THE IRRIGATION AGE. 

 BOOSTERS OF HILLINGS! 



365 



A. L. Babcock. 



Col. H. W. Rowley. 



Chief Booster Moss. 



W. T. Clark. 



Paul McCormlck. 



ern States are raised here in profusion, and in quantity 

 and quality surpass those raised where the farmer is de- 

 pendent upon natural rainfall for his soil moisture. 



Alfalfa yields three crops a year, with a total yield 

 of from five to seven tons to the acre. This, crop is 

 all disposed of at home, creating one of the valley's 

 most important industries, that of sheep feeding, both 

 roughing through the winter and fitting for market. 

 More than 250,000 head of sheep were fed in the Yel- 

 lowstone Valley during the last winter. Many cattle are 

 also fed. The hog industry is yet in its infancy, hut 

 the few who have so far given it a trial have demon- 

 strated the fact that Montana pork raised on alfalfa 

 and finished on soft wheat and corn will afford the 

 farmer a handsome profit on his feedstuff at a figure be- 

 low that paid for packers' stock and at the same time fur- 

 nish to the consumer a very superior article. 



No part of the great Northwest affords greater in- 

 ducements to the small grain farmer than does the Yel- 

 lowstone Valley. Hard wheat yields from twenty-five 

 to fifty bushels to the acre, while soft wheat runs from 

 fifty to seventy-five, barley from forty to sixty bushels; 

 oats yield from forty to one hundred standard bushels 

 of thirty-two pounds, that weigh out from forty to 

 forty-five pounds to the measured bushel. Corn from 

 fifty to one hundred pounds. 



Potatoes yield an average of from 250 to 300 bush- 

 els to the acre, with numerous instances of verified yields 

 running near 1,000 bushels. Rutabagas, twenty to thirty 

 tons. Sugar beets fifteen to twenty-five tons to the acre, 

 running from 15 to 22 per cent saccharine matter, with 

 a purity coefficient of from 80 to 85. 



Apples, pears, cherries, plums and small fruits of 

 all kinds yield well, attain a size and flavor unsurpassed 

 and command a large advance over the imported article. 



A special advantage to the agriculturist in the Yel- 

 lowstone Valley is that the home demand for farm 

 products of every nature far exceeds the supply, in- 

 suring a cash market and high prie< >. 



Billings is noticeable for its business activity, its 

 progressive citizens, and its beauty of environment, and 

 in these combinations it is unexcelled by any city of 

 twice its size in Montana, and probably not anywhere in 

 the Northwest. 



The streets are laid out in squares, avenues 100 feet 

 wide and streets eighty feet, flanked by cement and plank 

 sidewalks, beautiful shade trees and neatly kept boule- 

 vards. The homes of the people show tidy and tasteful 

 surroundings, neatly kept lawns and beds of flowers be- 

 ing, seen on every hand. 



Its social and educational status compares favor- 

 iibly with cities many times its size in the East, and its 

 climate is healthful and pleasant. 



To the farmer, the business man, the homeseeker, 

 or the investor, Billings offers opportunities worthy of 

 consideration. 



It is our intention to devote space in several of the 

 forthcoming issues of THE IRRIGATION AGE to the Yel- 

 lowstone Valley and give data concerning the possibili- 

 ties of home building in this section. This will be done 

 so that our many readers who contemplate locating in the 

 West, where agriculture may be followed under irrigation, 

 may secure a good idea of what can be -accomplished with 

 given sums of money so that they may thereby know 

 in advance just what is necessary in the way of funds 

 as well as the results to be obtained. With this end in 

 view, the editor of this journal has spent a good part 

 of two months visiting farmers who are established near 

 Billings and much valuable data has been secured con- 

 cerning their experiences, what induced them to locate 

 in the West, their financial condition when they first 

 landed in Montana, and a lot of other facts, which, it is 

 hoped, will prove of interest and value to those contem- 

 plating a change. The following answer, which was re- 

 cently received from an inquiry by mail, will give a fail- 

 idea of the results of the first year's crop and what is 

 necessary in the way of equipment. Our correspondent 

 fails to state that his land, with a perpetual water right, 



MORE BOOSTERS. 



W. B. George. 



Christian Yceen. 



Austin North. 



