[ELLINCHANI WHATCOM COUNTY WASHINGTON 9&^ IL ILS KI A Industrial and Commercial Metropolis of Northwest Washington. Most Favored Seaport of Puget Sound. BKLLINGHAM is the most northwesterly city in the I'niltd States; the metropolis of Northwest Wash- ington; the county seat of Whatcom County; the louimercial center of 50 per cent, of the farm and fruit region of the Puget Sound basin; the logical trading point and shipping port for .Maska and the Orient, being the nearest .American city. R e 1 1 i n g h a m has a population of 22,t>32, according to the offi- cial census of January, 1!I04, and is the fourth city in size in the state of Washington; it ranks first in fish pro- ducts, second in shin- gles and third in lum- ber. Bellingham has five miles of the most val- uable tidewater front- age on the Pacific Coast and Bellingham Hay, a practically landlocked arm of I'uget Sound, embrac- ing r>0 stpiare miles, from 20 to 7.T feet deep, making alxso- lutely safe navigation and anchorage any- where in it, is recog- nized the world over ^^^^ m, , as the most perfect and ample harbor on the Pacific coast of North or South .■\merica. Bellingham is the only important city on the Pacific Coast that is reached by three transcontinental railroads, and another railroad with transcontinental connection .it Spokane has been surveyed through the Cascades from Bellingham eastward. All these railroac.s make terminal freight and passenger rates to Bellingham. Bfllinghani has the largest coal field ever discovered on the Pacific Coast, being 2.50 s<|uare miles in exLent. Back of the coal are the famous Whatcom county gold fields, Mount Baker and Slate Creek, among the richest and greatest deposits of tieasure ever touched by pick and drill. AU this is new, fresh, inviting to honest wealth and industry and full of rich re- ward to all who have will and wealth to in- vest in wholesome de- velopment. «iii«ii'l. :i:;i!l!ir tiiHi,;^ ;^fi::;<* Bellingham has a per- fect gravity city water system, a J;2r>0,000 plant, owned by the city, the supply being from Lake Whatcom, 2'2 mile-; distant, 1 by 12 miles in extent, from 30 to 900 feet deep, 318 feet above tidewater, yielding a gravity pressure of from 85 to 120 pounds per inch. .Also an in- ilependent city water system valued at J150,- (HKi, Lake Padden be- ing the source of sup- ply,437 feet above tide water and 2 miles dis- tant. ~ The two sys- tems comprise about 100 miles of pipe and the water supply is inexhaustible. Bellingham has a twin sewer system representing a total cost of about $.300,000, and including 2fi>i miles of sewer. Bellingham is the home of the largest and'most popuar State Normal School in the state of Washington, repre- senting an expenditure of $247,300 by the State. This COrRT HOUSK state institution maintains a faculty of 19 professors; the enrollment of studeut teachers exceeds SOOJannu- alh-; tuition is free. Bellingham's city school sj'stem is one of the most complete in the West, employing a ^faculty of 80 teachers, free libraries in nearly all the buildings, free text books, ten months of school each year. The school-house properties cost ;f"270,000and include .5 brick and stone and 6 frame buildings. Bellingham has two free public libraries with 6,000 bound volumes and two specially built library build- ings, one of which is a Carnegie donation. Bellingham has one of the best city hall buildings in the State, built of brick and stone at a cost of |50,000. Bellingham has five theaters, including Beck's superb playhouse, seating capacity 2,100, the finest theater west of Denver, built in 1902 at a cost of $15.5,000. Bellingham has magnificent fair grounds, county fair buildings and the fastest elliptical race track in the State. BECK'S THE.4TER STREET SCENES Bellingham has a free delivery postoffice, estabished 12 years. The receipts for the past five years aggregated as follows: 1899, $17,388.80; 1900, $20,867.85; 1901, $27,070.20; 1902, $,32,- 077.24; 1903, $,30,.520.15. Bellingham during 1903 spent in impiovements of streets $126,- 591.49, sewers #2,803.95, and water works $93,200, and erected ■lew buildings and industrial structures to the value of $1,010.- S80— a total of $1,233,375.44. Bellingham has the cheapest electric light and power service on the Pacific Coast. Whatcom Creek, the mouth of which is Two of Our II School BulldinK EmployiiiK 80 Tcjchcrs .fj f^K «*«• the property of the city, lias a fall of 315 feet tn less than three miles with a tniniiiuini flow of 140 cubic feet per second, capable of a reliable net horsepower of 1!, 400. Also the falls of the North Fork of the Nooksack river, having a sheer vertical height of 103 feet, a fall of odO feet within a mile, capable of developing a minimum of 40.000 horsepower, 5,(X)0 horsepower of which is now be- ing developed by the installation of an'imniense power and light plant by the Hellinghani Hay & British Colum- bia Kailroad Companj', construction having been in progress constantly the past two years. ; The city also has an excellent gas plant, having two holders of 200,- 000 cubic feet capacity. Bellinghani has a splendid system of electric street railway, with more than 15 miles of track in operation, and the local company builds .ts own cars. Stone & Webster, Boston, are the proprietors of the street rail- way and gas plants. Two other corporations have secured franchises for more than 75 miles of suburl an electric railways, tapping the richest tributary sections of forest, orchard, farm, meadow and mine. Bellinghani has 37 church organizations, four women's clubs, two men's social clubs, the Bcllingham Chapibcr of Commerce with 415 members, and 50 established fraternal lodges. Bellinghani has a telephone system using 1 ,800 tele- phones. The minimum fee is }\ a month. Industrially, according to the lecord of 1003, BellingUam is second in output of shingles and third in lumber of the greatest lumber and shingle commonwealth in the world. During 1903 the seven Bellingham sawmills cut Ifil,- 459,338 feet of lumber and the 22 Bellingham shingle mills cut 542,222,400 shingles This year we add two siiwmills and three shingle mills, which will give us first place in shingles and second place in lumber. The Puget Sound Mills & Timber Company's plant at Belling- ham includes the largest red cedar shingle mill in the world, 5.50,000 shingles daily, employ- ing a total of 300 men. The Bellingham Bay Improvement Compan}' has one of the world's greatest sawmills, cutting 59,710,405 feet of lumber and employing 225 men during 1903. This corporation, with its allied corporation^ the Bellingham Bay & British Columbia Railroad Company, forms the most extensive local industrial institution, and expended in Whatcom county during 1901, 1902 and 1903 in improvements, material and labor, a total of 13,702,860, of which {;i75,000 was for taxes, |1,028,572 for logs and $950,000 for wages. Seven of these Bellingham mills during 1903 employed 1,050 men and paid out in wages |865,000. During the year 102 ocean vessels received lumber cargo for various parts of the world, the vessels disbursing while in port from f450 to nearly |15,000 each for labor, repairs and supplies. B e 1 1 i n g Ii a in F i s fi e r / e s Bellingham is the headquarters, supply center and largest jiacking city of the fisheries of Puget Sound and Alaska, and is so recognized by the State maintaining its Fish Commissioner's headquarters here. This city nianu- .\N EXPORT SAWMILL— Capacity 20.r0n Feet ol Lumber Per Hour .1 ST SHINGLK .MILL SALMON CANNKRY— Whatcom Co\lllty has 13 Sa factures the tin cans and canning machinery for the can- neries of Washington and Alaska, these auxiliary in- dustries, the American Can Company and Burpee & Let- son, employing ISO persons. Ninety per cent, of the salmon taken in Puget Sound arc taken within 20 miles from Rellinghani, and of the '24 I'uget Sound canneries K$ are in Whatcom county, including the two largest canneries in the world, which put up annually over half the entire pack of Puget Sound. These canneries em- ploy 41 steamboats, IS launches, 31 pile-drivers, 312 scows, 350 other boats, 8,20.5 men, capital invested $5,- 582,333, year's payroll $1,1143,890, value of product (1902) $5,528,.595. The Pacific Packing & Navigation Com- pany, with headquarters here, where it operates much the largest cannerj- in the world, has 5 Puget .Sound and 11 Alaska canneries and operates more vessels than any other single company, including 2 ships, 3 schooners, 27 steamboats, 24 steam and elec- tric tugs and launches, 5(X) fish boats, (>00 scows, 35 steam pile-drivers. /if// I II g /i n III O y s i e r s RcUingham oysters, including Puget Sound, Eastern and Japanese oysters, ate being cultivated exten- sively at Samish Bay, a few miles south of the city, where are over 2,000 acres of the choicest oyster beds in the State, owned by the Bellingham, Huntoon, Pacific Coast, Oyster Creek and Sauiish oyster com- panies and individuals. This is practically a new industry, only 3 years old in fact, but a future of unusual importance is already assured. C o / d Storage The Hacketl Cold Storage Company has just estab- lished in Bellinaham the largest and most perfect storage plant north of San Francisoo, cost |150,()00, cold storage capacity 3,000 tons, refrigerating capacity 150 tons daily; operating in connection 100 refriger- itor railroad cars each of .30 tons capacity. n y - P r o d ti c t s of F i r Bellingham has a new factory for the manufacture of turpentine, tar, tar oil, etc., out of fir stumps and wastewood, capacity 2,000 gallons by-products per day, cost of plant ;f37,OOll, 8 men employed indoors, began operating February, 1904. This industry insures sufficient value in the stumps and refuse wood on logged- off lands to pay for clearing ready for the plow. A similar factor}', now being increased to the Bellingham plant's capacity, is in operation on Lummi island, across the Bay from Bellingham. Superior Natural A dz' a ii t ag r s for Dairies Vinegar and Cider Mill I'oultry Growing Woodenwarc Factory Furniture Factory Broom Factory Beet Sugar Factory Flax Mill Cordage Mill Fish Net I'actory Woolen Mill All Kinds of Weaving Ship Yard Fruitand Vegetable Cannery String Instruments Factory Tannery Boot and Shoe Factory Pottery Factory Tile and Pipe Making Portland Cement Factory Glass Factory Marble Works Smelter Machinerj' Factories MIN'.IIA.M llSHI-.kll A I-(iKTIi.)-V OF BhXLINGHAJI WATERl-RONT fciatlc© uflimti F HATCOM County forms the Northwest cor- ner of the United States and is bounded on the west by the Georgian Straits of Puget Sound and the Gulf of Georgia, on the north by British Columbia, on the east by the summit of the Cascade mountains, and on the south by Skagit County. The gross area is 2,448 square miles, or 1,556,720 acres, of which about 1,000,000 acres is mountainous, heavily timbered country still unsurveyed and sparsely settled. It is larger than the state of Delaware and the District of Columbia combined. Near the center of the county Moujt Baker, one of the most imposing and pic- turesque mountains on the American continent, rises to a height of 11,100 feet, with lesser peaks and tributary- ranges north, east and south of it, covering a richly min- eralized area of nearly 1,300 square miles, embracing the well known Mount Baker and Slate Creek gold fields. The fruit, farming, grazing and timber lands of the count}' comprise the area west of Mount Baker, being an area of about 1,000 square miles, containing about 500,000 acres of tillable soil. The county is drained by the Nooksack river and its three branches, by Baker river and several smaller streams, and by the Skagit river and its upper tributaries, which drain the south- ern section. Hist o r v and Population BKI.LINGHAM B.\Y BREWHRY— 60,000 Barrels of Beer Annuallv ^f tlHATCOM county was first settled at Bellingham ^^^ in 1852 and was organized as a county in 1854. In 1873 San Juan county was created out of the west- ern or island territory of Whatcom county, and in 1884 the county of Skagit was formed from the south- ern half of Whatcom county. The population as given by the United States census returns of 18(i0, 1870, 1880, 1890 and 1900, and estimated by the state school census of 1903 (taking the federal census of I.IVl-: STUCK lARMS I-miT I-I.OKAl. lUI.IlS liHM) and the state school censuses of lilOO and 1903 as Pop u I a ( i n of Whatcom County bases) were as follows : IKdO 352 1890 1«,591 1H70 534 1900 24,ll»i 18«0 3,137 1903 43,257 1904 (estimated) 50,000 Citi c a II d Toii'its 01 fi i a I School Statistics o / 1890 ,, ,,■ , ^ Formerly Whatcom ( u v^e: BcllinRham, ; and Fairhaveii j ••••"•'•'^ niaine 1.5l»3 Sunias I.ynden.: 5ti0 *Offieiai census i.onii>kle(l January 22, 1904. 1!KK) liX)4 1,062 *22,632 1,.592 3.200 319 900 3(15 850 /r// a t com Count y Towns having Grailed Schools 17 Valuation of School Properties $305,366 00 1900 1901 1902 1903 .Sunil.tr children of school age ii.770 7,619 8,825 9,835 Averajje UuKlh of term, ni'ths 8.1 8.4 8.5 8.4 \verage salary, male icachers.ol. 80 .14.04 61. .59 63.89 Average salary, female fch'rs..44.28 46.05 46.68 49..55 76 Number of districts in county.. Number having five months or more of school.... Number having seven months or more of scliool 44 79 m Idleal ^^nammer sort iiNVIGORATIXG sea air, the wonderful mountain ranges, the neighboring archi- pelago of evergreen isles, the noble for- ests of fir and cedar through which the sunlight never penetrates, the countless mountain streams and lakes alive with trout and bass, the agate beaches clam coves and gull-peopled rock reefs, make What com count}- a summer resort unmarred bj' a single unpleasant fea- ture. The woods are full of wild berries and game, such as deer, pheasants, bear, cougar wildcats, rabbits, ptarmigan grouse, mountain goats and ^, Indian- c \Mr pigeons. The streams are alive with the gamiest trout in the world. The Sound is a never- failing source of delight to the yachtsman, fisherman, bather or camper-out. The marshes and the tide- washed sloughs are the haunts of ducks, geese, brant, and snipe. There are no poisonous reptiles, insects or plants, and less flies and mosquitos than in anj' other country of the same latitude. Above all, the climate is ideal, the delicious and cooling sea, air ever gently mov- ing landward, and the temperature seldom rising above SO degrees. From Bellingham the horizon in all directions presents a panorama of the most inspiring grandeur — the Olym- pic mountains and the San Juan group of islands in the south- west; the fields and forests and the Gulf of Georgia in the northwest; the great forests and far beyond the towering Selkirks o f British Columbia in the north; forests, fir- bearded hills, Mt. Baker, The Sisters and the Cascade mountains in the east, and in the south the beautiful bays aud coves, the picturesque cliffs and reefs and the dreamy, green- hemmed waters of Puget Sound. It is such a scope and splendor of view as to inspire the most prosaic with renewed interest in nature and with a true sense of the joy of living. \VlI.\TCOM COrXTY SCENERY Farinmiiinip' '^midl Frunnil Gro^^yiimi IN WHATCOM COUNTY U A T C (J M coiiiily is practically 100 miles long, east and west, and 25 miles wide, north and south. The eastern half or more is moun- tainous and the climate is more severe than in the western portion, which is a region of prolific forest growth, rich and fertile valleys, and the climate is the most equa- ^ W/)\Xii^ ble in the United Cttlir//^3>^ states, having less rainfall and more sun- shine than any other portion of the Puget Sound region. Whatcom county has more and better wagon roads than any other county in the State, so that farmers and fruit grow- ers have the best facilities for market- ing their products every day in the year. Many tracts of land from which the choicest timber has been logged off may be had at from JIO to f'M i>er acre, on easy terms. The average cost of clearing these lands ready for seeding is 140 per acre, and usually the limber left yields enough to pay for the land and clearing, and often more. Ten acres of this land will keep any family in as comfort- able circumstances as 100 acres would in many less (avoreidly growing and always profitable industry, and the introduction of .ilfalfa and the silo method of i)reparing and preserving ^tock food have established the indu.stry in the front rank of our rural enterprises. Cieamery butter and choice ranch butter averages 25 cents a pound the year round. Ivggs range in price from 20 to ."it) cents a dozen, and chickens dressed lor market from .")(J to '.«J cents each. .-Vll poultry, except turkeys, thrive remarkably well here. Natural conditions are as favorable in What- com county as in the most favored part of the world for the raising of wool, flax fiber, sugar beets and chicory, and all have been grown lure, for a series of years, demonstrating the most favored conditions of soil an our sr)il an tons; flax, 4 tons dry straw anil 10 bushels seed yielding 37 per cent of oil; strawberries, li,."i(Ht pounds. UIVKRSIFIEI) FARMING— Hay, such as timothy and clover, yields usually two crops a year, an average of over ,3 tons jier acre, and 5 tons with the second crop have been raised in Whatcom countv. Potatoes vield from 150 to 300 bushels per acre, and the average price is about fiO cents per bushel. Oats yield about 80 bushels and the market price averages about 40 cents. Peas yield about 40 bushels per acre and sell for fl.20 per bushel. Straw- berries yield as high as 300 crates of 24 quarts each to the acre and the average price exceeds $1.50 to the crate. Orchards begin to bear in from two to four years, and the greatest difficulty is the natural tendency of the trees to over- bear. Apples sell at from r,0 cents to §1.25 per bushel box. The foregoing statements relative to farming, etc., are extracts from letters written to the Bellingham Chamber of Commerce bj' Whatcom county farmers and the facts stated are from their own actual experience. C, E. Flint writes that in the spring of 1902 he planted 2 pounds of the Netted Gem variety of potatoes. Under ordinary field culture they yielded 2.50 pounds, a lot of which he gave away or sold. The remainder were planted in the spring of 1903 and yielded GO sacks, or 6,000 pounds. Climate and Its EfJ e c t s V E R the western, or agricultural, area of Whatcom county the direct effect of the Pacific ocean is felt and the Japanese ocean currents render the tempera- ture mild and moderate at all seasons of the year. It is a decidedl}' humid atmosphere; no extremes of heat and cold; a good deal of rain during the winter months, falling in gentle showers just a little removed from the character of mist; cool nights;"a long growing season, and profuse vegetation. The general effect of these atmospheric conditions is noticed in that tree growth is prodigiously stimulated; all roots and vegetables flourish; the softer grains, such as oats and barley, yield largely and grow to perfection; hay and grass grow remarkably, timothy for instance growing to a height of 7}i feet, with heads from 10 to 12 inches long, and there are generally two crops a year; apples, pears, plums, cherries and the small fruits are practically indigenous to the soil and yield enormously; llowers, especially roses and bulbs, are profuse bloomers and grow to complete development; shrubbery is dense and luxuriant. It is a country of marvelous growing and life- giving powers, and no better garden and field results can be obtained anywhere. The mean annual temperature is 50 degrees; the average summer temperature is 78 degrees and the average winter temperature is 45 degrees. The ther- mometer seldom goes above 80 degrees in summer and rarely below 15 degrees above zero in the winter. The aver- age annual rainfall is only 32 inches, and two-thirds of it falls during the months from November to April, inclusive. There are practically 2(i0 days in the year in which there is no rain or snow. The total average snowfall the past six years was 11.9 inches. The velocity of the wind averages 5.60 miles an hour and the worst storms known on Puget .MAI> OF NORTHWEST WASHINGTON Souiiil sweeps along at a rate of less than 55 miles an com county than in any other I'uget SouikI locality, or hour. There is less rain aiui more sunshine in What- in Southern England, or Northern Kiirojie. U. S. WEATHER BUREAU RECORD FOR BELLINGHAM g B TEMPERATURE PRECIPITATION (Inches) SKY S! . YEAR a 1 g a ■< 1 5 1 1 ! q 1 ^ 1 ^ § S a (0 IK a Z 1 i'i d 1 Z o 143 143 137 102 134 125 131 >< •3 3 U » 6 S- S5 a 85 99 95 lis 132 97 104 Prevailing Dir tion or Wind 1<)03 9 8 7 l> 5 4 49.5 49.9 49.9 .50.7 49.7 50. 8fi 94 80 78 9fi 84 June 8 19 .Aug. 9 10 June 18 1 9 July 31) 1 12 July 28 3 Aug. 1 1 18 Mar. 12 Jan. 25 fan. 9 Nov. 21 Jan. 4 Jan. 25 : 32.63 ' 31.27 31.99 34.73 33.29 1 28.40 5.47 Nov. 10. 9.3 15.3 7. 24. 6. 108 113 120 139 131 133 124 137 123 133 145 99 143 130 1902 1901 5.98 Nov. 5.91 Nov. 4.40 Dec. 5.74NOV. 4.08iNov. Southwest liKX> 1899 1898 49.9 1 It 32.05 11.9 Southwest I Comparisons might be made here from the United States weather records to show the relative annual rainfall in inches in various parts of the Uni:ed States — for instance: New York 44.80 I Cincinnati 39.87 , Galveston 48.fi8 | Hellinghaui 32.05 Atlantic City 42.71 Atlanta. Ga 50.:}8 Haltiniore 43.95 Boston 44. 9f) ChatUnooga 52.90 Chicago 34.76 Eureka, Cal 4t).89 ! Tiicoma 44.63 Detroit 32..33 Fort Smith, Ark 44.74 Olympia .54.50 Milwaukee 32.0R Portland, Me 42.26 Union City, Wash 73.6(1 Indianapolis 42.1M) Portland, Ore 4().83 South Bend, Wash 91.84 St. Louis 41.08 Seattle, Wash 35.90 Clearwater, Wash 119.45 BELLINGHAM BAY COUNTRY FARMS This table shows the number and acreage of farms and value of farm property in the Bellingham Bay country, federal census, June 1, 1900: Number „ . . of Total Acres Farms Cultivated VALUES COUNTIES Land and Improve- ments (except buildings) Buildings Total Acres Appropriated 1,262 119,434 889 87,151 338 50,981 28 ' 4,489 $2,1.54,160 2,956,110 725,200 95,720 $645,190 .599,200 180,440 15,340 418,101 Skagit County 466,153 94,815 12,000 Lummi Indian Reservation.. Totals 2,517 1 262,055 $5,931,190 $1,446,170 991,129 YIELD OF GRAIN The State Labor Commissioner made an attempt in 1900 to collect statistics of the grain crops of the State, from the result of which, although the report is admitted to be incomplete, the following figures, in bushels, are taken: COUNTIES Year . Wheat Oats Barley Rye Peas Whatcom J 1899 1900 189P 1900 1899 1900 21,260 26,350 4,340 3,616 11,817 10,994 155,070 176,300 1,907,780 1,526,224 207,129 117.056 14,340 28,000 16,240 13,532 1,300 7.-!5 80 370 24,930 27.420 Skagit ■ 4,654 5.501 Totals \ 1899 1900 37,417 40,960 2,269.979 1,819,580 31.880 42.267 80 370 29,584 32,921 Creamery Statistics, iQoj LAND OFFIOF ISTIOS, 1903 Five Whatcom county Creameries during 1903 report the following; Capital invested in plants. $12,175; number of cows contribut- ing cream, 2,995; butter output, 525,871 pounds; wholesale market value paid to owners of cows, $130,160.17, or an average of 25 cents a pound; number of persons em. ployed, 19; annual payroll $14,030; average earnings per cow, $43 46. It is estimated by the creamery operators that but 30 per cent of the butter consumed here is produced in Whatcom county. F r tt i t and V c g e t a b I e C a n n e r y The only fruit and vegetable cannery in Northwest Washington is the plant of the Everson Canning Com- pany at Everson, 16 miles northeast from Bellingham. It is a four-retort cannery-, daily capacity 5,000 2-pound cans per day of 10 hours, operating at least 4 months in the year, employing from 5 to 15 persons, according to character of material canned. The staple vegetables canned are ptas, string beans, pumpkins and tomatoes; fruits, apples, pears, prunes, plums, cherries and berries. COU.NTIES Area Un and U appropriated n reserved Reserved or Appropriated Surveyed Acres Ur surveyed Acres Reser^-ed Acres Appropriated Acres Whatcom Skagit 16,850 26,982 3,230 11,029 49,139 none 959,640 628,726 2,955 418,161 466,153 San Juan 94,815 Totals 47,062 60,168 1,-591,321 979,129 CLASSIFICATION OF LANDS The two tables following are compiled from the report of Henry Gannett, geographer, to the United States De- partementof the Interior, June 17, 1902: COUNTIES Whatcom Square Miles Skagit Square Miles 2,226 1,387 636 170 33 1,874 1,576 12 Merchantable timber area 196 90 Az'i'rat^c Hoard Miasiirr Per Tree Fir, 10,000 fiet; cedar, .'>,000 feet; spruce, 7,001' feet. Many fir trees are from 8 to 14 feet thick and from llXI to 15!) feet in the cle.->r to the first liml), iUtlii'K as liif^h as 70,(KX» feel ol lumler per tree. Mountain C ( li a r .Muiiiilaiii. or -Maska, Ce- dar is plentifnl in t h c mountains of Whatcom county. It is a wooil of rare value, being suscept- ible of a very high finish. STANDING TIMBER The figures represent the estimated feet, board measure, and no account is taken of the Ibre.'ts of alder and other useful woods in both counties: Fir Cedar Spruce Hemlock Totals .-\verage stand per acre.. Total timber, both countic T i 111 b c r S t r c n i^ / li a it d D n r a b i I i t r I re, KT HO U N D cedar is the most lasting wood known Roofs covered with this cedar fifty years ago in this moist climate prove that the shingles remain sound and li.ird until they ,ire literally worn out by the action of the water. It is also a first-clafs sash and door and finishing wood. Puget Sound fir is the strongest large wood known. It is a superior ship timber, bridge timber, flooring, etc.. and is preferred to all others for railroad car sills, bridge stringers and ship spars. Its immense girth aiul great height, together with its unequalled strength, make it a timber of great possibilities It is stronger than oak. a fact which has been many times demonstrated by olticial comi>etitive tests. One of the late demonstrations of this fact was made by the engineering ilepartment of tin- Northern Pacific railroad. Pieces of Faslern white pine. Kastern oak and Puget Sound fir, each L'x-1 inches and 4 feet long were laid edgewise on supports 3 feet 9 inches apart in the clear and by applying a concentrated weight in the center each piece was loaded down until it broke. The breaking weight or pres-sure was as follows: Eastern white pine, l.iilO pounds; Kastern oak, 2,4I?!t pounds; Pnget Sound fir, 4,:!1.'0 pounds. J! ' It a t c o m Co u n t v II 'ag o ii R o a d s IHATCOM county has been recognized for the past eleven years as the best wagon road county in the state of Washington, both in extent and character of its highways, and the ruad experts of the United States Department of Agriculture last year secured photographs of these roads to illustrate their lectures to good roads organizations. The wagon roads of What- county are classified as follows: Miles Gravel roads 100 Plank roads : 20 Grubbed and graded roads 195 .Partly improved roads 270 Total 591 Cost since 1893 $793,582 Whatcom County Railroads II' h a t C III C II II / V /, a /■ c s LAKES Miles Distant from Bellingham Leneth Mites Width Miles Average Altitude Depth Ft. above Feet Tidewatr Whatcom .. Padden Samish Baker 2% 8 42 12 u 'A IK 200 25 22 70 318 437 285 1,000 There are a large number of other lakes of lesser im- portance, but all adding to the pleasure and health of the summer season. These include Lakes Terrill, Wiser, Twin, Silver, Mirror, Austin, Barrett, Squalicum, Chuckanut and the Lummi Marshes. Elbert Hubbard, in the The Philistine of Februarj-. 1904, concludes an enthusiastic presentation of his im- pressions of Puget Sound with this statement: "If an ideal environment will ever produce an ideal people and an ideal people \ make an ideal city, I think the suburbs^of that city ^t will be near Puget Sound." 'A Qp\ E L L I N G H A M is the most favored city of the Pacific ■^S Coast in both railroad and ocean transportation facili- J ties, being a terminus of the Great Northern, Northern Pacific and Canadian Pacific rail- roads, and the sole Pacific Coast terminus of another great rail- road now under con- struction from this city east, which will bring this port 25 miles nearer to the Wasliiiijjtiin wlicat ami stock farms liiaii Hnj' other important I'uget Souml seaport, at the same time reducing the grade across the mountains 15 per cent. Bellinghani is 58 milts nearer to the Pacific ocean and 13(i miles nearer to Alaska than Tacoma. There are Hit miles of railroad main track in Whatcom county, of which 15 miles ■was built in 1!(0S, at a cost of nearly $.500,00t); 37 miles in 1!»02, costing J2,25O,000, and 1!» miles in lilOl, costing |432,000. The Bellinghani l!ay & British Columbia has a handsome railway station in Bellingham and the Great Northern is now completing #20,000 a brick and stone depot. WlhaUcoinni C ovumty Mimes II .^ TC O M county has beside 250 square miles of coal measures, about 1,200 s