P a g e 3 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r HISTORY OF PARK COUNTY-continued From The Livingston Enterprise, January 1, 1900: Our sheep will, in a healthy condition, clip from five to eight pounds of wool which, since 1883, has ranged in price from 8 to 30 cents per pound, while during this period of time, taking into consideration the ups and downs in the raising of sheep and wool, their success has been established, and this industry is fast taking the place of that of cattle, owing to the quick returns and small capital required in the beginning. Experienced sheepmen here claim that even if the price of wool should go down to ten cents they would realize more from this industry than any other branch of stock-raising. Statistics show that since 1891 there has been a steady increase of ten per cent on each previous year’s flocks today showing 200,146 head in Park county. AGRICULTURE. Previous to the advent of the first railroad in 1882, agricultural pursuits were limited by the demands of home consumption. Owing to the abundant supply of water for irrigating purposes, bountiful crops have been produced throughout the county. The specialties are most kinds of grain, hay and vegetables, while experiments in the growing of the hardier domestic fruits have proven a success in every case. As the surface is principally mountainous it is safe to say that three-eighths of the county’s total area can be brought under cultivation by the judicious use of irrigating facilities. The last decade has noted a marked change in the industrial pursuits, and diversified farming is rapidly establishing itself as the surest means of a livelihood from this source. The former large numbers of cattle and sheep, grazing at will on the vast pasturages, have been found to be more profitable when kept in smaller herds and flocks. As a result those engaged in diversified farming have never experienced the total failures and losses peculiar to the life of specialists in any one of its many branches. The agricultural wealth of this region is of much greater importance and extent than generally estimated. Within trading distance of Livingston there are 100,000 acres of fertile, cultivatable land—enough to make over 600 quarter section farms, which in the east would make a rich and populous country—in fact, the agricultural land alone is a sufficient guarantee to make Livingston a town of great commercial importance. The fertile lands within Park county may be summed up in the valleys of the Yellowstone and Shields rivers and their many tributaries. Starting for the Shearing Sheds.
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