A Wealth of Natural Resources 



Montana's Many-Sided Richness Make Possible Diversified In- 

 dustries All of Which Contribute Greatly to the 

 State's Increasing Prosperity. 



ARDSHIPS are no longer the lot of those who 

 come to Montana; instead those who come to this 

 state at the present time find a people who are 

 enjoying prosperity along Avith all the comforts 

 and conveniences of civilization. The diversified 

 resources of this state, its many-sided richness, 

 all contribute to this end. 



Montana has numerous industries, each of 

 which is capable of supporting a much larger 

 population that the entire state boasts today. The 

 mineral deposits of this state alone would make 

 a wealthy commonwealth. Its agricultural re- 

 sources and opportunities, both for grain grow- 

 ing and for intensive and diversified farming, 

 rival those of the great rural communities of 

 the west. Its forests could for years supply the 

 nation's demand for lumber. Its livestock leads 

 in both quantity and quality. Its natural water 

 power could turn the industrial wheels of the 

 continent. Its transportation facilities are being developed to meet its rapidly grow- 

 ing needs, and a period of great industrial activity, inevitable because of the abun- 

 dance of raw material and cheap power, is upon the threshold. Combined, these 

 resources serve to make Montana the premier state in the Union, a commonwealth 

 which needs only men and capital to lay its diversified riches at the feet of 

 mankind. 



Farming in Montana, while yet in its infancy, is making gigantic strides. Of 

 the more than 93,000,000 acres of land within this state, it is conservatively estimated 

 that over 35,000,000 acres are available for agricultural purposes. Of this agricultural 

 empire upwards of 6,000,000 acres will in a short time be brought under irrigation 

 leaving some 29,000,000 acres which will be farmed by non-irrigated methods, a 

 condition which will inevitably make Montana the greatest producer of small grains 

 in the world. Non-irrigated farming in Montana is carried on almost exclusively 

 on the benchlands, which are nearly level or undulating table lands lying between 

 the streams. Along the streams the valleys are relatively wide and level. The bor- 

 ders that line them are usually rough and rugged. The railroads usually traverse the 

 valleys; hence the impression made upon the traveler is usually anything but favor- 

 able. The benches lie beyond the hills and extend away and across until the bluffs 

 are reached which border another stream. These are the best lands in Montana. 

 They are usually composed of a clay loam covered with the short grasses of the 

 prairie and are underlaid with clay. 



The benchlands of Montana are farmed on what is known as the dry-land plan of 

 farming, which means the holding of all moisture in the soil until it can be 

 utilized by the growing crops. This is done by plowing, packing, harrowing and 



