a BULLETIN 735, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. — 
from 4 to 10 miles in width. The greater part of this area is irrigated 
from waters diverted from the Clarks Fork River and numerous 
smaller streams that have their origin in the mountains near by. 
Soil conditions in this valley are very similar to those in the adja- 
cent Yellowstone Valley, with the exception that the soils are per- 
haps a little less heavy and more easy to till. 
The altitude of this valley is somewhat higher than that of. the 
Yellowstone, making a shorter growing season and increasing a little 
the labilty to frosts. Sugar beets are grown toward the lower end 
of the valley. 
DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUGAR-BEET INDUSTRY IN THE 
BILLINGS REGION. 
The sugar-beet industry has developed rather rapidly in the Bil- 
lings region of Montana. The factory at Billings has been in opera- 
tion since 1906. Before that time sugar beets were grown in the 
region only experimentally, to determine the advisability of estab- 
lishing a sugar factory. Previous to the introduction of the sugar- 
beet industry the region was mainly devoted to cattle raising and 
erain growing. The acreage of irrigdted land and consequently the 
acreage of tillable crops has been increasing in this region for a 
number of years. Table I illustrates the increase in the acreage of 
sugar beets grown in this region and gives the average yields per 
acre for a period of 10 years. 
Taste I.—Acreage and yields of sugar beets in the Billings region for the 
10-year period from 1906 to 1915, inclusive. 
oe ee Total Yield ate Total Yield 
RES area. | per acre. Year, area. | per acre. 
Acres Tons Acres Tons 
NOOG Ra eee eee ee oe Rem 6, 184 QE AZ| | LOUD Rei oe eee Bec NG ae tae 19,017 10.11 
SIC pes Si cates red Se seenes ei oe ca ORE eer aes 8, 898 OE 78 | AO TS aes eaaye tee ena tesSal, ya ae pete stcae 22, 887 LOST 
MICO LOY o3 a te ig Aa OR en ee a 9,457 TPP I Vial LO ements Ree kc oe 18, 707 10. 91 
TUSTOYS see snes pee oem EN peas eal erro 10,365 UC 7 es TI US ei ge De ead pase Sele de Be: 22, 233 9.76 
TUS TGs 2 RI fas aise tae tes Aes ers Nol 10, 251 11.76 
TG I Gee ae ee eens emer 15, 694 11.56 ANVCT ASC a a een ame nes 14, 369 10.75 
IRRIGATED AREA IN BEETS IN 1915. 
Many farms have tillable land that is not irrigated and therefore 
not suitable for the growing of sugar beets. The computations in 
Table IT are based on the irrigated lands per farm, exclusive of irri- 
gated permanent pastures, as such pastures are often seeped lands or 
otherwise not suitable for growing sugar beets. Irrigated pasture 
lands which are in the rotation are included in the tabulation. 
The fact that the acreage of beets grown by owners is less than that 
grown by tenants is not due so much to the size of the farms or to the 
