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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1883)
November, 1883 284 THE WEST SHORE. n preferred, because it i easy to divert their swift currents to llie adjacent fields, With the excep tion ol the Billings ditch, which is thirty miles long, no attempt has yet been made to utilize a large river to supply a large number of farms. It is evident that any consideabic extension of the present agricultural industry of Montana must depend upon the construction of main ditches watering long stretches of valley. These, as in Colorado, must be constructed by stock compa nies, receiving their profits from water rentals. In Montana, farming is a question not of land, but of water. Only a small percentage of the water available for irrigating purposes is now used, llefore there can be any great increase of the farming population, capital and engineering skill must largely expand the present limited and primitive system of local irrigation. Is farming in Montana pleasant and profitable? the reader may ask. Vcsj profitable lccause there is a home market for nil farm products at very remunerative piiccs, and because large crops are certain year alter year; pleasant because the climate is invigo. rating, the scenery magnificent, the swift, cold streams abound in fish, and the mountains will always shelter game to reward the huntcr'i search. Life is not so prosaic as in the level prairie countries. At every turn of the road new scene greets the eye. There is an incxhaus- tible variety of picturesque landscapes. To be a Montana farmer is not merely, in the words of the old song, "To plow, to sow, to reap, to mow It involves hunting adventures, long rides March of stock, the trapping of wolves and bears in distant mountain gorges, trout-fishing expedi tions, and perhaps a little washing of " pay dust' for gold, as well as the tilling of the fields and the care of domestic animals. The Hillings Post speaks of the productiveness of Montana valleys and the social value gooi farms in that territory will have in the future as follows t "An experienced agriculturalist, who hai re' sided for some years in Clarke's Kork bottom, gives us his decided opinion that no more pro ductive body of land can be found in the world. He believes the productions in the future will be wheat and barley, and that the enormous yield nf an extra choice article that can be produceU by Initiation, will pay handsome profits over all expenses. The question of raising wheat Montana patted ueyono cxicriincnt years ago, but (bough the official report! have given much larger averages per acre for the territory than could lie approached in any of the states, or in any other teriitory except Washington, th'se fig ures cannot lie accepted as a criteiion of the actual capabilities of our valleys for the produc tion of wheat. It must be taken into consideta tion that in many of the vallrys where irrigation is always necessary for a full ctop, and whe crops will often prove a total failure without it there are always numbers of new settlers who experiment by seeding before they hove begun to provide meant of irrigation. The consequence is, that unless thcie should be an unusually heavy rainfall, the unirrigaled fields will yield but few bushels per acre, and while the older settlers reap an abundant harvest, the general average ii con, aiderably reduced by the imperfect (arming of the new comer. For instance, in the very dry season of 18S1. out of twenty-one farmers who planted Mil in Clarke's Kork bottom, but thrrc or four had completed irrigating ditches, and the average yield lor the twenty-one farmers was less than ten bushels per acre. If the yield of this and other newly settled sections was figured in the general average for that year, it would clearly fall short of doing justice to the territory. "The Gallatin valley, we believe, devotes a arger acreage to wheat than any other part of Montana, and, while we cannot give the average yield for that valley, we believe the correct figures would be received with serious doubts by the most successful wheat growers in the much advertised wheat belt of Dakota and the Red river country. We have figures for exceptional yields on Gallatin farms, that we would hardly dare mention in the Red river valley, as it is hard to convince the people of that country that their modest average of fourteen or fifteen bushels per acre can be ex. ceeded. We may mention, however, that large wheat fields in the Gallatin and other valleys of Montana, have in many instances yielded averages as high as sixty bushels per acre, and while the general average of irrigated farms would fall con siderably below that figure, it would still be much higher than anything yet published in the census reports. In the Yellowstone valley, east of Livingston, wheat growing is still in its infancy, but all ventures in that direction have proved very satisfactory, 30 to 50 bushels per acre having been raised without irrigation at various points east of the Dig Horn river, the rainfall being heaviest in the eastern half of Montana. It is generally conceded that the soil and climate are fully as favorable for wheat culture in the Yellow stone as in the Gallatin valley, and that with irri gation it will produce equally phenomenal har vests. By way of comparison, we may mention that the highest average for one Dakota farm which we have received reliable information up to 1881, was 37 bushels per acre, produced near Valley City, and that was better than any Red river valley farm could boast of. "The present production of wheat in Montana supplies but a small proportion of the demand the flour consumed in the Yellowstone country being nearly all from Minnesota, consequently the price of Montana wheat rarely, if ever, falls below 2 cents per pound. Montana wheat is unexcelled in quality, being noted for its large plump berry the surprising number of berries in each head, the number of heads per stool, and the extra weight of the measured bushel. It is Questionable whether the home supply will ever equal the demand, for notwithstanding the fact that Mon tana valleys aggregate 15,000,000 acres, the re- maining 78,000,000 acres of this great territory must m future support an immense population in mining, stock-raising, manufacturing, and the innumerable other industries that will be devel oped from our varied resources. Under these peculiar conditions, the prices of agricultural products will remain so high that those who have the good sense and good fortune to secure home steads in our beautiful valleys, will gain from them much larger incomes than will ever be pos- sible in the purely agricultural countries east of Montana. The values of land rise faster here. and reach larger figures than in the " banana bell, the average value of lands in this bottom being greater than that of the Red river land mat nave been settled ten times as long. All attempt at barley culture by irrigation have been nucnuea wun gratnying success, the absence rain during the latter part of summer and the pure, dry atmosphere, conducing to the piu. tion of a perfect berry, of a color that couldn't be improved upon by the best sample ever grown in Canada. Montana has the advantage over Canada, 111 inai sne can guarantee an aDundant crop of the finest quality df barley every year, while the Canadian product is often ruined by untimely rams, tvery mountain town has one or more breweries, so the aggregate consumption of malt must reach large and rapidly increasing figures. The Billings.brewery, and all others that turn out good beer, use only Canadian malt, which is very expensive to lay down here. Gen. James S. Brisbin has a fine ranch on the upper Yellowstone between Livingston and the National Park, through which runs the branch road to that great wonderland. The Trikiu says : " On Thursday last vie were shown by him as fine samples of potatoes, turnips, lettuce, onions and pi as as will be found in the states. The heads of lettuce were wonderful, equal in size to good cabbage heads, and a sample of timothy hay that will average two and one-half to three tons to the acre. There is nothing finer in the country than this famous ranch of General Brisbin's. It is safe to predict that within one year from to-day all of the many thousands of acres of unclaimed stock and farming lands on this side the dividing range between here and the Gallatin basin will be claimed by actual settlers. Whoever secures a choice farm-site or stock ranch after this year will probably have to pay a good round price for it. When the county of Park shall have Wen organized it will probably con tain as many farmers and stock-raisers at there will be in the remaining portions of Gallatin county. There is just now a rush of settlers some owners of large herds into the Shields river valley. Soon there will be an almost un broken line of settlers' houses and other improve ments between . Livingston and White Sulphur Springs. There are thousands ol acres of the best farming lands in the territory in the main valley of the Shields' river, besides great breadths of fertile soil along its numerous tributaries, til 0 which will be held under the public land laws and deeds from the Northern Pacific company tt an early day; and besides the lanas m specially adapted to cultivation, there are lentM thousands of acres of unexcelled stock ranges ra that direction. The farming lanls are wW sloping, and amply supplied with water for irngt tion. . The Husbandman says : " There is along i" base of our mountain ranges a succession u. r teaus that are composed of the richest soil 0. y lands in the territory, and produce tli 1 w luxuriant erowth of grass. This sod is general 7 a rich black loam and well adapted to the pow of all kinds ot tarm prooucu, - - . altitude and lack of water for trr.ga ting. J W has been done in the way of cultivating . Gallatin valley, and in one or two the Missouri ind Madison valleys, where M' periment has been tried, it has sS". ductive, and in most caset has brought forth F crops without irrigating. We believe the offer an excellent opportunity for tome one gage extensively in the Prod.uct". forth wheat. These altitude, are well adapted lor purpose. The land is quite moisU anC in curs much oftener than on the low ralky. the farming is usually done. The tnow ' . on these ridges in winter, and wouk I protection to winter wheat. 1 ne!"li,ve in lea sooner or later be utilized, and we believe than five yean they will be regarded choicest wheat landt of the territory.
