It will be advisable now to take a hasty glance at the State of
Montana, and see what are her agricultural capabilities and what need
exists for irrigation as a factor in their development.
According to the report of the State Auditor for 1888 there were in
that year 143,700 horses and mules valued at $4,900,000; 488,500 cattle
valued at $9,060,000; 1,153,000 sheep valued at $2,165,000; 3,741,000
acres of improved lands, valued inclusive of improvements at
$12,300,000; 55,000 town lots valued with improvements at $14,940,000;
and including all kinds of personal and real property a total
assessment for the State of $67,500,000.
There were raised in the State during the same year 770,000 bushels of
wheat on 26,000 acres, an average yield of about 30 bushels per acre;
3,000,000 bushels of oats on 85,000 acres, an average yield of over 35
bushels per acre; 843,000 bushels of potatoes on 3700 acres, or 230
bushels per acre; and 6,000,000 lbs. of all other vegetables on 450
acres; 235,000 tons of hay were cut, and 7,500 bushels of apples and
other fruits were raised, while 4,500,000 lbs. of wool were sheared.
The gross receipt of the quartz mills were $20,300,000, the value of
the product of the reduction furnaces was $15,900,000 in bullion, and
the coal mines produced 500,000 bushels of coal.
The wool product for the present year, 1889, exceeded in amount that of
any other State west of the Missouri River, and its quality was such
that it brought a higher price per pound than that of any other western
State, the price paid in California ranging from 15 to 17 cents per
pound against 20 to 23 cents paid in Montana.
The accompanying table will show the relative value of the production
of precious metals in the three leading States during 1887, from which
it will be seen that Montana led Colorado by $4,200,000, and California
by $15,580,000.
1887. Montana. Colorado. California.
Silver $15,500,000 $15,000,000 $1,500,000
Gold 5,230,000 4,000,000 13,000,000
Copper 8,970,000 400,000 180,000
Lead 630,000 6,730,000 70,000
----------- ----------- -----------
Totals $30,330,000 $26,130,000 $14,750,000
Since 1887 Montana has been rapidly gaining in its lead, especially in
the production of copper, and it now leads not only in the total value
of the precious metals produced, but also in the values of the silver
and copper products separately, and is only surpassed by California in
the production of gold.
While as shown above Montana produces large quantities of vegetables
and grain, its heavy mining population and vast herds of live stock
furnish a home market for all of its present product, in fact, during
this year many hundreds of tons of hay and carloads of grain are being
imported from the eastern States to feed the range stock during the
coming winter.