218 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



H. R. WHITMORE, 

 Of Missouri, President of Trans-Mississippi Congress. 



great white domes of Adams and Rainier lending a 

 strange beauty to the scene. There is no question 

 but what a twenty-acre farm will meet all the needs 

 of an ordinary family and lay the foundation of a 

 competence as well. At a meeting of citizens of North 

 Yakima, addressed by Wm. Ham. Hall and th.e 

 writer, it was earnestly suggested that an attempt 

 should be made during the coming season to illus- 

 trate the highest possibilities of the twenty-acre farm, 

 aiming first at the sustenance of a family and next at 

 a diversified surplus product for sale. The citizens 

 appeared to take very kindly to this suggestion as 

 one that would enable them to strikingly demonstrate 

 to home-seekers the advantages of life in the valley. 

 The writer received many attentions from the peo- 

 ple of the Yakima valley, which he gratefully ac- 

 knowledges. 



One of the strong points about our arid 

 The Valley . . e 



of the region is the fact that it presents a great 



Bitter Root, diversity of soil and climate and there- 

 fore of production. This observation occurred to the 

 writer when he faced the crisp air of an October 

 morning in the Bitter Root valley of Montana and 

 made a mental comparison of, those conditions with 

 the autumn climate of southern Arizona. Within the 

 wide boundaries of arid America may be found al- 

 most every variety of natural conditions and the ag- 

 ricultural industry will present striking contrasts in 

 consequence. Montana is very different from most 



localities that are now putting lands upon the market 

 But it has many advantages, and there is every 

 reason to predict that the new civilization will flour- 

 ish there. This State is to-day a large importer of 

 agricultural products which ought to be produced at 

 home. At first thought it would seem that there 

 would be but a narrow range of production in a 

 climate where the winters are so severe, but when the 

 writer studied the dinner bill at the best hotel in 

 Missoula he discovered that of the thirty items in 

 the list only three could not be produced on any farm 

 in the Bitter Root valley. These three were the tea 

 of China, the nuts and olives of Southern California. 

 All of the meats, vegetables, small fruits and cereals,. 

 together with hardy fruits of the very best quality, can 

 be had by the farmer who diversifies his products, 

 even in this northern latitude. The Bitter Root and 

 Missoula valleys are among the most attractive in 

 the West, and capable of sustaining a dense popula- 

 tion on forty-acre farms. Mr. Marcus Daly, on his 

 fine ranch at Hamilton, near the head of the valley, 

 is demonstrating what can be done in fruit culture. 

 Again at Missoula, as elsewhere, the writer received 

 courtesies which he desires to gratefully acknowledge,. 

 and nowhere was the enthusiasm over his remarks 

 more cordial. Among the practical irrigators whom 

 the writer was surprised and delighted to meet was 

 the famous actor, Daniel E. Bandmann, who appears 

 now only in the role of " Dr. Jekyll," having eschewed 

 " Mr. Hyde." 



The most prosperous looking portion 



..... r- 11 5 



of Montana is the broad Gallatin val- 



le V> where the land is <l uite full y OCCU " 

 pied, but in large farms mostly culti- 



vated in grain. The grain is of remarkable quality, 

 and realizes fair prices. The country around Bill- 

 ings, in the beautiful valley of the Yellowstone, is 

 also enjoying a fair degree of prosperity, but here, 

 as everywhere else, it is the man with the smallest 

 farm who is making the most money. The writer 

 was honored at Billings with a good-sized audience, 

 which gathered in the county court room during the 

 busy hours of the afternoon. He had been given an 

 opportunity to study the valley in the course of a 

 long ride, and to talk with many of the most practi- 

 cal men engaged in farming by irrigation. Every- 

 where he found the people ready to concede the ad- 

 vantages of the small farm with diversified products. 

 And the advantages of this system he urged upon the 

 meeting of citizens. He also tried to point out the 

 need of organizing industry, so as to have creamer- 

 ies, canneries, packing houses, and other establish- 

 ments, to consume the products of the farms, and he 

 urged the further necessity of organizing markets to- 

 take these products when they had been manufact- 

 ured. The citizens were also earnestly advised to 



Gallatin 

 and 



