BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTEY. 361 



packets, thereby obviating the necessitj^ for rehandling several mil- 

 lion packets by the postal authorities at the AVashington City post- 

 office. The work of packeting, assembling, and mailing the vegetable 

 and flower seeds was begun on October 1, 1909, and completed on 

 April 23. 1910. The total output was 50,173.525 packets of vegetable 

 seed and 9,819.315 packets of flower seed. The demand for vegetable 

 and flower seeds this year was greater than ever before, the entire 

 quantity provided for the distribution having been sent out. 



Tobacco, cotton, and grass seeds. — A total of G.029 packets of 

 selected tobacco seed were distributed to persons especially interested 

 in obtaining the best types of standard varieties as well as new and 

 improved varieties developed by the Bureau. Nearly 12,000 1-peck 

 packages of cotton seed of improved Upland and wilt-resistant 

 strains developed by the plant breeders of the Bureau were dis- 

 tributed. All of this seed was grown for the Department under the 

 supervision of its specialists. Of lawn-grass seed 16,280 ^-pound 

 packages were distributed, consisting of a mixture of Kentucky 

 bluegrass, redtop, and white clover. 



Bulbs, plants, and citrus trees. — Popular varieties of h^'acinth, 

 tulip, and narcissus bulbs were imported and distributed, a total 

 of 10,700 boxes, each containing 20 bulbs, having been sent out. The 

 distribution of grapevines involved 4,880 packages of 5 vines each, 

 representing 27 different varieties; while G.lOO packages of straw- 

 berry plants, containing 15 plants each and representing 26 varieties, 

 were also distributed. A total of 1,252 trees of the new hybrid 

 oranges or citranges developed by the Bureau were sent to growers 

 in sections of favorable climatic and soil conditions, the recipient 

 of each agreeing to give proper care and to report results to the 

 Department. 



Miscellaneous seed distribution. — During the year 44,104 packets 

 of vegetable seed and 22,330 packets of flower seed already found to 

 be adapted were sent to Alaska, either for distribution through the 

 experiment station at Sitka or upon direct requests received by the 

 Department. Small quantities of vegetable and flower seeds of suit- 

 able kinds were also sent to various army posts and to individuals iix 

 the Canal Zone, Hawaii, and the Philippines. 



PRonrcTiON OF Dutch bulbs in Aimerica. — The work of propagat- 

 ing Dutch bull)s at the cooperative garden near Bellingham, "Wash., 

 was continued during the past year. A supply of assorted hyacinths, 

 narcissuses, and tulips was obtained direct from Holland and sent to 

 the propagating garden to serve as mother bulbs. The blossoms were 

 unusually fine this sj)ring and the bulbs are multiplying rapidly. If 

 the bulbs can be kept free from disease and if the climatic conditions 

 continue to be as favorable in the future as the records of the 

 Weather Bureau show thorn to have been in the past, there is every 

 reason to believe that Dutch bulbs can be grown and propagated suc- 

 cessfully in the Puget Sound region. The bulblets and offsets are 

 now 1 year old and will not be fully developed for three or four 

 years, when it is hoped that they can be used for congressional dis- 

 tribution and that suflicient data will then have been collected with 

 regard to their propagation and handling to warrant the Department 



