40 



THIRD ANNUAL SESSIONS 



Advice for New Settlers. 



"I have, been asked to outline a plan whereby a new settler can 

 make good the first season, and would suggest the following: 



"He should move onto the land he intends to improve by Novem- 

 ber 1, at the latest. It would be better for him to be there by October 

 1, so as to get up his house before winter sets in, although in, this sec- 

 tion of Montana people winter in tents and do not suffer greatly. Still," 

 to a person coming from the more humid east the better plan is to put 

 up as comfortable a house as he can afford. During the winter months 

 material can be gotten on the ground for stables, corrals and fencing, 

 and the early spring months can thus be left free to break up the new 

 sod. If a person waits until spring to move onto hi's claim, too often 

 the summer is well along before he has gotten up his house, stables 

 and corrals, and the dry weather sets in before he fairly gets started 

 breaking, and the result is he loses a whole year. 



Advice for New Settlers. 



"Let us suppose then that the new settler has moved onto his claim 

 in October, has gotten his buildings well out of the way and is ready 

 to start in breaking by the middle of March, or by the first of April 

 at the latest. His horses should have been grained all winter, and thus 

 be in good shape for a good spring's work. He should have at least four 

 good 1,400 pound horses to pull a 14-inch sulky plow, and five would be 

 better; he would thus have an extra horse to change off with and run 

 his seeder. He should plow shallow, say 2i/^ to 3 inches, if his sod is 



Soil Treatment. 



tough, and should roll each half day's breaking before leaving the field, 

 so as to secure a sod mulch and conserve all the moisture that may 

 fall during the spring and summer. He should count on getting 60 

 days breaking during April, May and June, besides doing the other work 

 that must be done to put in a crop. This should give him 

 150 acres broken up and leave him 10 acres wild pasture on his 

 homestead, which will be all that he will need if he follows 'soiling 

 methods' of handling his livestock. 



Dairy Stock and Horses. 



"The plan as here outlined presupposes that the settler has brought 

 ten grade Jersey heifers, bred to calves in March, and ten Duroc Jersey 

 gilts bred to pigs in April, out with him in his car; also brought corn 

 enough with him to run him through the first winter and spring. His 

 horses he had better purchase where he locates, as horses brought from 

 the states do not do well the first season and will not stand up to the 

 spring work like horses that are acclimated. 



Forage Crops — Artichokes. x 



"Now, as to crops to be put in to take care of the amount of live- 

 stock above described. In the first place, on the first breaking, arti- 



