MONTANA 



c^ __ — 



Foundations of Agriculture and of Industry Have Been Laid But Only a Fraction 

 of the Resources Touched — Its Progress Shoun Statistically 



lu this edition of •"Moutaiia" an effort has been made to present a picture of 

 the state as it is and of the basic agricultural and industrial resources upon 

 which its future will largely depend. The degree to which development has been 

 carried is touched upon, and the possibilities for further expansion are suggested. 



No effort has been made to "sell" Montana in brighter colors than actually 

 exist. Of the immensity and variety of its potential resources, and of their ulti- 

 mate utilization, there can be no question. When tlie world will need them, 

 however, and be ready for them under conditions that will insure prosperity to 

 the persons and the capital undertaking their development is beyond the ordinary 

 person to predict. It is witli the idea, however, that when the time is ripe, 

 when economic conditions in the nation and the world are favorable, Montana 

 will be ready, that this presentment of its resources is made. 



While the foundations of agriculture and of industry have been laid in 

 Montana, the state, after all, is still in the pioneer stage of development and its 

 real call today is to the pioneer, as clear as it was fifty years 

 Call is for ago in the days of the gold discoveries the Indians, and the 

 the Pioneer trail herds. The nature of the attendant risks has changed, but 

 the need for self reliance, coiu-age and perseverance is as 

 imperative as ever. The nature of the rewards has changed, too ; bountiful they 

 are to the successful, but they are not garnered overnight, nor do they involve the 

 element of chance, but long and careful preparation, ample capital or much experi- 

 ence, or more often both, and a vision broad enough to encompass within its 

 reckoning, the reactions and the complexities of the outside world. 



There are mountains of good ore in Montana that because of lack of trans- 

 portation facilities, capital to develop them, or other causes, are not immediately 

 profitable assets to their owners. Likewise, Montana lands include some which, 

 while fertile in themselves, are profitably farmed imder existing prices only by 

 the exceptionally efficient operator. In districts that have been settled within 

 the last ten or fifteen years, farming practices first followed are being abandoned 

 in favor of newer methods as out of experience there emerges the systems of 

 farming best suited to soil, moisture and other environmental conditions. 



Montana offers some advantages that cannot l)e duplicated elsewhere. Among 

 others favorable to general farming are low land values combined with relatively 

 high productiveness. There are also factors on the other side, such as distance 

 from price-making markets, lack of centers of large consuming population ; and, in 

 many localities, lack of farming experience demonstrating the most efficient methods. 

 In the long view, however, most of the adverse factors will be overcome. Price- 

 making markets and centers of consuming population are being established at 

 closer distances. 



