PULSE "OF THE IRRIGATION INDUSTRY. 



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A GOOD LOCATION. 



According to the descriptive folder that 

 has been issued by the busineas men of 

 that section, Milk River Yalley, Mont., is 

 a very desirable location for prospective 

 settlers. Precious metals and timber in 

 the immediate vicinity, together with the 

 fine opening for irrigation farmers and 

 live stock growers, offer flattering induce- 

 ments to settlers. The valley extends 

 from Havre eastward 180 miles to the 

 Missouri river, its average width being 

 about two miles. The aveivage altitude is 

 about 2,200 feet above sea level, and the 

 climate is fine, the winters being shorter 

 and the snowfall less than in the lake 

 states. It is supposed, from the nature 

 of the soil, which is a very fertile loam, 

 commonly called "waste" or "made'' soil, 

 that Milk River Valley was once a river 

 bed, as in this way only can its extreme 

 fertility be accounted for. 



Milk River Valley is one of the many 

 examples of what irrigation will do, and 

 how successful the co-operative plan may 

 be. The farmers formed a stock company 

 for the purpose of building a canal, each 

 stock-holder paying his share of the ex 

 penses or assessments which were small, 

 and doing his proportion of the Avork nec- 

 essary in making the canal. The largest 

 canal, the Fort Belknap canal, is a stock 

 concern, owned by ninety farmers. The 

 main ditch is twelve miles long, with 

 three branches aggregating eight miles, 

 making twenty miles altogether and cov- 

 ering 16,000 acres. The water is taken 

 from Milk river. The next largest canal 

 is the Harlem, eleven miles long. Para- 

 dise Valley Dam is another co-operative 

 concern and it, too, takes water from Milk 

 River and irrigates 6,000 acres. North 

 Fork Ditch, taking its water from North 

 Fork Creek, is another canal and there are 

 many others in process of construction. 



The methods of irrigation in use in the 

 valley are the flooding and furrowing sys- 



tems, the former being used for hay and 

 grain crops and the latter for vegetable* 

 and garden truck. 



The report to the department of agri- 

 culture, made by R. J. Hinton, agent in 

 charge of the office of irrigation inquiry,, 

 contains the following : 



"The valley of Milk River, in the north- 

 ern part of Montana, forms a valuable body 

 of agricultural land. It was advertised 

 one wet year as cultivable without irriga- 

 tion, but settlers who have gone on do not 

 find that to be a fact, as a regular thing. 

 Indeed it can not be too clearly borne 

 in mind that within the arid region all 

 land to be fit for cultivation must have ac- 

 cess to water, either by artificial applica- 

 tion or from natural sub-irrigation sources. 

 Throughout this region, wherever neces- 

 sity has compelled experiment, phreatic 

 waters have been reached at a depth of 

 from five to twentyjfeet below the surface." 

 Prof. S. M. Emery, Director of Mon- 

 tana Experiment Station, speaks highly of 

 Milk River Valley as a suitable location 

 for settlers of moderate means, claiming 

 that any settler of energetic and economi- 

 cal habits can make a living on 40 acres- 

 there. Co-operative canals are, in his 

 judgment the best kind, as the manage- 

 ment and control of them is thus vested in 

 the ones who use the water. 



Any one desiring to make a Lome for 

 himself would do well to investigate the 

 resources of Milk River Valley before de- 

 ciding upon a location. 



MONTANA SOCIETY OF ENGINEERS. 



The regular monthly meeting of the So- 

 ciety was held in the Society's rooms in 

 Helena, June 11, 1898. Second Vice- 

 President F. J. Smith called the meeting 

 to order soon after 8 p. m. After the read- 

 ing of the minutes of the previous meeting 

 Mr. Walter Harvey Weed, U. S. Geolo- 

 gist, was introduced, who delivered a lec- 

 ture upon the geology of Butte. The lee 



