MONTANA 



3905 



MONTANA 



navigable to Fort Benton, not far below the 

 Great Falls, and the Yellpwstone is also navi- 

 gable for small boats for about 300 miles. The 

 only lake of importance is the Flathead, situ- 

 ated in the northwestern part of the state. 



Climate. Like most inland regions, Montana 

 possesses what is known as a continental cli- 

 mate, and experiences a wide range of tempera- 

 ture. Thus in winter the thermometer some- 

 times falls as low as 40 below zero, while in 

 summer it rises to over 100 above. But on 



account of its altitude and the dryness of the 

 air the heat in summer is not oppressive, while 

 the chinook winds, which bring warm and dry 

 air when they arrive in Montana, -make the 

 winters much milder. The mean annual tem- 

 perature for the state is about 11 F. for the 

 coldest, and 70 F. for the warmest, month. 

 The rainfall averages about fifteen inches in 

 the eastern regions to about twenty inches in 

 the west, while the northwestern corner has a 

 still greater rainfall. 



Resources and Industries 



Forests. Imagine for one moment the whole 

 state of Pennsylvania to be one continuous for- 

 est and you will gain an idea of the extent of- 

 territory the forests of Montana occupy. They 

 cover about 42,000 square miles, which repre- 

 sents nearly one-third of the area of this large 

 state. The chief trees are yejlow pine, white 

 pine, red fir, white fir, hemlock and larch. The 

 yellow pine often attains a hundred feet in 

 height and five to seven feet in diameter, and 

 is the most useful timber tree in the state. 



Agriculture. The vast rolling prairies, the 

 extensive alluvial bottom lands, and a great 

 number of the valleys, offer a large field for 

 agricultural pursuits. It is therefore little to 

 be wondered at that agriculture is making great 

 strides, especially in the regions where irriga- 

 tion works have been constructed. Of the total 

 land surface, amounting to 93,568,000 acres, 

 about 15 per cent is occupied by farms. 



When the agricultural census was taken in 

 1910 hay was by far the most important crop 

 in Montana. The area under hay cultivation 

 was twice as great as that under all cereals, and 

 its value was also greater than that of all the 

 cereals combined. Since that time the growing 

 of wheat has assumed such proportions that it 

 has surpassed hay in value as well as in acre- 

 age, while oats hold a position nearly as im- 

 portant. In 1915, a year of great crops through- 

 out North America, Montana raised more than 

 33,000,000 bushels of wheat and 31,000,000 bush- 

 els of oats, and its hay crop was over 1,500,000 

 tons. Other important crops are flaxseed, po- 

 tatoes, corn and sugar beets. The eastern part 

 of the state is devoted principally to dry farm- 

 ing and grazing. In the mountain valleys are 

 found large orchards, as these regions are re- 

 markably well suited to the growing of apples 

 and other orchard fruits. 



Over ninety per cent of the farms of Mon- 

 tana are operated by owners or their managers, 

 245 



and less than ten per cent by tenants. The 

 great majority of the farms have been acquired 

 by their owners from the government or from 

 private corporations in the form of homesteads 

 (see HOMESTEAD LAWS), and by entries on irri- 

 gated lands. Most of these have been ob- 

 tained at a small price, or on long time credit, 

 and this has made -it possible for farmers of 

 small means to become owners. 



Irrigation. Montana ranks third among the 

 states of the L T nion as regards the area of its 

 irrigated lands, coming after Colorado and 

 California. About one-third of its total farm 

 acreage is irrigated. Irrigation is resorted to 

 throughout the state, but seventy-five per cent 

 of the irrigated land is situated in the western 

 mountainous section. Montana had 1,679,- 

 084 acres of irrigated land in 1910 and pro- 

 jected works will irrigate nearly 1,000,000 acres 

 more before 1920. The most important of these 

 are the Huntley, the Milk River and the Sun 

 River projects, for irrigating 32,688 acres, 219,- 

 557 acres and 174,046 acres, respectively. The 

 Lower Yellowstone project for irrigating 60,000 

 acres in Montana and North Dakota, com- 

 pleted in 1915, is also worthy of mention, also 

 the Flathead project, 152,000 acres; Fort Peck 

 project, 152,000 acres, and Blackfeet project, 

 122,500 acres, all three of which are for the 

 benefit of the Indians. 



Live Stock. A striking characteristic of Mon- 

 tana is the great area of semiarid land utilized 

 for grazing purposes. Many large farms, or 

 ranches, frequently exceeding 100,000 acres in 

 extent, are located in the state. Not many re- 

 gions in the United States offer greater advan- 

 tage to the stock raiser. The bunch grass and 

 buffalo grass found on Montana plains are re- 

 markably nutritious and well suited for fatten- 

 ing stock. 



For a number of years Montana has been the 

 leading state in the Union in the quantity and 



