Birds in their Relation to 
 Agriculture 
 
 REMOTE STORAGE 
 
 The Wealth of Montana 
 as Shown by Statistics 
 
 BY MORTON J. ELROD 
 University of Montana 
 
 Reprint from Second Annual Report, Montana State Board of Farme 
 Institutes, pages 173-190 and 197-208, with 8 plates. 
 
 University of Montana, Missouia, Montana, U. S. A. 
 1904 
 
 
 "INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING COMPANY, HELENA, MONTANA." 
 
OOMHALL 
 
 
 THE RELATION OF BIRDS TO AGRICULTURE. 
 
 By Morton J. Elrod, University of Montana. 
 
 Bird protection may be studied from two standpoints, the sen¬ 
 timental and the economical. We have little to do with the former 
 in this discussion, although there is much to be said. To discuss 
 the use of birds as human ornaments is a subject by itself. The 
 small boy, and sometimes the larger one, comes in for his share 
 of censure. The birds have a right to live, so long as they are 
 not a menace to human beings, and their rights are respected by 
 fair and thoughtful people. 
 
 But we are to discuss birds from the economical standpoint, in 
 dollars and cents. This may for convenience be divided into four 
 heads: i. Birds as food for man ; 2. Birds as protection from 
 insect ravages; 3. Birds as destroyers of weed seeds; 4. Birds 
 as destroyers of noxious birds and mammals. Later we shall 
 take up some of the few birds that do injury to man by destroying 
 his crops, his fruit, his orchards, or his poultry. All of these are 
 overestimated when the facts are considered. 
 
 I believe it is Prof. Forbes who says: “It is hard to balance 
 the good things one reads about an animal by the the bad things 
 he sees.” The few observations made by the average person 
 weigh heavier than all his reading. He sees a bird destroy a 
 chicken, or eat some cherries, or pick up some grain, and imme¬ 
 diately comes to the conclusion that the bird is destructive to his 
 interests and should be killed. The scientific method of gather¬ 
 ing all the facts obtainable and making a careful examination be¬ 
 fore coming to a conclusion is the theme of my brief discourse. 
 
 Each species of plant and animal has a tendency to spread. 
 It is provided with some means for distribution. If left un¬ 
 checked, and without enemies, it will, under favorable circum¬ 
 stances, cover the entire earth. Many species of both plants 
 and animals have a very wide distribution, and the territory cov¬ 
 ered by them is constantly becoming wider. This tendency to 
 migrate has given to different localities their present faunas and 
 floras. To make a study of geographical distribution of plants 
 
 0 15/20 
 
 r 
 
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 is an absorbing theme, and one that has been of great service to 
 the naturalist as well as the farmer and fruit grower. 
 
 To elaborate the idea advanced a few illustrations may be 
 made. Let us first take the English Sparrow. This is the 
 common sparrow of England, which at home is not a nuisance 
 nor a disturbing element. It was introduced into America in 
 1850 at Brooklyn. The first introduction was a failure. Later, 
 in 1853, it was again introduced, a large lot being liberated in 
 Greenwood Cemetery, New York. Successive importations were 
 made during the next twenty years. It has no enemies, and 
 found an abundance of food in the city. From that introduc¬ 
 tion the species has spread until at the present time it has covered 
 almost the entire United States. It has been persecuted, boun¬ 
 ties have been laid by legislatures, war has waged against it on 
 every side, and still it thrives. At the present time it is even in 
 the mountain state of Montana. From the east it has come by 
 the railways, those great high-ways of commerce, as far as Great 
 Falls. At Culbertson it is abundant, less so at each town west¬ 
 ward, until at Great Falls a small colony became a fixture less 
 than two years ago. By the Northern Pacific it has come from 
 the east along most of the road in Montana. From the south 
 it has come to Butte, Anaconda and Helena. It has not reached 
 Missoula, but will no doubt be seen there before long. I well 
 remember how a few years ago, I think it was in 1899, the late C. 
 A. Wiley, of Miles City, bemoaned its arrival that year in Miles 
 City. 
 
 Another illustration is the Gypsy moth. Some years ago an 
 eastern entomologist received some eggs of this moth from Eng¬ 
 land, for the purpose of experimentation. The eggs came in a 
 paper, which was opened in the study. A gust of wind scat¬ 
 tered the eggs, most of which were gathered up. Twenty years 
 afterward there was an outbreak of the moth. The state of 
 Massachusetts has spent nearly two millions of dollars in at¬ 
 tempts to hold the pest in check, and it will take millions yet be¬ 
 fore they are through with it. 
 
 Then we may note the San Jose scale. This was first dis¬ 
 covered near San Jose, California, in 1880. Hence its name. 
 Until recently its nativity was not known. It is now believed to 
 have come from China. This scale attacks the bark and stem 
 of young trees, covers the twigs, leaves, and even the fruit, in 
 such great numbers that the tree may be destroyed. It is one 
 
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 of the worst pests for the orchard. It was next seen along the 
 Atlantic coast, and has spread over the entire United States. At 
 present it is not in the orchards of the State, although it has 
 been taken on fruit shipped into the state. 
 
 We might mention the Russian thistle in America, the intro¬ 
 duction of the mongoose into Jamaica for the purpose of destroy¬ 
 ing the mice in the cane fields, and dozens of other illustrations. 
 But it would require too much time, although it would make 
 interesting reading. 
 
 Of all the progeny of plants or animals but few survive. An 
 adult lobster may deposit a hundred thousand eggs. Yet no 
 more than a score are likely to reach maturity. The eggs of a 
 tape worm stand one chance in a million of reaching a suitable 
 place for development. If a single bacterium should be per¬ 
 mitted to multiply and the progeny supplied with food and mois¬ 
 ture suitable for development more than seventeen millions would 
 be in existence by the end of twenty-four hours. If a single 
 paramecium, one of the low one celled animals, should be given 
 food and warmth for the uninterrupted development of the off¬ 
 spring resulting from fission the number resulting in thirty 
 days would be 268,000,000. If the young of a single 
 pair of robins should be permitted to live and multiply the num¬ 
 ber of robins in ten years from this pair would be very great. 
 
 But nature seems malevolent. Of all the great number that is 
 possible but few develop. There is a constant thinning out of 
 numbers by enemies, climatic conditions, lack of food, and so on. 
 The fittest survive. It is give and take. Some cannot endure 
 the struggle, and die off. Some have little struggle, and be¬ 
 come very abundant. But Nature has a tendency to strike a 
 balance at last. The time usually comes when numbers are of 
 no'avail, and by their very numbers the race is imperiled. The 
 mongoose was finally held in check by the tick. The little lady 
 bird beetle bids fair to hold in check the San Jose scale. Bacteria 
 are usually held in check by the living cells of the body. Few 
 species of plants or animals overrun the earth, although the ten¬ 
 dency is to do so. But the time necessary to find a remedy for 
 an evil such as has been mentioned is sometimes very great. 
 
 Man is quite likely, through ignorance, to overturn the balance 
 wheel of nature, so to speak, and send the whole machinery to 
 smash. This is the case in the introduction of species of animals 
 and plants to a new locality, where the conditions are new, and 
 
where enemies are lacking. It therefore behooves us to look 
 carefully into the question of what the result will be if the birds 
 are killed off in large numbers, for the statistics show that they 
 are going very fast. The study of game birds will have little to 
 do with this question as it is presented to us as stated, from the 
 fact that game birds are very few, and with the advent of man 
 must disappear. It is to be regretted, but it must be so. The 
 only thing we can do is to use our best efforts to keep them as 
 long as we can, and possibly preserve from year to year a few 
 remnants of a fast disappearing group of birds. The grouse fam¬ 
 ily is the great family of game birds. In some places the 
 turtle dove is shot for food, and in others meadow larks, bobo¬ 
 links or rice birds, are killed. Our present laws are inadequate 
 for the protection of these birds. A man may kill twenty of 
 each species each day during the season. For ducks there is 
 no limit as to the number killed. Since the last game law has 
 been declared unconstitutional there is no protection for ducks 
 from the first of September to the first of May. 
 
 The methods employed to determine whether birds are useful 
 or harmful as insect destroyers or as seed gatherers, will be of 
 interest to some. The fate of a bird is a very important item. 
 If it is charged with crimes which it does not commit we cannot 
 excuse ourselves for the crime of killing it off. To kill off a bird 
 without trying it fairly is not in accord with the spirit of fair play 
 that is so prominent in all the actions of the American people. 
 How shall we determine whether or not a bird is our friend 
 or our enemy? 
 
 The United States Department of Agriculture is doing much 
 work in this direction, and the results so far are of far reaching 
 importance. The study necessarily involves the killing of a large 
 number of birds. But this killing is justified, for by their loss 
 thousands will probably be saved through the study of the birds 
 slain. The birds of a given species are taken at all seasons when 
 they are to be had, in all parts of the country. It is not fair to 
 take them at the time they are supposed to be doing 1 damage and 
 at no other. The good must be balanced against the evil. Per¬ 
 haps hundreds of birds will thus be killed in different parts of the 
 country. The stomach of each is removed and preserved. Later 
 the contents are examined by specialists. It is not a very 
 pleasant occupation to examine the contents of hundreds of birds, 
 working over pieces of ants, wings of beetles, parts of spiders, 
 
Great-horned Owl, Bubo virginianus Gmel. From Biological Survey. 
 
American Goshawk, Accipiter atricapillus Wilson. From Biological 
 Survey. 
 
■ 7 — 
 
 half digested grain, portions ol fruit, and the like. But this must 
 be done. It requires no small amount of information on the part 
 of the examiner to do this intelligently, and the work is neces¬ 
 sarily slow and expensive. The different things found in the 
 stomachs are then arranged and tabulated, including everything 
 that can be determined, whether beneficial or injurious to man. 
 This is then figured in per cent of the different ingredients. By 
 this means the food of the bird for the season is determined. 
 Also, if there is a difference in different localities it is deter¬ 
 mined. The results are published, and are- available on the pari 
 of any one interested so long as they may last. All that is 
 necessary is for the person interested to address a letter to the 
 Secretary of Agriculture, Division of Biological Survey, Wash¬ 
 ington, D. C., and ask for literature relative to beneficial and 
 injurious birds. In this manner many birds have already been 
 studied. To give a summary of the work would be unnecessarily 
 tedious, and would be useless since it is available in printed 
 form. Appended to this paper will be found a list of papers, 
 many of which are yet obtainable, which relate to the subject. 
 
 Much of the information which I am able to present has been 
 gathered from the sources previously mentioned. Indeed, if I 
 were to claim originality in what I am able to give, I would be 
 presumptuous. Let us find from the statistics of what im¬ 
 portance the study is financially. 
 
 It is estimated that $200,000,000.00 are lost annually to the 
 farmers and fruit growers of the United States through the rav¬ 
 ages of insects. This is one-tenth of our total agricultural crop. 
 To lose one dollar in ten is a heavy toll to pay the insects. This 
 toll is especially heavy from the fact that it usually falls on some 
 section or sections of the country, when the crop for over a 
 large tract may be completely destroyed. The number of birds 
 in species in the entire North America, according to Ridgway, is 
 about 800. There are? over one hundred thousand species of in¬ 
 sects, and most of them are injurious. The injuries come from 
 the young or larval insect, either through destruction of the foli¬ 
 age as food, or by sucking the life out of the plant with the beak, 
 or by penetrating to the interior of the leaf or stem, there eat¬ 
 ing the vital part of the plant as food or making a cavity for the 
 deposition of eggs. 
 
 An examination of the statistics show that birds are great 
 destroyers of weed seeds. Most weeds produce seeds in great 
 
— 8 — 
 
 abundance. If this were not so the species would soon become 
 extinct. I have watched the grosbeaks every winter eating the 
 seeds from the box-elder trees in my yard. I have watched the 
 cedar waxwings strain their little necks to reach the wild rose 
 apples. What a beautiful sight it is to see the male, with his 
 dash of brilliant scarlet on the wing, craning his neck for a rose 
 apple scarcely less beautiful, the bush swaying back and forth 
 with the weight of the bird, which must use both legs and wings 
 to keep position. I have watched the horned larks as they 
 sought the apparentlv barren plain in search of food, sometimes 
 going in flocks of hundreds. I have killed the Rocky mountain 
 jay when his cheeks were crammed with nuts from the yellow 
 pine, which he was evidently storing for food. Who has not 
 seen the little sparrows on the almost barren ground searching 
 for food. During the migration period the university campus at 
 Missoula is alive with sparrows, quietly searching the weeds for 
 a meal. Prof. Beall has estimated that the tree sparrow alone 
 in the United States destroys annually 1,720,000 pounds of seeds 
 of noxious weeds. Every person should recognize the sparrows. 
 They are small, usually of a gray or slate color, with short and 
 thick bills. The bills are specially adapted to cracking seeds: 
 These birds are very useful, and should by all means be preserved. 
 They are friends to the farmer and fruit-grower, and should re¬ 
 ceive his protection. 
 
 Birds are the natural enemies of insects. In the woods one 
 may find the little warblers, a large and interesting family of 
 birds. These are built on a different plant from the Fringillidae, 
 or seed eaters. The Mniotilidae, or warblers, are small and trim 
 little fellows, often with bright and even gaudy colors. Their 
 bills are small and slender, specially adapted for piercing the 
 body of an insect larva. These birds may easily be recognized, 
 and are as useful as Fringillidae or finches, but in another way. 
 They are largely migrants, spending the summer with us, when 
 the young are reared. The winter months are spent farther 
 south, whither they go about the first of October. Some go 
 much earlier. During their stay with us they are engaged in 
 the daily occupation of gathering food and rearing their young. 
 The food consists largely of insects, which they seem to search 
 constantly. These birds no doubt destroy insects which, with¬ 
 out the birds, would perhaps destroy much vegetation. Since 
 it is estimated that on the average each bird in the country de- 
 
— 9 — 
 
 stroys as many as 2,400 insects one cannot even speculate as to 
 the number of insects destroyed. 
 
 Statistics relative to the increase or decrease of birds in the 
 United States are scarce and hard to secure. A few years ago 
 G. O. Shields, editor of Recreation, secured opinions from hun¬ 
 dreds of persons all over the United States relative to the num¬ 
 ber of birds at that time compared with ten years previous. The 
 result was astounding. The opinion prevailed that the number 
 of birds in a given section of the country had greatly decreased 
 during the decade. In many cases the decrease was as much 
 as fifty per cent. While the statistics are only opinions based 
 on observations by careful observers, it is safe to assume that 
 birds in the greater portion of the country are on the decrease, 
 and that very rapidly. This is greatly to be deplored, for with 
 the decrease has come a great increase in insects, which have 
 wrought great destruction. What are the causes for the kill¬ 
 ing of useful birds? 
 
 First may be mentioned the elements. Severe winters often 
 destroy birds in great numbers, especially when they migrate 
 early and are then overtaken by severe storms, when food can¬ 
 not be obtained. But the elements are insufficient to account 
 for the great mortality. Their natural enemies kill a large num¬ 
 ber. These enemies are snakes, birds of prey, weasels and other 
 mammals. Then comes the domestic cat. In thickly populated 
 districts the cat is abundant. It is a great destroyer of birds, 
 and if statistics could be secured it would be responsible for a 
 very large number of birds. There can be no question but that 
 the cat is a menace in many localities, and should be killed in 
 large numbers. In cities the cat, the English sparrow, and the 
 boy, have driven the birds practically from the region. Then 
 comes the great enemy of the birds, often unintentional and 
 without giving thought, man. The desire to kill is inborn in 
 the human breast. It is an instinct borne of a distant past, 
 when might was right. A boy or a man with a gun must shoot 
 something. A stone on a fence post is not half so tempting for 
 a shot as a woodpecker or a meadow lark. The unsuccessful 
 attempt to bring in a rabbit, a quail or a pheasant is likely to re¬ 
 sult in the destruction of a few birds, just to bring down some¬ 
 thing. The small boy with fire arms does untold destruction to 
 bird life. The pump gun has almost destroyed the grouse and 
 duck, and if the automatic gun is not squelched before it is put 
 
■on the market the last of the feathered tribe is not very far dis¬ 
 tant in time. Then woe to the farmer and horticulturist. ' Laws 
 are not sufficient to stop the destruction. Public sentiment 
 must be aroused to the great value of our feathered friends, 
 and the wanton destruction that so often prevails. In the east¬ 
 ern and middle states severe laws are now in force. In some 
 cases these stringent laws came late—too late to be of best help 
 in saving the birds. But even with stringent laws the mortality 
 continues and the decrease becomes greater with each decade. 
 
 From the best information obtainable it appears that birds arc 
 on the increase in this state. This is to be expected. The state 
 is large and the inhabitants comparatively few. Large tracts 
 of land have been put under water through irrigation, thus mak¬ 
 ing food more abundant and making it possible for a greater 
 number of birds to live than formerly, and also providing food 
 for different species than is the case when the land is in its natural 
 state. All the old timers who have been close observers seem 
 to think that birds are more plentiful than formerly. There is 
 still much land in the state to be brought under cultivation. 
 Large irrigation schemes are under construction both by the gov¬ 
 ernment and by private individuals. Hundreds of thousands of 
 acres now growing but a small amount of grass will in the next 
 one or two decades be producing crops, and furnishing homes 
 and food for thousands of people. With this influx of people 
 and accompanying this large acreage of farming must come 
 the countless hordes of insects that will find food and home. 
 They will surely come, and we may as well make way for them 
 and prepare for them. At the same time we may expect a large 
 addition to our avifauna. With the disturbance of the balance 
 of nature on so large a scale no one can predict which will be the 
 greater in relative numbers. It is reasonable to suppose that the 
 insects will be the first to arrive, and that the birds will be slower. 
 We have the birds. They seem to be on the increase with us. 
 We can do much to aid in their propagation by making the con¬ 
 ditions favorable. How can this be done? 
 
 First, by executing the laws of the state, and enforcing them 
 on those who kill birds contrary to law. The game warden will 
 furnish copies of the laws to all who may make inquiry, so there 
 is no need of pleading ignorance. Second, by developing a 
 healthy moral sentiment among the people, and especially among 
 the youth in the public schools. This may be done by example, 
 
Types of finches, or seed eating birds. The upper the desert song 
 sparrow, Mellospiza fasciata fallax (Baird), ihe lower is Cassin’s purple 
 finch, Carpodacus cassini Baird. From U. P. R. R. Survey. 
 
Meadow Lark, Sturnella magna. From Ornithology of Illinois, 
 western lark is Sturnella magna, var. neglecta. 
 
 The 
 
—II— 
 
 by good literature, and by giving information relative to the 
 habits of birds. No thinking person can study birds without 
 having increased love and sympathy for them. Third, by pro¬ 
 viding suitable places for them to use as nesting sites in which 
 to build and rear their young. This may seem of little avail where 
 the country is so vast and the population so scanty, but if each 
 one does his best the result must be to help m the increase. 
 In a recent trip of several hundred miles but one bird box was 
 observed, and that was placed by a small boy. We need more 
 such boys, and more such nesting places. The flycatchers must 
 seek the commutators on electric light poles, or the eaves of 
 houses, when they should have nice boxes, free from interrup¬ 
 tion and safe from the cat. 
 
 The work of the farmer and the fruit grower in the state is 
 but in its infancy. Nearly a quarter of million fruit trees were 
 planted in the state during the past year. When all the orchards 
 in the state shall be bearing what a harvest it will be. In all 
 portions of the state increased acreage is made in wheat, meadow, 
 alfalfa, barley, and other grains and grasses. We have the ex¬ 
 perience of the past and of the eastern states for our heritage. 
 We have the birds, and we know their value. If we do not take 
 advantage of the conditions the fault must lie with us. 
 
 What is the number of birds in the state in species? When 
 we talk of the different species we mean what is generally referred 
 to by the word kind. All the birds that are called by the name 
 great horned owl are of one species. All the countless English 
 Sparrows are included in but a single species, Passer domesticus. 
 Observations have been made during the past five years on the 
 birds in the region about Flathead lake. This is a good field 
 for the ornithologist in many respects, and the work accom¬ 
 plished by the University of Montana Biological Station is the 
 first systematic study of the bird fauna of the state. The re¬ 
 sults obtained through the dilligent efforts of Prin. P. M. Sillo- 
 way and others show but 137 species, including all species of 
 summer residents, summer and winter residents, spring and 
 fall migrants. This is not a large number, and many of them 
 have but a few scattered specimens. In the bulletin “Birds of 
 Fergus County,” by P. M. Silloway, recently issued by the 
 school board of the Fergus County Free High School, 175 spe¬ 
 cies are listed. Fergus county is about as large as the state 
 of Massachusetts, and is in the great Misouri river highway, up 
 
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 which so many birds and animals have come from the Missis¬ 
 sippi river and the Great Plains. Miles City shows a list about 
 as large as that from Fergus County. The entire avifauna of 
 the state will no doubt be much less than most people expect, 
 and certainly will not exceed a few hundred. Of this number 
 what proportion are injurious? 
 
 We may now hastily examine the records relative to few birds, 
 some of which are on the doubtful list, others clearly proven to 
 be injurious, and deserving of no protection. 
 
 Grave charges have been made against the robin. In some 
 localities he is persecuted during the cherry season. No charge 
 seems to be made against him at other times. Let us examine 
 the charges, and see if they are well founded. The robin is 
 one of the earliest harbingers of spring. He is known to all, 
 and his cheerful song in the early morning or late evening as he 
 takes his position on the cupola of a building or on the top¬ 
 most bough of a tree has been the theme of poets for years. 
 After their arrival in spring they often roost in large numbers 
 in some locality. They have been known to go a hundred 
 miles for breakfast ,and arrive at the feeding ground shortly 
 after sun up. In the evening they return to the roost, a hun¬ 
 dred miles on the return. Thousands will congregate in these 
 roosts. Later they pair off and the pairs seek some suitable 
 place in which to build a nest and rear the young. They are 
 principally ground feeders, as may be recognized by their long 
 and stout bills, although they have bills much smaller than the 
 orioles, which are typically ground feeders. The food of hte 
 robin consists of larval insects, worms, beetles, occasional mol- 
 lusks, spiders, insect eggs, and fruit, both wild and tame. Prof. 
 Forbes says: “I do not believe that the horticulturist can sell 
 his small fruits anvwhere in the ordinary market of the world 
 at so high a price as to the robin, provided that he uses proper 
 diligence that the little huckster does not overreach him in the 
 bargain. In other words, while the bird is far too valuable to 
 exterminate, at least until we are sure we can replace him by 
 some cheaper assistant, yet he is not so precious that we need 
 hesitate to protect our fruits from outrageous injury. Indeed 
 it seems likely that the ordinary destruction of robins by gar¬ 
 deners does not more than compensate for the destruction of 
 birds of prey in the interests of the poultry yard--removing that 
 
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 excess of robins which, in the more natural order, would fall 
 victims to the hawks and owls.” 
 
 Mr. W. F. King, in Vol. I of the Wisconsin Geological Survey 
 says of the robin : “In its method of obtaining food and in the 
 situation from which its food is gleaned, the robin performs a 
 very important work, and one for which few other birds are so 
 well adapted. So important is this work that the quantity of 
 small fruit which it consumes is but a stingy compensation for 
 the service which it renders, and I know of no bird whose greater 
 abundance is likely to prove of more service to the country.” 
 He examined thirty-seven stomachs. 
 
 Dr. E. V. Wilcox examined 187 stomachs in Illinois. He 
 says in his summary, “the fruit-grower should at least be al¬ 
 lowed to kill the robin during the season when he is most harm¬ 
 ful, and not, as at present, be in danger of arrest and fines for 
 shooting the robins in his own garden.’ 
 
 Educational leaflet No. 4, referred to in the bibliography, says 
 concerning the robin ; “That the robin is a very beneficial bird 
 there is no doubt, although it is claimed by some persons, espe¬ 
 cially small fruit growers, that it eats cultivated fruit to an in¬ 
 jurious extent. This charge, the evidence shows, is confined to 
 special localities and to a very limited period and is not all gen¬ 
 eral. The horticulturist can protect his small fruit crops by 
 growing a few wild fruits for the robins and the cultivated kinds 
 will not be disturbed; but thousands of injurious insects will 
 be eaten that would otherwise be a pest. A careful study of 
 the food tables abstracted from data furnished by the Bioligcal 
 Survey, United States Department of Agriculture, ought surely 
 to convince everyone that the robin is a very valuable' aid to the 
 agriculturist and therefore ought to be carefully protected.” 
 
 Statistics compiled show that for the entire year the food 
 of the robin was as follows: insects, sixty-five per cent, culti¬ 
 vated fruits, twenty-five per cent, wild fruits, ten per cent. 
 Of the insects about forty-five per cent are injurious, thirty-five 
 beneficial, the remainder neutral. There are no statistics on 
 the bird from Montana. Until we make a study of it we 
 may well hold judgment in abeyance, since our wild fruits are 
 so abundant and so luscious for birds. 
 
 The meadow lark is with us the first harbinger of spring. In 
 most states the bluebird and the robin are first looked for in 
 the days when winter is fast disappearing, but in western Mon- 
 
- 14 - 
 
 tana the call of the meadow lark as he sits on the top of a tele¬ 
 phone pole or perches on a rock or fence is the first indication 
 that warmer days are coming. The meadow lark is an inter¬ 
 esting bird. It sings from the time it first comes in spring until 
 it disappears in the fall. It has as many as eight different 
 notes, and seems to take delight in alternating them while mak¬ 
 ing its repertoire of music. 
 
 The meadow lane belongs to the oriole family. Its near 
 relatives are the blackbirds and orioles. All of the family are 
 ground feeders. They are provided with long and strong bills, 
 fitted for digging in the ground, and for pulling worms out of 
 the earth. The meadow lark nests on the ground, seeking some 
 clump of bushes on the dry prairie, and there rears its young. It 
 searches the vicinity for food for the infant larks. In meadows 
 where the ground is under cultivation its habits are the same 
 as in wild nature, save that it adapts itself to new conditions. 
 
 The meadow lark is one of the most useful of birds. From 
 the fact that this is not generally appreciated it seems fitting 
 that some little time be devoted to making a few statements in 
 regard to its usefulness to man. 
 
 Practically nothing is to be said against the bird, and much in 
 its favor. It is a great insect destroyer. Its choice food when 
 it is to be had is the grasshopper. The bird is probably with¬ 
 out a peer as an insect destroyer. It is a bird of good size, 
 and hence requires a large amount of food, and is a diligent col¬ 
 lector. An interesting article on the meadow lark by Prof. 
 Beal is to be found in the Yearbook of the Department of Agri¬ 
 culture for 1895. In this Prof. Beal gives the' following calcu¬ 
 lation in regard to its usefulness. “Remains of as many as 54 
 grasshoppers have been found in a single meadow lark’s stomach 
 but this is much above the average number usually eaten at one 
 time. Such food, however, is digested rapidly, and it is safe 
 to assume that at least 50 grasshoppers are eaten each day, 
 If the number of birds breeding in one square mile of meadow 
 land is estimated at five pairs, and the number of young that 
 reach maturity at only two for each pair, or 10 in all, there will 
 be 20 birds on a square mile during the grasshopper season. 
 On this basis, the birds would destroy 30,000 grasshoppers in 
 one month. Assuming that each grasshopper, if let alone, 
 would have lived thirty days, the thousand grasshoppers eaten 
 by the larks each day represent a saving of 2.2 pounds of forage, 
 

 / 
 
 
 
 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. 
 
 I 2 . Mile and Female; 3 . Young. 
 
 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Red-naped Sapsucker, Spyrapi 
 From Birds of Pennsylvania. The western bird is var. nuchal 
 
The lead-colored bush-tit, Psaltriparus plumbeus Baird, shown by the 
 two birds and the figure of tail feathers. The upper heads are nut¬ 
 hatches. These are insect eating birds, as may be seen by the long 
 sharp bills. From U. P. R. R. Survey. 
 
UNIVERSITY o< 
 
 — 15 — 
 
 or 66 pounds in all for the month. If the value of this forage 
 is estimated at $10.00 per ton which is below the average price 
 of hay in the eastern markets, the value of the crop saved by 
 meadow larks on a township of 36 square miles each month 
 during the grasshopper season would be about $24.00.” 
 
 More than half of the food of the meadow lark consists of 
 harmful insects. Its vegetable food is composed of noxious 
 weed seeds, waste grain, with some useful beetles, neutral in¬ 
 sects and spiders. Although it is naturally an insect eater it 
 * can subsist on vegetable food if necessary, and as a consequence 
 is not forced to migrate during cold weather any further than 
 is necessary to secure food. In western Montana it not infre¬ 
 quently stays around barns during the winter, picking up re¬ 
 fuse. 
 
 As stated before, the meadow lark is in some places consid¬ 
 ered a food bird. In Montana it is classed with the song birds, 
 and permanently protected. It is entitled to all possible pro¬ 
 tection, and to slaughter it for game is a poor way to utilize so 
 useful a bird. 
 
 It is impossible in the short space assigned to me to speak of 
 many birds. There is one bird, however, that is harmful to 
 the orchardist, which must not be overlooked. I refer to the 
 rednaped sapsucker, Sphyrapicus varius nuchalis Baird. They 
 do damage to trees by drilling holes in the bark of apple, thorn- 
 apple and mountain ash trees, sometimes encircling the trees 
 with these holes for a distance of two feet. They drink the sap 
 of the apple tree, and in some cases kill the tree. Insects col¬ 
 lect about the punctures of the tree thus made, and the bird 
 later returns and makes a feast from the insects. The number 
 of trees killed by this bird is not great, and large numbers of the 
 insects which it destroys are harmful. It is therefore an open 
 question as yet whether the bird should be killed for its attack 
 on the trees or let live. The damage reported in the state is 
 » slight. 
 
 Lewis’s woodpecker is the black bird, with a reddish breast 
 and flight like a crow. It is a very abundant bird in the wooded 
 « portion of the western part of the state. It has been reported 
 as doing damage to orchardists by pecking the apples while yet 
 they hang to the tree, and thus making them unsalable. The 
 amount of damage is not great, and it is rather surprising that 
 this bird should take to eating fruit. As all the woodpeckers- 
 
—16— 
 
 are insect eaters orchardists should be very slow to kill the birds 
 because of a little damage. The damage from a few insects 
 is too well known to need argument. If it is a choice between 
 two evils the lesser is likely to be chosen. The orchardist should 
 examine the conditions carefully and decide for himself. If the 
 damage is great* he should have the privilege of protecting his 
 fruit. If it is small, he should be slow to kill. 
 
 Much damage is attributed to the hawks and owls, which are 
 quite plentiful, especially in the wooded section. How much 
 of the popular belief in hawk and owl mischief is true, and how 
 much is false? The majority of the hawks and owls, as of 
 other birds, are useful, and but a few are to be condemned. The 
 popular belief that all hawks and owls should be shot on sight 
 is not well founded. The damage done by hawks and owls is 
 by carrying off poultry, small lambs and pigs. Some of them 
 are very destructive to small birds which latter may be very 
 useful. At least one species is hard on the grouse family, kill¬ 
 ing large numbers of game birds. Their benefit comes from 
 their carnivorous habits. Instead of preying on poultry most 
 of the species live on mice, gophers, ground squirrels, moles, 
 and even insects. The little red hawk that is so abundant along 
 the roads in the summer, hanging in mid air at times, again 
 roosting on a post or rock, is a great enemy to the grasshopper, 
 killing them by the thousands. So great is its capacity for the 
 grasshopper that it goes by the name of grasshopper sparrow. 
 Early in the spring and late in the fall it is severe on small birds, 
 but its benefit far outweighs the destruction caused in killing 
 birds. 
 
 Our largest bird is the great horned owl. This well known 
 bird is fierce and untamable, and in strength and courage is in¬ 
 ferior to none of our rapacious birds. The food is of great 
 variety. It catches birds and mammals, fishes, crustaceans, and 
 insects. Among birds it takes poultry, including half-grown 
 turkeys, grouse, quail, doves, and wild ducks. Hawks, crows, 
 and other fowls do not escape this rapacious bird, and large 
 hawks are among those attacked and eaten. Dr. Fisher re¬ 
 marks of the species: “In studying this owl in relation to its 
 food it will be perceived at a glance that a bird so powerful and 
 voracious may at times be a source of great benefit, while at 
 other times it may be the cause of great damage. Now, the 
 serious inroads it makes on the tenants of the poultry yard, as 
 
17 - 
 
 well as the destruction of many game and song birds would 
 seem to call for the total suppression of the species. Again, 
 when engaged chiefly in the capture of injurious rodents, which 
 threaten the very existence of the crops, it is the farmer’s most 
 valuable ally, and consequently should be most carefully pro¬ 
 tected.” The rabbit stands at the head of the list of mammals 
 most frequently eaten by this bird. It is said to be fond of 
 spermophiles or ground-squirrels. It is reputed to be an ex¬ 
 pert rat catcher. It has been proven to eat mice and shrews, 
 
 ► muskrats, woodchucks, and opossums. On one occasion a por¬ 
 cupine was attacked. 
 
 The bird inhabits wooded regions, where it finds both a home 
 and an abundance of food. It is likely that in newly settled re¬ 
 gions the bird may prove harmful, but as it disappears with the 
 advance of agriculture its damage will not be for long. 
 
 Three birds may be mentioned which have brought the hawks 
 and owls into disfavor. The sharp-shinned hawk, Accipiter 
 velox, Cooper’s hawk, Accipiter cooperi, and the goshawk, Ac¬ 
 cipiter atricapillus. The first two are much alike except in size. 
 The illustrations accompanying will give a fair idea of the 
 species, although it is to be regretted they are not in colors. 
 Velox is an impudent and daring little bird from io to 14 in¬ 
 ches in length, and little can be said in its favor. Its food is 
 poultry and young birds, with occasional rodents. Cooperi is 
 similar in appearance but larger, being from 14 to 20 inches 
 long. It is much more to be dreaded than the preceding, as it 
 is larger and stronger. Its food is about the same as that of 
 velox, but it is a great enemy of the domestic pigeon, and will 
 stay by a flock until it cleans them out or meets a tragic death. 
 It is very fond of meadow larks, robins and flickers. One bene¬ 
 fit derived from these two is that they have found the English 
 sparrow a toothsome morsel, and easily obtainable, and have 
 created great havoc among these birds in the eastern states. 
 
 * The goshawk is still larger than either of the two just men¬ 
 tioned, being 21 to 25 inches in length. It is bluish slate color 
 above, top of head deep black, tail crossed by four dusky bands, 
 
 * white below, thickly barred with narrow zigzag lines of grey, 
 feathers often streaked in the middle with dusky color. With us it 
 is found usually only in the fall and winter, moving to the 
 northern regions in the spring. It is especially bad on the 
 grouse family, and is very destructive to poultry. It is the 
 
-18- 
 
 most daring of all birds, and many almost incredible stories are 
 told relative to its boldness and daring. It will dart down at 
 the feet of a farmer after a fowl, and even followed one into a 
 house, where it was despatched with a stick. 
 
 The flight of the three species, as well as their general habits, 
 may be readily studied by watching any one of them. They 
 fly much alike, with great speed, and with accuracy. They are 
 trim birds, with very sharp claws, and on account of their trim 
 carriage, swift flight, boldness and daring, are easily recognized. 
 They should be shot cn sight. But it is well to make no mis¬ 
 take in the decision, for the other birds except those mentioned 
 are very useful. 
 
 The study of the birds will prove of both interest and profit 
 to those who may be persuaded to find out more relative to our 
 feathered friends. The literature suggested will be both in¬ 
 teresting and profitable to the farmer and fruit-grower. At a 
 comparatively small expense manuals may be secured which 
 will enable the student to identify species. The subject is a 
 big one, and full of interest and importance. It is but touched 
 in this hasty sketch. Some of the literature suggested should 
 be secured and read. 
 
 Partial Bibliography. 
 
 Preliminary report on the Food of Woodpeckers, by F. E. L. 
 Beal. Bui. 7, Div. of Ornith. and Mam. U. S. Dept, of Agri. 
 1895. 
 
 Some Common Birds in their Relation to Agriculture, by F. E. 
 L. Beal. Farmers’ Bulletin'No. 54, U. S. Dept, of Agri. 1897, 
 40 pp. 
 
 Birds as Weed Destroyers, by Sylvester D. Judd. Yearbook 
 U. S. Dept, of Agriculture, 1898, pp. 219-232. 
 
 Four Common Birds of the Farm and Garden, by Sylvester D. 
 Judd. Yearbook of the U. S. Dept, of Agriculture for 1895, 
 PP- 4 <-- 5 - 4 i 8 . 
 
 The Meadow Lark and Baltimore Oriole, by F. E. L. Beal. 
 Yearbook, U. S. Dept, of Agriculture, pp. 419-430. 
 
 The Food of the Robin, by E. V. Wilcox. Ohio Experiment 
 Station, Bui. 43, pp. 115-132- 
 
 The' Food of the Robin, by S. A. Forbes. Bui. Ill. State Lab. 
 of Nat. Hist., Vol. I., No. 3. 
 
 The Ornithological Balance-wheel, by S. A. Forbes. Trans. 
 Ill. State Hort. Soc. for 1881, printed Feb., 1882, 12 pp. 
 
i 
 
 Cooper’s Hawk, Accipiter, cooperi (Bonaparte). From Biological 
 Survey. 
 
— 19 -- 
 
 Binds in Horticulture, by Wm. E. Praeger. Trans. Ill. State 
 Hort. Soc. New Ser., Vol. XXXIII, 9 pp. 
 
 The Plawks and Owls of the United States in their Relation 
 to Agriculture, by Dr. A. K. Fisher. Bui. No. 3, Div. of Ornith. 
 and Mam., U. S. Dept, of Agri. 210 pages, 25 colored plates. 
 Out of print, but a very valuable work. 
 
 A Review of the Economic Ornithology of the United States, 
 by T. S. Palmer. Yearbook of Department of Agriculture for 
 1899, pp. 255-292, with several plates. 
 
 Legislation for the Protection of Birds other than Game Birds, 
 by T. S. Palmer. Bui. No. 12, Revised edition, Division of 
 Biological Survey, 'Washington. 144 pages, four maps, several 
 illustrations. 
 
 Report of the Insect Food of the Crow, by E. A. Schwartz. 
 Bui. No. 6, Div. of Ornith. and Mam., Washington, pp. 57-68. 
 
 Food of the Bobolinks, Blackbirds and Crackles, by F. E. L. 
 Beal. Bui. No. 13, Division of Biological Survey, Washington, 
 D. C. 78 pages and several illustrations. 
 
 The Relation of Sparrows to Agriculture, by Sylvester D. 
 Judd. Bui. No. 15, Division of Biological Survey, Washington, 
 D. C. 98 pages with several figures and plates. 
 
 Birds of a Maryland Farm, a Local Study of Economic Orni¬ 
 thology, by Sylvester D. Judd. Bui. No. 17, Division of Bio¬ 
 logical Survey. 116 pages, 17 plates and many figures. 
 
 The Cowbirds, by Charles Bendire. From the Report of the 
 United States National Museum for 1893, pages 587-624, with 
 plates 1-3. 
 
 The English Sparrow in North America, Especially in Its 
 Relation to Agriculture, by Walter B. Barrows. Bulletin I, Di¬ 
 vision of Economic Ornithology and Mammalogy, U. S. Dept, 
 of Agri., Washington. 406 pages. 
 
 Report on the Bird Migration in the Mississippi Valley, by W. 
 W. Cooke. Bui. No. 2, Div. of Economic Ornith., U. S. Dept, 
 of Agri., Washington, D. C, 314 pages 
 
 The Birds of Wyoming, by Wilbur C Knight. Bui. No.55, 
 Wyoming Ex. Sta., Laramie, Wyo. 174 pages, many plates. 
 
 A Partial Bibliography of the Economic Relations of North 
 American Birds, by Clarence M. Weed. Tech. Bui. No. 5, New 
 Hampshire, Col. Agri. Ex. Sta., Durham, N. H., pp. 137-180. 
 
 Digest of Game Laws for 1901, by T. S. Palmer and H. W. 
 
— 20 - 
 
 Olds. Bui. No. 16, Div. of Biol. Sud., U. S. Dept, of Agri. 152 
 pages, plates and maps. 
 
 The Food of the Myrtle Warbler, by Clarence M. Weed and 
 Ned Dearborn. Tec. Bui. No. 3, New Hampshire Agri. Ex. 
 Sta., Durham, N. H., pp. 117-128. 
 
 National Committee of Audubon Societies, 526 Manhattan 
 Avenue, New York City Educational leaflets, each four pages, 
 with half tone illustration. 
 
 No. 1. The Nighthawk, Bull-Bat, Mosquito Hawk. 
 
 No. 2. The Mourning Dove. 
 
 No. 3. The Meadowlark. 
 
 No. 5. The Robin. 
 
 No. 5. The Flicker. 
 
 Birds in their Relation to Man, by Clarence M. Weed and Ned 
 Dearborn. 380 pp., many plates and figures. J. B. Lippincott 
 Co., Philadelphio. 
 
 Summer Birds of Flathead Lake, by Perley Milton Silloway. 
 Bui. Univ. of Mont., Biol. Series No. 1, 84 pp., plates IV-XVI. 
 Univ. of Mont., Missoula. 
 
 Lectures Delivered at the University of Montana Biological 
 Station at Flathead Lake in 1902. Bui. Univ. of Mont., Biol. 
 Series No. 5, pp. 191-288, plates XLVII-LII, figs. 4-31. Univ. of 
 Mont., Missoula. (This has several helpful lectures on Birds.) 
 
 Additional notes to Summer Birds of Flathead Lake, with 
 special reference to Swan Lake, by Perley Milton Silloway. 
 Bui. Univ. of Mont., Biol. Series No. 6, pp. 289-308, plates LIII- 
 LVII. Univ. of Mont., Missoula. 
 
—21 — 
 
 i 
 
 THE WEALTH OF MONTANA AS SHOWN 
 BY STATISTICS. 
 
 By Morton J. Elrod, University of Montana. 
 
 Topography. The state has within its borders 9,491,200 acres 
 of land. Of this amount about 26,000,000 acres are classed as 
 mountain lands, 30,000,000 as farming lands, and 38,000,000 as 
 grazing lands. This is approximately 40,000 square miles of 
 mountains, 50,000 square miles of farming lands, and 56,000 
 square miles of grazing country.' The mountain area of the 
 state is about equal to the area of either Indiana, Kentucky, Vir¬ 
 ginia, Ohio, or Tennessee; its grazing land is more than the 
 area of either Pennsylvania,Louisiana,Mississippi, or New York; 
 its farming land is as much as the area of either Wisconsin, Iowa, 
 Illinois or Michigan. The mountain area is largely in the west¬ 
 ern part. The main range of the Rocky mountains enters the 
 state about a hundred miles east of the state line, and extends 
 across the state from northwest to southeast, forming the bound¬ 
 ary line between Montana and Idaho for several hundred miles— 
 from 114 meridian to the Yellowstone Park. The crest of the 
 range is quite tortuous, and contains many peaks. West of the 
 main range of the Rockies are several smaller ranges. The 
 Bitter Root mountains form a large part of the boundary between 
 Montana and Idaho, from 48 parallel to juncture with the main 
 range of the Rockies. The northern portion of the state west 
 of the main range includes the Kootenais, which extend north¬ 
 ward into the British Possessions. Between the Kootenais 
 and the Bitter Root range are the Cabinet mountains, extend¬ 
 ing approximately southeast and northwest, continuing west¬ 
 ward into Idaho. They form the western boundary of the Flat- 
 head Indian reservation, the lower summits blending with the 
 Mission range near Misoula. The mission range extends al¬ 
 most due north and south for about a hundred miles, the north¬ 
 ern end beginning in the valley at the upper end of Flathead lake, 
 
22 — 
 
 rising higher and higher toward the south, culminating in 
 McDonald Peak (9,800 ft.) Sinyaleamin Peak .9,500 ft.) and 
 McLeod Peak (9,000). East of the Mission range lies the Swan 
 range, extending almost parallel with the former, and continuing 
 some 30 or 40 miles farther north. Like the Mission mount¬ 
 ains the Swan range is highest at the southern end, culminating 
 in Swan Peak (10,000). East of the main range are many 
 smaller ranges, foothills leading from the Great Plains to the 
 continental divide, with its high and snowy peaks. The Big 
 Belt mountains form the boundary between Meagher county on 
 the east side and Broadwater and Lewis and Clarke counties on 
 the west. The range extends northwest and southeast for more 
 than a hundred miles. In the southwest angle of the state, ad¬ 
 jacent to the National Park, are many small ranees, including the 
 Ruby mountains, the Tobacco-Root range, the Snow-Crest range, 
 the Madison range, the South-Boulder range, the Gallatin range, 
 Bridger mountains, and Snow mountains. Near the Wyoming 
 line on the south is the small Bear-Tooth range, the Pryor mount¬ 
 ains, the Rosebud range, with a high plateau in the southeast 
 corner. The Little Belt mountains form a large portion of the 
 boundary between Meagher county and Fergus and Cascade 
 counties. Between this range and the Big Belts lie the small 
 Dry Range and Elk mountains, while the Crazies are further to 
 the southeast, and are the first high summits to greet the trav- 
 lere on the Northern Pacific railroad as he speeds westward be¬ 
 tween Big Timber and Livingston. 
 
 Fergus county, in the central part of the state, is about as 
 large as the state of Masachusetts. It contains the Big Snowy 
 and Little Snowy ranges and the Moccasin mountains. North 
 of the Missouri river the state is largely a great plain, broken by 
 the Bear Paw range, culminating in Mt. Garfield ( 5,794 feet), 
 and the Cherry-Patch hills at the northern boundary. The 
 mountains contain many high peaks, the more lofty being in the 
 Yellowstone Park region. Much of the mountainous region is 
 yet unexplored save by the hardy trapper and prospector. The 
 transcontinental railroads give the traveller a poor idea of the 
 sublimity of the scenery which the many mountain ranges afford,. 
 Many of the snow clad peaks bear on their sides the remnants 
 of glaciers, with miles of blue ice with huge crevasses, where the 
 alpine climber may find untrodden and unnamed fields, where 
 blue lakes reflect tne azure depths of heaven, and where the bo- 
 
23 — 
 
 tanist, the zoologist, the geologist, as well as the artist, may find 
 a virgin field. Many of the peaks, lakes, glaciers and creeks 
 are unnamed. Some of the more important summits, other than 
 thos mentioned, are the following. Mt. Powell, Deer Lodge 
 County, 12,000; Chief Mountain, 10,000; Mt. L0L0, Bitter Root 
 range, 9,500; St. Mary, Bitter Root range, 9,500; Electric Peak, 
 near the Park, 11,155; G. N., 10,000; Sheep Mountain, 10,628; 
 Ward, 10,267; Pentagon, 9,400. 
 
 The greater portion of the state lies east of the Rockies. Most 
 
 • of this section may De classed with the Great Plains region, tra¬ 
 versed as it is by the mighty Missouri and its tributaries. Part 
 of this Great Plains portion of the state is high and rolling, 
 eminently adapted for grazing; but a large portion is adapted to 
 farming, when irrigated, and will supply homes and farms for 
 thousands of families in the years to come. 
 
 River Systems.—The waters from the mountains of Montana 
 are carried by different river systems to the three oceans, the 
 .Arctic, the Pacific, and the Atlantic through the Gulf of Mexico. 
 In the western part the Bitter Root river gathers the waters 
 from the snow crests of the Bitter Root range and from the 
 spurs of the Rockies and unites with the Missoula near the city 
 of Missoula. The Missoula river through its various tribu¬ 
 taries gathers the water from a large portion of the western 
 slope of the main range, including that which is used in the great 
 smelters of Anaconda and which comes from the pumpings of 
 the rich mines of Butte. Further north the North Fork, Middle 
 Fork, and South Fork of Flathead River receive the drainage 
 from the Mission and Swan Ranges, the west slope of the main 
 range, and a part of the Kootenais. These unite to form the 
 Flathead river, which first pours its waters into the greatest 
 reservoir of the state, Flathead lake, and later joins the Missoula 
 in the beautiful but narrow Paradise valley to foryn Clarke’s Fork 
 of the Columbia. The Kootenay river takes the drainage from 
 the extreme northwestern corner, a part of the Columbia drain¬ 
 age system. The rivers on this western side are clear and 
 swift, with rocky and picturesque canyons. 
 
 * The Belly and St. Mary’s rivers in the northern part of the 
 main range carry the ice cold water from the glaciers of Chief 
 mountain and the region adjacent on to the Arctic ocean. The 
 sources of these two rivers are in the wildest and most pic¬ 
 turesque portion of ihe state. If the plans of the National Gov- 
 
— 24 — 
 
 ernment are executed much of the water from the St. Mary’s 
 will be diverted to the Milk river and used in the vast system 
 of irrigation under contemplation. Mt. Stimpson (10,000) 
 claims the proud distinction of sending its waters to three 
 oceans. 
 
 By far the greater portion of the state is in the Missouri river 
 drainage system. The Madison, Gallatin and Jefferson rivers 
 gather the waters from the many small ranges adjacent to the 
 Park and unite at Three Forks to form the Missouri. Near the 
 city of Great Falls are the Falls of the Missouri, from which 
 place the river is navigable to its juncture with the Mississippi. 
 The Yellowstone river rises in Yellowstone lake in the Park, and 
 after taking its two mighty leaps in the Park and flowing through 
 its magnificent gorge it emerges as a restless river, continuing 
 in swift descent until its waters merge with the muddy Missouri. 
 The Yellowstone is the most rapid navigable stream in the 
 world. From the north the Missouri receives the waters of the 
 Marias, Teton, Sun and Milk rivers, all of which flow through 
 valleys of great fertility. The scenery along the rivers is 
 varied, and exhibits some striking antitheses. The valley of 
 the Bitter Root is one of remarkable beauty. The river as it 
 winds back and forth like a stream of silver, when viewed from 
 Mt. Lo Lo, Ward’s Peak, or St. Mary’s in, the Bitter Root range 
 is probably equalled in quiet and peaceful grandeur only by the 
 Yellowstone as it flows through Hayden Valley in the Park. 
 The three branches of the Flathead present to the few travelers 
 along their courses many gorges and canyons. The South 
 Fork in one place in the Lewis and Clarke Forest Reserve has 
 cut its way through solid rock, making a canyon so narrow that 
 pack horses may be and are forced to leap from brink to brink, 
 while the river seethes and boils many feet below, its ominous 
 roar announcing certain death if the leap is short. The Missouri 
 has made the famous “Gateway of the Mountains,” its splendor 
 first told by Lewis and Clark, and later made famous by the 
 brush of artists. At the City of Great Falls it hastens its speed 
 before tumbling over the beautiful Black Eagle Falls, spanned 
 by a bridge on the Great Northern railway, and does not diminish 
 its speed until the bottom of the Great Falls is reached. 
 
 The valleys of these rivers and their smaller tributaries make 
 rich farming soil, suitable for grain, vegetables and fruit. The 
 Bitter Root valley in the west was settled first, and is a great 
 
— 2 5 ~ 
 
 farming and fruit raising region. The country adjacent to Flat- 
 head lake is thickly settled, and produces abundant harvest with¬ 
 out irrigation. The Gallatin valley has become famous for its 
 bountiful harvests, and the Yellowstone is being largely used 
 for agriculture and fruit. The northern tributaries of the Mis¬ 
 souri, while watering very fertile valleys, are in a thinly settled 
 region. 
 
 Climate and Rainfall.—The climate of the state is exceed¬ 
 ingly varied, and is much more salubrious than is generally sup- 
 « posed. West of the range the winters are mild, the summers 
 and falls delightful. The rainfall at Misoula and Kalispell 
 averages about 16 inches, while at Culbertson and Glendive in 
 the eastern end of the rainfall is about 13 inches. Rain or 
 snow prevails during the spring until early July. July, August 
 and September are largely without rain, although in many places 
 there is no need of irrigation. Owing to the different altitudes 
 snow may fall later in the spring at some places than at others. 
 An area of 30,700 square miles is below 3,000 feet elevation above 
 the sea; this is equivalent to a state the size of Georgia. About 
 10,200 square miles exceed 8,000 feet altitude. The climate on 
 the Pacific slope is milder and less changeable than that of the 
 Atlantic side. The majority of the areas of high barometer, 
 and accompanying cold, originate in the Arctic regions, and are 
 deflected southward or eastward by the Rocky mountains. While 
 eastern Montana and the Dakotas may be in the throes of a 
 blizzard, the western end may be enjoying balmy weather. The 
 coldest record at Missoula for 21 years is —22 degrees F, while 
 in some winters the thermometer does not go below the zero 
 point. The mean temperature at Missoula is 44 degrees F. 
 At Helena, altitude 4,500, the mean temperature is 341. 
 Chinook winds may occur over the entire state, melt¬ 
 ing large quantities of snow in a short period of time. 
 Owing to the usual absence of a high percentage of humidity 
 I the cold weather is not extremely disagreeable, nor the warm 
 days smotheringly oppressive. The hot days may blister the 
 the skin, while the nights following will be cold enough to require 
 ► blankets. Rarely does one sleep without considerable covering, 
 and some people wear the same clothing summer and winter, 
 donning extra coats or wraps in winter. This may be given 
 as the general summary: the springs are rainy; the summers 
 are clear and dry; the autumns are delightful; the winters are 
 
—26— 
 
 clear and bracing. Owing to the absence of high humidity the 
 climate is very beneficial to health, as statistics will show. It 
 is especially beneficial to those affected with pulmonary diseases. 
 
 Agriculture and Husbandry.—In the early days of Montana’s 
 history it was not thought possible to grow crops in the state to 
 much extent. Nearly everything was shipped in from the out¬ 
 side. As the mines developed the demand for food became so > 
 great as to stimulate agriculture. Fruit raising was also at¬ 
 tempted. Marked success attended the efforts, and larger acre¬ 
 age of grain and orchards was put out annually, until agricul¬ 
 ture and husbandry have developed into important economical 
 features in the state’s progres, and bid fair to rank close to the 
 mineral wealth in the near future. In 1902 nearly a quarter of 
 a million fruit trees were set out; the number was almost 
 doubled the succeeding year. At the close of the year 1903, 
 nearly one and a half million fruit trees had been set out in 
 various parts of the state. The harvest in ?hat year was a 
 quarter of a million bushels of apples. The trees in the or¬ 
 chards include apples, cherries, plums, apricots, and peaches. 
 
 Small fruit, such as gooseberries, strawberries, blackberries, cur- 
 anls, and the like, produce enormous crops from small acreage, 
 while to describe the size and weight of the fruit is almost be¬ 
 yond belief. Apples are shipped to the eastern states and even 
 to England. As they are remarkably free from insect pests, 
 owing to stringent legislation and watchful care in orchard in¬ 
 spection, home grown apples are constantly in demand, the de¬ 
 mand being.far in excess of the supply. As a small part of the 
 total number of trees bears fruit at the beginning of 1904, the 
 insufficient supply is accounted for, but the crop of the orchards 
 will increase in amount very rapidly. The Bitter Root valley, 
 in the western part of the state on the Pacific slope, is the oldest 
 orchard section, and is fast becoming famous as a fruit growing 
 valley. But the orchards are not confined to this beautiful and 
 fertile valley. The valley to the north of Flathead lake is filled * 
 with orchards already breaking beneath their loads of fruit. The 
 Yellowstone valley is developing rapidly as a fruit growing-re¬ 
 gion, even growing grapes. The most recent observations show * 
 that fruit trees may be grown and that apples will mature in 
 every portion of the state, and apples are now grown in every 
 county in the state with but a few exceptions. Horticulturists 
 insist that fruit trees may be grown in every county in the state. 
 
Since the portion of the state east of the Rocky mountains is 
 much greater than that on the west the fruit growing possibili¬ 
 ties of the state may be readily understood when it is known 
 that the great majority of the fruit trees of the state are on the 
 Pacific side. 
 
 The total value of farm property in 1900 was $117,859,823.00, 
 an increase of 143.1 per cent in ten years; that of farms, includ¬ 
 ing farm improvements, and buildings, $36,513,750.00, an increase 
 of 143.1 per cent in ten years; that of implements and machinery, 
 $2,315,890.00, or 170.8 per cent; and that of live stock, $30,541,- 
 146.00, or 141.3 per cent increase. The value of farm products 
 for 1889 exceeds that reported for 1899 by $22,343,542.00, or 356.2 
 per cent increase. Of the total land area of the state 11,844,454 
 acres, or 12.7, per cent, were included in farms in 1900. The 
 average size of the farms was 885.9 acres, of which 14.7 per 
 cent was improved land. The total number of farms was 13,370, 
 an increase of nearly 250 per cent in the decade. The total acre¬ 
 age in farms in 1900 was almost 85 times that reported in 1870. 
 Eastern Montana contains more than three-fifths of the total area 
 of the state. In the extreme eastern part lies the “Bad Lands,” 
 a continuation of the “Bad Lands” of the Dakotas, Wyoming 
 and Nebraska, parctically non-irrigable because of its uneven 
 surface. The Yellowstone valley has become famous for its 
 growth of alfalfa, where two or three cuttings, a total of 4 to 6 
 tons per acre, are had. The Gallatin, Madison and Jefferson 
 valleys in the southeast produce rich harvests of cereals, never 
 failing through irrigation. In the west the Bitter Root, Mis¬ 
 soula and Flathead valleys, while less extensive, produce as 
 abundant harvests, often without irrigation. The lands are of 
 three general classes—the bottom lands, near the streams, with 
 rich, black, alluvial soil; the bench lands, whose soil is a sandy 
 loam, capable of wide range of cultivation; and the high bluffs, 
 suitable largely for grazing. Experiments in “dry land farm¬ 
 ing,” farming on the uplands without irrigation, in 1903 indicate 
 that good crops may be grown in this way, and the method is 
 encouraged by the Experiment Station. 90.8 per cent of the 
 farms are operated by the owners thereof. The entire Crow 
 Indian reservation is included in the statistics as one farm, thus 
 making the average size quite large. Nearly three hundred 
 farms were operated by the Indians, twentysix by Chinese and 
 twenty-one by negroes. This was about 0.4 per cent of the total 
 
—28- 
 
 farm acreage. The government plans for irrigation will re¬ 
 claim large tracts of land and put it under cultivation. The 
 crops raised are corn (75,838 bushels) ; wheat (1,899,638 bush¬ 
 els) ; oats (4,746,231 bushels) ; barley (844,140 bushels) ; rye 
 (32,120 bushels) ; hay and forage (1,059,361 tons) ; dry peas 
 (32,265 bushels); potatoes (1,332,062 bushels in 1899); other 
 crops in small quantity, making a total valuation of $1,692,515. 
 During the past few years, many small fruit and truck farms 
 have been started, promising greater returns per acre and greater 
 variety of farm products, as ready market awaits all kinds 
 of farm produce. 
 
 Montana leads the Union in the number of sheep, there being 
 more than five million in 1902. The sheep industry has proven 
 profitable in the eastern portion where there is much open range. 
 Few herds are to be found west of the range. The fleeces 
 weighed thirty-five and a half million pounds, valued at over 
 six million dollars. In 1902 there were three-quarters of a mil¬ 
 lion of cattle and one-fifth of a million of horses, the assessed 
 valuation of the former being $3,121,000.00, and of the latter 
 $3,900,000.00. 
 
 Timber and Lumber.—29 per cent of the total area of the state 
 is covered with timber, which is 8 per cent less than for the av¬ 
 erage of the entire United States. The timber growth is largely 
 of coniferous trees, yellow pine, tamarack, and Douglas spruce 
 comprising the most of the commercial products. Along the 
 streams occur forests of cottonwood. In the drier portions of 
 the state stunted red cedars often grow along the smaller water 
 courses, of great value to settlers, as they supply posts and 
 wood. Forests of white cedar, or arbor-vitae, white pine and 
 Engelmann’s spruce occur in the western part. On the higher 
 slopes and summits the alpine species thrive; but as they are 
 limbed to the base of the tree and inaccessible they are not of 
 value commercially. They are useful in preventing the rapid 
 melting of snow in the spring, holding it until later in the sea¬ 
 son when it is needed in irrigation. A considerable portion of 
 the state’s timbered area is included in government forest re¬ 
 serves. On the west the Bitter Root reserve includes a portion 
 of the Bitter Root range within the state, and since the higher 
 summits are not in the water shed of the range, but far to the 
 east of it, the reserve includes territory from which comes the 
 water to irrigate the fertile Bitter Root valley. In the north i« 
 
— 29 — 
 
 the Lewis and Clarke reserve, formed by the union of the origi¬ 
 nal Lewis and Clarke reserve, the Flathead reserve, and a narrow 
 strip along the Great Northern Railway which was originally 
 not included in either. In the southeastern part is the Gallatin 
 reserve. In 1902, the) same year in which the proclamation was 
 made for the Gallatin reserve, proclamations were issued setting 
 aside the Little Belt Mountain reserve, the Madison and the Ab- 
 saroka reserves. ine area embraced in each is as follows: 
 
 I. Lewis and Clarke, 6,732 square miles, or 4,308,480 acres, 
 not including the narrow strip along the Great Northern rail¬ 
 way. 2. The Bitter Root, 6,480 square miles, 450,000 acres of 
 which are in Montana, the remainder in Idaho. 3. The Gal¬ 
 latin, 63 square miles, or 40,320 acres. 4. The Little Belt, 503,- 
 040 acres, including the town of Neihart and the Yogo sapphire 
 mine. 5. The Madison, 800,000 acres. 6. The Absaroka, 
 1,385,000 acres. The total of all land in government forest re¬ 
 serves in the state in 1902 was 7,487,400 acres, nearly 11,700 
 square miles, or about one-thirteenth of the total land area of the 
 state. 
 
 The total output of the lumber mills in 1902 was 210,047,000 
 feet of rough lumber, 5,500,000 shingles, and 17,000,000 lath. 
 The United States Geological Survey in 1902 estimated all of the 
 merchantable timber on all of the reserves in the state at 14,- 
 974,800,000 feet. On state land there was estimated to be 912,- 
 000,000 feet, making the total estimate of merchantable timber 
 on state or government land 15,886,800,000 feet. This estimate 
 does not include timber in the Northern Pacific land grant, nor 
 on the land belonging to private owners and milling companies, 
 At the present rate of consumption the timber on state and gov¬ 
 ernment land would satisfy the mills as running in 1902 for about 
 70 years. 
 
 Mines and Mining.—Montana has been known principally on 
 acount of her mines, and leads in the production of copper and 
 in the output of sapphires. The early history of the states is 
 the search for gold, and many of her towns and cities are built 
 i^> gulches where placer gold was mined. Virginia City and 
 Helena are illustrations, the former being the oldest mining camp 
 in the state. Although Butte is the greatest mining camp in 
 the state, and, indeed, the greatest in the world, it is by no means 
 the only place where mining is carried on. In 1900 mining for 
 gold and silver was carried on in the following counties: Beaver- 
 
- 30 - 
 
 head, Broadwater, Cascade, Chouteau, Custer, Deer Lodge, Fei 
 gus, Flathead, Granite, Jefferson, Lewis and Clarke, Madisoi 
 Meagher, Missoula, Park, Ravalli and Silver Bow. Lewis an 
 Clarke was the greatest producer, with 70,000 fine ounces of gol 
 and 172,531 fine ounces of silver. The total product of gold an 
 silver in the state in 1900 was 229,114 ounces of the former an 
 14,294,835 of the latter. In 1901, there were 232,331 ounces c 
 gold and 14,180,545 ounces of silver. During the forty year 
 following the discovery of gold in the state over one billion dol 
 lars in value of gold, silver, copper and lead have been taken fror 
 the streams and mountains of the state. While Butte is th 
 mining camp for copper, it is also mined in the counties of Bea 
 erhead, Granite, Jefferson, Lewis and Clarke, Madison am 
 Meagher. Butte, in Silver Bow County, produced 227,742,26 
 pounds of the total of 228,031,503 pounds from the state in 1901 
 Lead was produced in all the counties mentioned except Madi 
 son, and in addition also in Broadwaater, Cascade and Flatheac 
 The total lead output in that year was more than eleven and 
 half million pounds, and in 1902 it was nearly sixteen million. 
 
 Montana is one or the richest coal states in the west, although 
 much of it is undeveloped. Two million tons were mined ii 
 1902, and new mines are being opened annually. The Creta 
 ceous bituminous and semi-bituminous coal areas in the stat 
 cover about 13,000 square miles, and the lignite area about 25, 
 000. Not all of this territory contains coal, of course, but th' 
 deposits are found quite abundantly throughout the territory 
 The tests show the bituminous coal to be but little inferior t< 
 Pennsylvania bituminous coals. Bituminous coal or lignite ha 
 been found in every county of the state except Jefferson. Th- 
 undeveloped coal industry will without doubt be a prominen 
 factor in the future expansion of other industries of the state 
 In addition to its coal the state has extensive beds of clay; th' 
 brick and clay product in 1902 amounted to a half million dollars 
 The output of building stone was about the same. 
 
 Montana leads the Union in the production of sapphires, th< 
 actual mining of which began in 1891. Four mining regi^ 
 may be mentioned : A belt 12 miles northeast of Helena on th' 
 Misouri river; the Rock creek region 30 miles west of Anaconda 
 the Cottonwood creek field 10 miles east of Deer Lodge, and th' 
 Togo mines in Fergus county, 13 miles west of Utica. The an 
 nual output of sapphires in the state in 1902 was between 450.OCK 
 
—V— 
 
 ’and 500,000 karats, including those suitable for cutting and those 
 used for mechanical purposes. A lapidary at Helena employed 
 15 men, and it is asserted that finer work is done there than on 
 stones sent to London. 
 
 Manufactures.—The predominating industry is the smelting 
 of ores. The largest smelter in the world, the Washoe, is lo¬ 
 cated at Anaconda. For the treatment of ores water is brought 
 from a lake some 15 miles away in the mountains. The smelters 
 of Butte have long been known. At Helena a large smelter is 
 in operation, and another at Great Falls, where water power 
 from the Missouri river is used. Many flouring mills have been 
 established, utilizing almost the entire crop of wheat in the state, 
 and consuming large quantities from the Dakotas. The large 
 lumber mills at Bonner, Hamilton, Somers, and other places have 
 extensive factories in connection with the saw mills. They 
 manufacture doors, sash, blinds and other finishing stuffs. They 
 also make large quantities of furniture from native lumber. A 
 woolen mill, in operation in Big Timber, established in 1901, 
 consumes a considerable amount of the wool product. Al¬ 
 though Montana leads all other states in the number of sheep, 
 the loss from the two items of freight eastward, and the differ¬ 
 ence in the value of the wool in the grease and the scoured pro¬ 
 duct, will annihilate the value of all the flocks on the range of 
 the state in 10 years, 7 months and 9 days, if the wool is all 
 shipped to the east. To treat it in the state' will save $1,000,000 
 annually to the state. Nearly every large town has a factory 
 for malt liquors. Creameries and butter factories are spring¬ 
 ing up. The transcontinental railways have several repair 
 shops and round houses in the state. A biscuit and cracker 
 factory is located 1 at Helena and does a large business. In 1900 
 1,000 establisments, representing a capital of $40,945,846, were 
 operating in manufactures and mechanical industries. The 
 value of the product, $57,075,824, involved an outlay of $837,971 
 for salaries of officials, clerks, etc., $7,969,886 for wages, $1,668,- 
 487 for miscellaneous expense, and $31,702,650 for materials, 
 (►eight and fuel. The value of manufactured products in ten 
 years from 1890 to 1900 increased ten fold, or more than 1,000 
 per cent and more than thirty times the value in 1870. 
 
 Railroads.—The total mileage of railroads in 1902 was 3,- 
 131.87 miles, with 572.14 miles of side track. During that year 
 and the year preceding 199.5 miles of road were constructed, not 
 
32 
 
 including' large expenditures for betterment of track on exist¬ 
 ing road. Two transcontinental lines cross the state. In the 
 north is the Great Northern, with its many branch lines. To¬ 
 ward the southern part is the Northern Pacific, also with numer¬ 
 ous short branch lines as feeders. The Burlington connects with 
 the latter at Billings, running through trains over the N. P. 
 tracks to the coast. The N. P. operates three daily passenger 
 trains each way over most of the state—as far east as Billings, 
 where one takes the Burlington route for Denver, Omaha and St. 
 Louis. The Great Northern operates two daily passenger trains 
 each way over its road. The Oregon Short Line connects at 
 Butte, making a gateway to Salt Lake and the south, east and 
 west. From one end of the state to the other on the Northern 
 Pacific requires about 24 hours of travel, following for consider¬ 
 able distances the Missoula, Missouri, Gallatin and Yellowstone 
 rivers, with their varied scenery. The Great Northern skirts 
 the banks of the Kootenay, the Flathead, the Milk, and the Mis¬ 
 souri rivers, and gives a view of the great unoccupied field along 
 the two latter. 
 
 Finances. The total assessed valuation of all property in the 
 state in 1902 was $183,395,690. The constitution of the state 
 prohibits an indebtedness exceeding $100,000. The tax rate 
 was less than $2.50 per $1,000. 
 
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