THE CLIMATE OF THE PERMANENT REGION. 
23 
cific across Eastern Dakota from the Ked Eiver to the Missouri. That 
bat a comparatively small portion of the land along the hue from Black 
Hills to the Yellowstone can be brought under cultivation we are fully 
aware, but fortunately for the object in view the locusts deposit their 
eggs and breed only, or at least chiefly, in these restricted areas. 
Between the Yellowstone and the point where this railroad would cross 
the Missouri the country is rough and broken, but there are a number 
of fertile valleys and small areas that can be irrigated and cultivated. 
North of this it would run through as fine an agricultural region as there 
is in the Territory. 
Another fact which is often overlooked should be borne in mind in 
discussing this scheme; that is, that the elevation of this region is much 
less than that of the plains along the east flank of the mountains in 
Wyoming and Colorado, which tends to very materially moderate the 
climate. 
The following statistics from the meteorological records kept at Fort 
Shaw will furnish some data in reference to the climate of this region : 
Monthly means of the temperature for two years. 
August 67.15 
September 54. 04 
October t 49.12 
November 39.92 
December 26. 75 
Year 47. 33 
January 21.28 
February 30.39 
March 36.58 
April 46.51 
May 56. 04 
June 64.98 
July 70.22 
This certainly shows a very moderate climate for this northern lati- 
tude. Wheat, oats, rye, and barley grow well, and Indian corn is also 
raised without difficulty and produces good crops. Such fruits as apples, 
plums, cherries, currants, raspberries, and gooseberries may be grown 
and matured here, the climate presenting no serious obstacle. 
The amount of land that can be brought under cultivation depends 
wholly upon the amount of water that can be obtained for irrigation. 
If the plan for making reservoirs for preserving the winter supply should 
ever be adopted, the breadth of the agricultural belt would be very 
largely increased, and this would be doubly beneficial in assisting to 
destroy the locusts and tending to increase the moisture in the atmos- 
phere by forming a larger evaporating surface. The growth of trees and 
shrubbery around these reservoirs would also be beneficial in the same 
direction. 
But experience in the settlement of these mountain regions and West- 
ern Territories show that no such extensive works will, or in fact can be, 
undertaken by a pioneer agricultural population. Some efficient aid of 
some kind must be given if such a scheme is ever carried into effect, and 
if the land itself will do this, the government will act wisely in giving 
it for this purpose. 
In reference to the bearing of the locust problem on the agricultural 
