into Montana are arprQ.
priating and when it is considered
that each settler, in order to secure
a patent to not to exceed 32O acres
of this vast domain, must first reside
upon his claim for periol of three
years, and cultivate at least one-eightl
of it, something of the development
can be appreciated.
The higher quality of Montana''
agricultural products is becoming
generally recognized. At every ma
tional exhibit held in the last fiv'
years, the exhibits from Montana
farms have been among the leading
prize winners, this great string O.
victories having been crowned dur
ing the past year by Montana win
ming the grand prize in agriculture
at the Panama California exposition
at San Diego, and the grand priz'
in both cereals and apples at tn
Panama Pacific exposition, while a
the latter exposition more gold ant
silver medals were awarded to Mon
tana farms than to those of any 9th
er state.
Not only do Montana products ex
eel in quality but figures from offic
ial sources show that this state is il
a position of undisputed leadershi
in it's high average production pc
acre. The December issue of tn
monthly crop report of the Unite
States department of agriculture con
tanning the final estimate of the de
partment shows that the average pc
acre production of oats in this stat
during the past year was So bushel
the highest state average ever Civ
EN- any state by the department.
This report also shows that wit
an average of 225 bushels, Montan
last year led all the states in the pc
acre production of rye, while wit
155 bushels, it tied with Maine TO
the high record in the per acre pre-
duction of potatoes. Aside from
few states where wheat raising