UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION GREEN SECTION EASTERN REGION MID-ATLANTIC DISTRICT NORTHEASTERN DISTRICT R U T G E RS U N I V E R S I TY NEW B R U N S W I C K. NEW J E R S EY P L A NT IN D U S T RY S T A T I ON B E L T S V I L L E, M A R Y L A ND EASTERN TURFLETTER A L E X A N D ER M. R A D KO E A S T E RN D I R E C T OR C H A R L ES K. H A L L O W E LL M I D - A T L A N T IC D I R E C T OR T. T. T A Y L OR N O R T H E A S T E RN A G R O N O M I ST No. 3 August, 1957 I D A A S, G A G A D G E TS L T H I N GS "Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than in the one where they sprung up*" - 0. VJ. Holmes - • IDEAS ON T0FDRE33ING - (1) Over-size pebbles which cannot be worked into the putting surface may be removed easily and swiftly by pushing a curved snow shovel back and forth over the green, piling, and then removing the excess at the end of each swath. Aeration cores can also be removed similarly. (2) If you have difficulty applying damp top-dressing with a Root dist- ributor - try removing the inside back plate and cut-off approximately 3/16fs of an inch from the bottom of the plate. This will increase the size of the opening at the bottom. At the same time cut curved slots on the outside rear plate for adjusting screws to track. This will allow wider opening of the inside back plate. Agitating the soil in the distributor hopper with a chopping motion of a round point shovel will prevent bridging of the soil if done while the distributor is in motion. (3) If you layer your top dressing materials before mixing, try placing the sand on the bottom of the compost. This seems to prevent packing and contributes to easier handling and mixing - particularly if done by hand. (4) In preparing top dressing soii, mix the materials well in advance of date of intended use. This allows the separate ingredients to bond and form a better soil. (5) Sterilize top dressing soils for greensi If you use methyl bromide to sterilize top dressing soils, the plastic tent may be held in place by using a wicket made of old bemboo poles and discarded 3/4* s inch hose. The bamboo is cut into lengths of approximately two feet. A piece of hose, two to three feet long is placed over the end of one bamboo stick and joined at the other end by a second bamboo stick. This forms a flexible wicket when the sticks are inserted in the soil - the rubber hose acts as a ridge pole which doesn't injure or tear the plastic cover. These wickets may be used many times over. Each wicket should accomodate an area of approximately 8* x 4*. - SAND BLAST IT - Standard golf courses come equipped with built in sand blasters - the sand trap. Clean spoons or tines on aeration equipment are a necessity for doing a good, clean job. To clean and polish spoons or tines, run the aeration machine through the sand trap several times before use on greens; also after completing the aeration chore and prior to storing aeration equipment. A thin film of oii prior to storing also keeps spoons and tines free from rust and pitting. Clean spoons or tines insure a minimum of tearing and a smoother aeration job. - LAPPING MOV/SRS - When sharpening mowers the use of oil as a carrier for lapping-in com- pound necessitates washing with kerosene or gasoline. Kerosene and gasoline are fire hazards - they are also penetrating agents; therefore they may carry the grinding compound into bearings or other parts. Water alone does not hold the grinding'compound in suspension and by itself makes a poor carrier; however, water plus a thickening agent such as flour or cheap syrup will hold the grinding compound in suspension, and each are easily washed off the reel and blades with wat er. - A DRAINAGE CHECK - Many fairway stone and tile drains installed years ago are suspect of being non-functional. An easy way to check is to place some dye material into the drain at a distant point - then check the outlet to see whether the dye material moves through. - RE30D A TEE - Two weeks before the New England Open, Ray Brigham, Superintendent of the Country Club of Rhode Island was faced with a critical problem. His 8th tee weakened and the grass cover was not on par with the rest of the course. With ingenuity typical of many superintendents, Ray thoroughly aerated the tee, top dressed heavily, and laid new sod over the existing tee. The tee was in fine shape for the tournament - none of, the contestants were aware of recent renov- ation - the tee was firm and in good turf cover for championship play. - WHAT'S LEFT IN THE TANK? - (1) (2) The use of a glass water gauge installed on your spray tank, similar to the manner in which they are used on a boiler or pressure tank, is a visible means of determining the amount of solution in the spray tank at all times. Another expedient which accQmplishe3 the same purpose is to attach a weight and a float to opposite ends of a string of measured length. Place the float inside, the weight outside the tank - allowing the string to ride on a small roller. Markings can be made on the outside to indicate the exact gallon- age in the tank at any one time. A1 Caravella, Superintendent of Echo Lake CC, Westfield, N.J., borrow- ed this idea which he credits to Ed Casey of Baltusrol G.C. At each 50 gallon mark on the outside of the tank, he placed petcocks - to check the amount of solution left in the tank. (3) - RAIL CROSSING - Discarded rail3 can sometimes be reasonably and locally ob- tained for use as runners to bridge brooks. Strong planks bolted to rail runners set in cement make for a sturdy bridge. Examples of some such fine bridge work by Jack Patroni and Angelo Gagliardi can be seen at Apawanis CC, Rye, N. Y.; by K. Ovian and Bob Scully at T/ampanoag CC, V/est Eartford, Conn. ÏD.CH] S AYER - In the New York State Turf Association bulletin #57, Dr. John Eatthysse reports that - insecticides recommended for turf insect con- trol are generally compatable with 2,4-D weed killers. ffThe last rain we had was a 3N01®TQSMJfr The weather has been a featured topic in all newspapers in the drought area this year. Part3 of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast- ern states had no appreciable rain from April through mid-August. Al- though much has been said about the weather - no one in our opinion has expressed it as well as Mike OfGradyfs gem - which is the caption above. Mike is the colorful Superintendent of the CC of New Bedford, New Bedford, Mass. Fall precautions 6n drought stricken fairways: (1) Delay herbicide treatments as late as possible and apply minimum rates. If no relief is in sight - it may be safer for perm- anent grasses to defer treatment"until next season. (2) Increase total fall fertilization to speed recovery of perm- anent grasses - but apply lighter rates at more frequent intervals - especially if inorganic fertilizers are applied. - FIELD DAYS Penn State University Field Day from noon Sept. 4 to noon Sept. 5. Tentative dates for - Cornell Field Days - Sept. 10 & 11. We repeat .... these dates are tentative .... await confirmation from Cornell prior to packing for Ithaca. •