The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1928-07-06

knew that vas the case in Wis
~consin, Iowa and Minnesota. But
this we found is not always true
in Montana.
Experience showed that in
many places the cost of filling a
silo of the upright type was toe
much to make it pay. While we
still need the reserves of feed that
a silo affords, yet these can be
laid down more economically in
the trench silo, a type that is well
adapted to Montana conditions.
1--WE found that farmers can
often cut their costs by using big
teams of horses instead of the
f~our-horse teams used in other
states. We have found that there
are places where planting corn is
a good substitute for summer fal-
lowing, and other regions where
corn will not grow at all because
of the high altitude. There we have
to plant sunflowers or other crops
for ensilage.
1--WE have found that although
there have been failures on every
kind of land in Montana, yet there
are many farmers who we're able
successfully to adapt their meth
DDS to the changing conditions OF
the past 10 years, and also to the
climate and soils that they found
in Montana. The experiences OF
these successful men are now be-
ing used to point the way to
Others"
One a get some idea of the
magnitude and variety of the prob
lens confronting Montana agricul-
ture by considering the immense
area of the state and its differing
soils. These are roughly divided
into four classes, non-irrigated
wheat lands, farming-grazlng
lands and irrigated lands. These
groupings are quite general, for
there are many differences to be
found in each group.
Numbr of Farms
"Montana's agricultural posi-
tion," declare the college authorl-
ties, sis now in a comparatively
favorable situation. The number
of farms has decreased in the past
six years, and the rural popula-
ton has remained almost station
ary. Yet the production of crops
and livestock have both Increased
steadily.
Gin Montana the land in farms
decreased about two million acres
between the 1920 and the 1925
census. The number of farms de-
creased from 57,677 to 46,9O4.
There has been a marked increase
in the size of the farms; the per-
centage of farms operated by ten
nants increased from 11.3 to 2l.9
between the two census periods.
"Yet Montana harvested the
largest wheat crop in the history
of the state this year, and Mon
tana today has more livestock on
farms and ranges than she ever
had in the peak of the range cat
file DAYS of 1897. The cattle are
also much better bred today than
they we're then.
Montana as an agricultural
state has been challenging the at
tention of the country Governor
T e. Erickson told us. sit is true
that we suffered with other states
from conditions following the war.
Deflation and a series of dry years
took dreadful toll, and Montana
received some unfavorable publ
city.
sYou remember what a we'll
known writer wrote about our
Montana triangle In it's virgin
state, the greater part of it was
grazing ground, for great herds OF
buffalo. Then, on the open
ranges. came the days of the cat
tie barons, followed by the home
steader in 1907 to 1917.
Pain Relieved
"The writer of "That Pain in
Our Northwest wrote about this
region in a popular magazine as
follows:
You may drive through the
triangle now for 40 to so miles
along the new bonded Roosevelt
highway. and see nothing but
abandoned towns, abandoned
farms, banks along the road, with
pieces of white paper pasted on
their doors panels and steam trac-
tors sinking in the fields like lost
locomotives
SIN reply to this, let me say,
continued the governor, " that in
this same section this year the
total population is estimated at
50, 200 people. There are 4,l2O
farms with a farm population OF
14,40O. Ninety per cent of the