Show prospects for montana tinner farmers american agriculturist montana has been unfortunate for the past two years on account of two successive droughts they extended over the entire northwest embracing montana idaho washington and wyoming to the apeci special al detriment of the rang ranges ea but in northern montana t tho droughts were less severe than in tho the other regions and stock owners in the adjoining country shipped their cattle by rai rail I 1 and also drove herds overland into the milk R river iver country for winter quarters w where here the grass is much better crops suffered red morein more in 1890 than in 1889 oving to scarcity of rains during may blay june and july this was ver very y unusual as it is a rare occurrence to have june pass with out the annual june rise which fills the streams to their utmost C capacity 8 and insures a bountiful crop the following autumn tim ber her is scarce in this vicinity but tho the extension of the great northern railway now being built bu ailt westward to the main range of the will soon overcome that and settlers will be able to obtain building and fencing material at a moderate cost coal of a splendid quality y for domestic purposes is I 1 plentiful 1 at two dollars per ton at mines mines near by one great eat advantage that the farmers T have ave here is that when the seasons work is completed the expensed expenses cease as far as feeding work stock is concerned the custom being to turn all such stock out upon the public domain where they rustle for feed end and winter in fine condition living expenses in northern montana are nearly aa as cheap as in the east another advantage that the farmer of montana will always have is a good price for everything produced many newcomers new comers hero here think that when the country is more settled farm products will command a very much smaller figure thinking only of the increase of the agricultural population they fail to consider the mi mining ning territory montana is pre pro a mining country and the mining population will increase three times to the agricultural one As an illustration we are today to day operating mines that three years ago could not be worked on account of high transportation rate rates or no trans trans por tation at all and the excessive charge charges for treating ores minea Mines located ten miles from railroads today to day cannot be operated unless the oro ore is of an extra high grade the first great expense being the cost of mining tha next haul baut ing by teams and again transports tran tio tion charges and coltof cost of treating the ore I 1 predict that five years hence hundreds of mines will be oper operated a led at a profit that are now loo looked k d upon as worthless this increased activity will be brought about by more smelters sm elters eltera more railroads and more improved methods of handling ores to the railroads |