•178 MONTANA- 19 16 I 



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25 to 40 bushels of fall wheat, 40 to 65 bushels of oats, and 40 to 50 bushels of 

 barley are reported. Potatoes and vegetables have done well. Where the proper 

 system of cultivation has been followed, paying crops have been raisea, and the 

 success of these pioneer dry land farmers will lead to the establishment of many 

 Luousand farm homes on the broad prairies. 



The Burton bench is a large farming district where wheat yields average 40 

 bushels an acre and oats 85 bushels. There is no record of heavier oats than those 

 grown on this bench; a bushel has weighed 55 pounds and the lightest of 83 

 samples sent to the World's Fair was heavier than the heaviest from any other 

 state. 



The largest private irrigation project in the state is the Valier Carey Act 

 project which contemplates the reclamation of 126,148 acres, including 40,568 

 acres of deeded land. Much of the work has been completed and many acres of 

 land sold, occupied and cultivated. 



Flax has made large yields in several districts, and at Conrad a large factory 

 has been erected for making fiber from flax straw. 



Power, Button, Collins and Brady are thriving new towns that are shipping 

 points for a large and rapidly developing dry farming region. 



In the mountain ranges are indications of minerals, but little work has been 

 done. Coal is mined in a small way at several places; and there are indications of 

 petroleum. 



The chief towns are Choteau, Conrad, Valier and Cut Bank. Cut Bank 

 is a railroad and trading point adjoining the Blackfeet reservation and a con- 

 venient point from which to reach the large tracts that have recently been re- 

 stored to entry. Valier is the terminus of the Montana Western railway which 

 connects at Conrad with the Great Northern railroad and is in the center of the 

 Conrad, Valier project. It is located on Lake Frances, a large and beautiful 

 artificial lake, and has grown in three years to be a large, busy and well built 

 town. Valier is a marvel for its age, and is an example of the energy and 

 ability that is bringing about the remarkable development Montana is under- 

 going. 



Conrad, the chief town, had a population of 888 in 1910 which has since much 

 increased; and 200,000 acres of irrigated and 600,000 acres of unirrigated land are 

 tributary to it. 



The county seat is Choteau, an attractive town of about 1,000 population. It 

 is beautifully situated in the fertile valley of the Teton river and is surrounded by 

 a rich farming and stock growing district for which it is the trading point. 



The population of Teton county is estimated at 21,975 and the assessed valuation 

 is $12,419,568. 



LAND AREA — Teton county, which is in the Helena and Great Falls land 

 districts, embraces an an area of 6,566 square miles, including 217,634 acres of un- 

 reserved and unappropriated public land available for entry under the home- 

 stead law, 162,019 acres of state land, and 434,441 acres of national forests. Of the 

 total area of the county, 839,101 acres are privately owned. 



CROP PRODUCTION— The following gives the estimated crop production for 

 1915: Wheat, 2,250,000 bushels; oats, 1,125,000 bushels; barley, 75,000 bushels; flax, 

 350,000 bushels; potatoes, 125,000 bushels; hay, 34,000 tons. 



In 1915, the assessor's rolls showed the following livestock: horses, 15,89a 

 head; milch cows, 3,222 head; other cattle, 14,982 head; sheep, 89,418 head; 

 swine, 4,291 head. 



