

beet-culture. This starts on th^ At ant.e m the a'^tuae 

 o£ New York city, exteuds n..,.lv .lu,- w.-stward to the 

 western line of Wisconsin, and u.. druukanl e^ erpur.uea 

 amore erratic course than it in niakin-' it- wayfromthe 

 Great Lakes to the Pacitie, at tin.- head ot the Gult of 

 California. ., .. „ 



Horticulturally speaking, Montana covers the entire 

 ale of the limits of fruit production m the United 

 t,.ai.o:=. except the citrous and other subtropical truits. 

 In no other state of the Union is there more need of the 

 scientific experimenter, not so much to determine the 

 species adapted to Montana as to wisely select the varie- 

 ties of species that will give best results. There is one 

 safe rule to observe in western f nut-tree plantins,- 

 avoid alkali soil. Ati.r an artive t.x|»ni-nr.- <it .. .'■'•"■^ 

 of tree-growins: in Minii>'-"t:i and th.- lak"a-. 1'' 

 writer is convin I tliat nMii- tailnr. s m c.rrhaninm in- 

 sulted therefrom planiniL;- m ,ill-.:i[i -.id than ii-ni ,ui\ 



MONTANA 



1029 



horses, and ■ 



nld for from $2.30 to $5 each. The 

 next plantings were made near the present site »£ fe- 

 vensville, in the Bitter Root valley, by Bass Bros. Their 

 apple crop for ^ 



Root ' 

 id 



marked ad 

 It also has 

 ries, plum 



llev is 



soil exactly f 

 grapes and 



timated at 10,000 boxes. The 

 e southwestern part of Mon- 

 ■s in lentrth, with an average 



■^ed t 



rare that alkali 



i'liomenal succes 



leading out from thr ni.'nntain-- 



found on suitabll- mvliard l'"'all" 



Montana owes nnndi "I ii> 1' 

 fruit culture to iiatural cniiditi.i 

 these is the abundant supply ot 

 for irrigation. Irrigation in orcl 

 or plant under complete control, 

 son, water can be supplied to supidini.nt any .xi-.tiin,' '':'' I"; 

 lack of moisture, and by withholding this artiticial aid i ne pom' 



in the latter part of the sea- 



son, perfect ripening of the [- ~~i- — __ __ 



wood is accomplished and . < ( J~, \ T 



the tree placed in the best I -• r^ ' f 



physical condition to endure ' 

 sudden climatic changes 

 Again, it is customary to 

 flood the orchard late in the 

 season, after the foliage has 

 fallen, with the result that 

 root killing is absolutely un- 

 known in Montana. So free 

 is the state from disasters 

 of this nature that budded 

 trees are succeeding re- 

 markably well wherever 

 they have been set in close 



proximity to the mountains 

 Another decided advantage 



is in the physical formation 



of the state ; the make-up 



of the mountains is not, as 



many suppose, a shaping up 



of every range and peak to 



a sharp rocky apex, but m 



all ranges there are vast e\ 



panses of open plateaus ex 



tending back onto lower 



outlying spurs. Heading in 



the mountains, usually near 



the summits, are deep canons leading down 



to the open plains country at the foot of the 



clav, fully one-half oi 



tiou are lost from tin !■ ini 



immediately after irn_':n i-n- Inn. r I; .11:1 n;-i ■"'^^'' 



r.ihinM TV ial purposes. The main dilEculty there experi- 

 , ni-d i- in the selection of the best varieties for gen- 



.Iogist< 



3nd in this one valley every variet7 



There is a constant movement of air from the upper lu 

 the lower plateaus through these . uion^ or c isimud b-,^ 

 the superheating of the air of tin 1 w i 1 \ < 1 duiiii_r 

 the middle ot the day. Theheatn, iiu . i i •' 



tial vacuum, and the cooler an ■ t il i[ [ 1 I \ 1 tl 

 down to occupy this. This is espi 1 dl\ run in tli < 11 

 lier night hours. So common is this as to give tht name 

 "canon breezes" to these currents, which are plainly 

 to be felt miles away from everv extensive canon's 

 mouth far out on the open plains This constant cur 

 rent of air, passing over the surface of the earth, wards 

 off frosts and gives fruit immunity from this great 

 cause of loss to those growing fruit outside of moun- 

 tain districts. 



Early orcharding was attended with almost prohibi 

 tive conditions. In 1864, trees were set in Missouri 

 valley by John G. Pickering, who is still In ing and 

 planting. Some of the trees originallj set arn aln e and 

 bearing. Trees then came in bj way of Utah on pack 



1418. Montana. 

 The shaded parts show hortu ultiiril aieas 



""•^ of apple that is now gron ing m the combined nurserie 

 of New York state The only bais theie found to tin 

 successful cultu ation of all ■ 

 tliL brt\it\ ot tht giortin.,' 



ages. 



gition di I ^ 11 I iiL I an 

 grown caiiics lu undui \ 

 compared with fruits grown without irrigatK 

 In the phenomenallv dry 1 



