BULB GROWING AT THE UNITED STATES BULB GARDEN. d 



The members of the Bellingham Chamber of Commerce, with 

 whom this matter was taken up, realizing the great importance of 

 this line of work and seeing in it the possibility of an American 

 industry, entered heartily into its support. They secured 10 acres 

 of suitable land, supplied the necessary improvements, and leased the 

 whole to the Department of Agriculture for 10 years at a nominal 

 rental of $1 per annum, this tract to be used to determine whether or 

 not Holland bulbs could be successfully propagated and grown there. 



LOCATION OF THE GARDEN. 



The garden is conveniently located, about 2-| miles west of the city 

 of Bellingham, Wash. (Fig. 1.) It embraces a narrow strip of 





Fig. 1. — General view of the United States Bulb Garden at Bellingham, Wash. From 

 a photograph taken at the bulb house, near the south end of the property, in April, 

 1911, immediately after a heavy rain. 



land about 250 feet wide by 1,600 feet long, extending from the 

 Marietta road on the north to Bellingham Bay on the south. 



Bellingham is in latitude about 48° north, longitude about 122° 

 west. The records of the Weather Bureau for the nine years 1898 

 to 1906, inclusive, show that the nine hottest days in that period had 

 an average temperature of 85° F., while the nine coldest days aver- 

 aged 12° above zero. The mean annual temperature for the same 

 period was 50.2° F. The annual rainfall is from 30 to 40 inches, 

 distributed pretty well throughout the year, but with the least pre- 

 cipitation during the months of June, July, and August. During 

 these months the rainfall is normally ^, 1, and 2 inches, respectively. 



SOIL OF THE GARDEN. 



The soil of the Puget Sound region in which the United States 

 Bulb Garden is located has been classified by the Bureau of Soils of 



