Sugar Beet Factory at Billings. 



threads are said to have a strength of 150 pounds, while the thread made in England 

 always breaks at more than 125 pounds. 



The crop has proven to he a profitable one on the Valier project, near Conrad. 

 Fibre flax will make from one to two and a half tons per acre. In the fall of 1917 

 the price of the fibre was $25 a ton at Conrad. The Havre mill has just been com- 

 pleted and the owners hope to operate it for the first time in 1918. 



Sngar Beet Factories. 



Sugar beet raising has been profitable in Montana for some time. A large 

 factory costing $1,250,000 has been in operation at Billings for a number of years. 

 Beet raising there has proven so profitable that it has been tried at other places in 

 the state with success. Another factory, rivalling the Billings plant in size has been 

 built at Missoula, to take care of the product of the Bitter Root valley. These two 

 factories handle all of the products in Montana at present, but more are planned 

 in other parts of the state with the extension of the industry. 



The beets grow luxuriantly on the irrigated lands of the state and are high in 

 percentage of sugar. The by-products of the factories are used in the dairies of the 

 localities and form an important and cheap food for the dairy cows. 



Canning a New Industry. 



The newest industry to be fostered in the state is that of canning of fruits and 

 vegetables. While this industry has seen little development so far, there seems 

 to be a possibility for much development in the future. 



Two factories have been established up to the present time. One is at Stevens- 

 ville, in the Bitter Root valley, the other at Bozeman, in the Gallatin valley. Because 

 of their locations they have access to the peas raised and to the fruit crop in these 



