WEST CENTRAL MONTANA 



113 



RAVALLI COUNTY 



HE cradle of a.irriculture in Montana when 

 Father DeSniet, in 1S45, at St. Marj-'s Mis- 

 sion, near the present town of Stevensville, 

 first brolve the sod and first planted grain 

 and vegetables, Ravalli county continues to 

 hold a place among the leaders in farm and 

 livestock progress. For many years it was 

 one of the most important lumber-producing 

 counties in the state and operations are still 

 conducted on a considerable scale. 



Ravalli county lies in west central Mon- 

 tana, on the Pacific slope side of the 

 Rockies. On three sides it is completely 

 walled in by mountains. The crest of the 

 Bitter Root mountains, which is also the 

 Idaho-Montana boundary, defines its west- 

 ern and half of its southern border, the 

 continental divide marking the east half of 

 its southern boundary. It extends east to 

 the crest of the Sapphire range of mountains. Averaging 30 miles in width east 

 and west, the county is approximately 75 miles long, through the center of which 

 flows the Bitter Root River, the waters of which are augmented by numerous 

 tributaries flowing easterly out of the Bitter Root I'ange and westerly out of the 

 Sapphire Mountains. More than two-thirds of the comity is included within 

 national forests. 



The agricultural areas are confined to the Bitter Root valley, and the bench 

 lands back of it. No county in the state probably has a larger proportion of its 

 tillable lands under irrigation than has Ravalli. Practically 

 Much Irrigated all the land in the Bitter Root valley and much of it on the 

 Land lower bench lands is irrigated. On the higher benches be- 



tween the irrigated lands and the mountains, non-irrigated 

 farming is followed with small grains as the chief crops. Diversified farming is 

 well established, climatic, soil and other conditions making the region well adapted 

 to fruit raising, truck gardening, dairying, swine and poultry raising, agriculture, 

 potatoes, alfalfa and small grains. The growing of peas for both seed and can- 

 ning has become an important enterprise. In potato production the county ranks 

 second. The Mcintosh ai)ple, the sour cherry, bu.sh fruits and berries are the 

 chief horticultural products. A canning factory at Hamilton has provided a market 

 for string beans, cherries and strawberries, and another factory at Stevensville 

 a market for peas and cherries. 



Dairying is probably further advanced in the Bitter Root valley than in any 

 other part of the state. There are good herds of Guernsey, Holstein and Jersey 

 cattle. The first cow-testing association in the state was launched here, and 

 at Stevensville, in the north end, the first co-operative creamery, which is one 

 of the largest and most successful of a co-operative nature in the northwest. 

 Thei'e is another creamery at Hamilton, in the south end of the count.v. Cheese 

 manufacture is expanding with factories at Corvallis, two at Stevensville, and a 

 fourth one at Victor for the jiroduction of Swiss cheese. 



There are some good beef herds in Ravalli county and some cattle and sheep 

 are grazed by local owners on the adjacent national forests, but an opportunity 

 exists for range livestock growing to be expanded. For several years many 



