2^2 



The National Geographic Magazine 



free range, with the old, careless, and 

 often inhuman methods of stock-raising, 

 is about over. The day of smaller flocks 

 and herds, winter fed and fattened on 

 home-grown forage, is at hand. 



PROJECTS IN NORTH DAKOTA 



In the Great Plains area the Reclama- 

 tion Service has in process of construc- 

 tion ii projects involving an expenditure 

 of $18,740,000 and the reclamation of 

 500,000 acres. Several of these projects 

 are unique, and in their engineering fea- 

 tures are deserving of extended descrip- 

 tion. All have reached a stage of con- 

 struction where water will be available 

 this season, and the hundreds of new 

 homes which dot the prairies show that 

 the settlers are preparing to put it to use. 



Three of these projects are located in 

 North Dakota, in the valley of the Mis- 

 souri River, and in the vicinity of the 

 town of Williston. The Missouri River 

 at this point is a whimsical stream, habit- 

 ually cutting its banks and changing its 

 channel, so that the engineers find it im- 

 practicable to locate any permanent struc- 

 ture for the diversion of water by gravity. 



Fortunately great beds of lignite were 

 discovered in the vicinity on public land, 

 and the engineers proposed that the gov- 

 ernment should turn coal miner, mining 

 its own coal and developing power there- 

 from. A large power-house was erected 

 at the mine and power is now conveyed 

 electrically to the river. An exceedingly 

 unique plan was devised to overcome the 

 eccentricities of the Missouri. The 

 pumps are placed on floating barges, 

 which will accommodate themselves to 

 changes in the river channel and in the 

 water level. The water is delivered 

 through pipes with flexible joints into 

 reservoirs, and from these basins is 

 pumped into the canals. These reser- 

 voirs serve to settle the silt, large quan- 

 tities of which are carried in solution by 

 the Missouri River. The central plant, 

 near Williston, supplies power to two of 

 these projects. 



A heavy influx of settlers is anticipated 

 this spring to take up the lands to be irri- 

 gated. Diversified and intensive farm- 



ing by irrigation will bring about a great 

 change in the agricultural methods now 

 in vogue in this section.. The cultivation 

 of alfalfa, sugar-beets, vegetables, and 

 such fruits as apples, cherries, grapes,, 

 melons, and berries of all kinds, for which 

 this region is adapted, will doubtless cre- 

 ate a prosperous community here in a few 

 years. This project is on the Great 

 Northern Railway. 



LOWER YELLOWSTONE PROJECT 



Not far from here, in the Tower Yel- 

 lowstone Valley, and embracing 66,000 

 acres of land in Montana and North 

 Dakota, is the Lower Yellowstone pro- 

 ject. The settlement of this large area 

 has been progressing rapidly, and aside 

 from a few thousand acres of railroad 

 lands, which will be sold this spring,, 

 about all the land is filed upon. ' The 

 works include a timber-covered, rock- 

 filled dam 700 feet long, headworks of 

 concrete, and a huge canal 67 miles long 

 and several hundred miles of laterals and 

 small ditches. 



HUNTLEY PROJECT, MONTANA 



Up the Yellowstone about 200 miles is 

 the Huntley project, which was completed 

 last June. It is located 12 miles east of 

 Billings, Montana^ and embraces 30,000- 

 acres of land, having a general elevation 

 of 3,000 feet above sea level. The irri- 

 gable area has been divided into 589' 

 farms of 40 acres each, and about half of 

 these have already been filed upon. The 

 project offers unusual advantages for the* 

 practical farmer of small means to secure 

 a good home, whereon by his own in- 

 dustry he can secure a comfortable living. 

 The climate here is delightful and the soil 

 of exceptional fertility, producing boun- 

 tiful crops when watered. Cereals and 

 alfalfa are the principal crops, although 

 apples, small fruits, and garden vege- 

 tables do well. On account of the fine 

 range country surrounding the project, 

 alfalfa will always be a staple product. 

 It produces about five tons to the acre at 

 present and is worth $5 a ton in the stack. 

 A sugar-beet factory is now in operation 

 at Billings and the farmers are increasing 



