THE BULLETIN

of the

UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION GREEN SECTION

Vol. 11 

Washington, D. C., July, 1931 

No. 7

Contents

Page
How Cooperation Helps the Greenkeeper. By Ganson Depew.......................... 138
Ammoniating Superphosphate.................................................................................. 143
An Improved Mower Brush........................................................................................ 144
How We Built Our Oiled Sand Greens. By Wright D. Taylor......................  145
Artificial Manure ........................................................................................................ 147
Questions and Answers.............................................................................................. 149

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Ganson Depew, Chairman, Marine Trust Bldg., 

H. Kendall Read, Vice-Chairman, Philadel­

Buffalo, N. Y.

phia, Pa.

Robert F. Arnott, Upper Montclair, N. J.
Robert M. Cutting, Chicago, Ill.

Walter S. Harban, Washington, D. C. 
K. F. Kellerman, Washington, D. C.
Cornelius S. Lee, New York, N. Y.
John Monteith, Jr., Washington, D. C. 
Wynant D. Vanderpool, Newark, N. J. 
Harvey L. Westover, Washington, D. C.

RESEARCH COMMITTEE
United States Department of Agriculture

K. F. Kellerman, Acting Chairman; Associate Chief, Bureau of Plant Industry.
F. H. Hillman, Botanist. Seed Investigations.
Russell A. Oakley, Principal Agronomist in Charge, Forage Crops and Diseases.
A. J. Pieters, Principal Agronomist Acting in Charge, Forage Crops and Diseases.
Oswald Schreiner, Principal Biochemist in Charge, Soil Fertility.
W. R. Walton, Senior Entomologist, Cereal and Forage Insects.
Harvey L. Westover, Senior Agronomist, Forage Crops and Diseases.

United States Golf Association Green Section
John Monteith, Jr.
Kenneth Welton

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Douglas Call, Richmond, Va.
N. S. Campbell, Providence, R. I. 
William S. Fownes, Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa. 
A. J. Goetz, Webster Groves. Mo. 
William Harig, Cincinnati, Ohio.
J. McRae Hartgering, Detroit, Mich. 
Frederic C. Hood, Marion, Mass. 
Norman Macbeth, Los Angeles, Calif. 
John Morley, Youngstown. Ohio. 
Guy M. Peters, Chicago, Ill.

Alex Pirie, Fort Sheridan, Ill.
William J. Rockefeller, Toledo, Ohio.
George V. Rotan, Houston, Tex.
George Sargent, Columbus, Ohio.
John Shanahan, West Newton, Mass.
Sherrill Sherman, Utica, N. Y. 
Frederick Snare, Havana, Cuba. 
Charles E. Van Nest, Minneapolis, Minn. 
Alan D. Wilson, Philadelphia, Pa.
M. H. Wilson, Jr., Cleveland, Ohio.

The Bulletin is published monthly by the United States Golf Association Green Section, 

at Room 7207, Building F, Constitution Ave. and 7th St., Washington, D. C.

Address all MAIL to P. O. Box 313, Pennsylvania Avenue Station, Washington, D. C.
Send TELEGRAMS to Room 7207, Building F, Constitution Ave. and 7th St. N. W., Wash­

ington, D. C.

Subscription Price: In United States of America, Mexico, and West Indies, $4.00 per year; in 

all other countries, 55.00 per year.

Entered as second-class matter, April 21, 1926, at the post office at Washington, D. C., under 
the Act of March 3, 1879. Copyrighted, 1931, by the United States Golf Association Green Section.

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Vol. 11, No. 7

How Cooperation Helps the Greenkeeper
By Ganson Depew
Address given at the National Greenkeepers’ Convention February 4, 1931

I appreciate very much the gracious invitation extended to me as 
chairman of the Green Section of the United States Golf Association 
and member of the executive committee of the Association, to address 
the National Greenkeepers’ Convention. I bring to you the cordial 
greetings and best wishes of our Association; and may I also say that 
it is a very great pleasure to meet you and speak on the subject which 
has been assigned to me, namely, cooperation.

It is a word which from the earliest days of civilization has meant 
progress and has enabled the world to attain the standards of living 
and achievement which are seen today in the most enlightened nations. 
Without cooperation we would be mere animals, fighting each other 
for our very existence, which in brief is the survival of the fittest. 
Almost all the evils with which man has been afflicted may be traced 
to a.lack. of. cooperation,, in. which. each individual has sought to pro­
mote his own interests and happiness at the expense, or at least in­
dependently, of others, and which has always resulted in wretchedness 
and ruin of all. . Mankind has been slowly, climbing toward the goal 
of achievement and success; poets have sung this, preachers have 
taught it, and men have fought for it. The movement of humanity 
under cooperation has always been onward. During the centuries 
which have passed since the formation of the earliest human associa­
tions for mutual interest and protection and for the fostering of 
higher ideals and the satisfying of human needs, mankind has groped 
as if in partial darkness and without a steadying compass, but all the 
time getting closer together. The pleasure of the dance is largely 
due to the measured harmonies of motion, to the measured harmonies 
of sound. We find happiness in associating with those to whom we 
are attached, and in cooperating with others in those pursuits and 
aims in which we have a common interest. The benefits of coopera­
tion are seen in associations for the common welfare, when without 
expectation of reward, except the consciousness of benefiting others, 
some enterprise is undertaken for the public good. In some of the 
higher forms it takes the name of patriotism and becomes that spirit 
of devotion to one’s country of which history furnishes so many signal 
examples. It was this sentiment which ages ago animated Leonidas 
and his immortal Spartan band, inspiring these intrepid defenders of 
Thermopylae in sacrificing themselves to stay the march of Persia’s 
invading host, and which led the charge of the Light Brigade into the 
jaws of death. It was exemplified in our Revolutionary War when our 
men and women won their independence from England’s trained sol­
diers. It was seen in the dark days of our Civil War, when only the 
union of states saved our nation from dissolution. It was manifested 
in the defense of Verdun in the last Great War, when the French, 
standing like the Rock of Gibraltar, said, “They shall not pass”; and 
later when the combined efforts of the Allies ended the conflict. It is 
vital in the union of capital and labor in promoting the industrial prog­
ress and welfare of a country. And it operates in the widest kind of 
way in those nations of the world where only the consent of the gov­
erned holds millions of people together, and sometimes to band them­
selves with other nations in a common cause.

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139

I have come to you today to speak especially of cooperation in a 
matter in which we are all vitally interested, namely, the better up­
keep and more economical maintenance of golf courses. Its impor­
tance becomes evident when it is realized that golf in this country has 
more than 4,000 clubs and 2,000,000 players including patrons of 
municipal and public links, and nearly a billion dollars invested in 
courses, club houses, supplies, and implements of the game. Some 
years ago the United States Golf Association, in the interests and de­
velopment of golf, for which purpose it was formed, decided to do 
what it could to promote the general betterment of playing conditions. 
This led to the establishment of its Green Section for experimental 
and research work. It had its inception in 1915, when we asked the 
United States Department of Agriculture for aid in solving turf prob­
lems. This was gladly and generously given in the way of funds,

Greenkeepers’ Golf Show held at Columbus, Ohio, at the time of the Fifth Annual 
Convention and Golf Show of the National Association of Greenkeepers of America

grounds, and valuable advice. In 1921 the United States Golf As­
sociation Green Section was established under a cooperative agree­
ment with the Department of Agriculture, which continued in charge 
for a time. In 1927, on account of the increasing work, the Green 
Section assumed direct responsibility in an enlargement of the activi­
ties and in finance. The Arlington Turf Garden, near Washington, 
was established by the Department of Agriculture, and later, with 
the funds of the United States Golf Association, the Mid West Turf 
Garden, near Chicago, came into existence. Still later the 24 coordi­
nated experiment and demonstration turf gardens were located in 
various parts of the country. Only a whole-hearted cooperation be­
tween the Department of Agriculture and our Association made all of 
this possible. The United States Golf Association and the green­
keepers of America owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. R. A. Oakley and 
Dr. C. V. Piper, of the Department of Agriculture, for their invaluable 
assistance in organizing the Green Section and for their research 
work in the early days, and also to Dr. K. F. Kellerman and his staff 
in their continuance of the work. Can it be said that these Govern­

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Vol. 11, No. 7

ment officials have not been animated by the highest motives and a 
sincere desire to help greenkeepers and golf clubs in promoting better 
turf conditions? Such an assertion could be made only by a short­
sighted man. Likewise, can the motives of the officials of the United 
States Golf Association be impugned in working along the same lines ?
For many years, as chairman of the Green Section, one of the past 
presidents of the Association, Wynant D. Vanderpool, has ably and 
unselfishly given his services, assisted by his efficient aids, Dr. John 
Monteith, Jr., and Kenneth Welton. That the Green Section will 
continue to receive the whole-hearted support of the United States 
Golf Association is shown in the address of Herbert H. Ramsay, who, 
when elected president of the Association in January last, after seven 
years of very active and loyal service on the executive committee, 
said, “There is no more important work affecting the game of golf 
than that being carried on by the Green Section.”

Since the Green Section was established I fear there has been a 
feeling on the part of some greenkeepers that it was doing something 
to usurp their privileges and was treading on forbidden ground. Noth­
ing is further from the truth. Its work, on the contrary, was intended 
to be a help to those who knew very little about the conditioning and 
proper maintenance of new golf courses continually springing up, and 
to give greenkeepers of experience valuable information obtained from 
experimental and research work. There was absolutely no thought or 
intention of forcing anything on greenkeepers or clubs. At a large 
expense the Green Section simply offers its advice and experimental 
work to anyone who wishes to use them or ignore them if it seems 
best. It does not interfere with greenkeepers in conducting their own 
experiments and making use of the results obtained. It has never 
dictated in the slightest degree to any greenkeeper or to any green- 
keepers’ association.

The cooperation from golf clubs and greenkeepers where our 
gardens are located has been most cordial, enabling the Green Section 
to obtain very valuable reports on the treatment and growth of the 
various grasses at widely separated points under different climatic 
conditions, which should be of great value to all greenkeepers, es­
pecially those employed in the particular districts where the gardens 
are located. Further cooperation has been seen in the numerous well- 
attended gatherings of golf club officials and greenkeepers held at the 
various gardens, where it has been possible to observe and discuss the 
way in which different grasses, fertilizers, and treatments have acted. 
At many of these meetings the members of the Green Section’s staff 
have cooperated in attending to explain the work.

A concrete case of cordial cooperation has been the generous pro­
vision of laboratory and greenhouse facilities by the Botany Depart­
ment of the University of Chicago, with special attention paid to a 
study of various methods of cutting grass and the influence of these 
methods on its growth and permanency, which brings into question 
the proper height for cutting on fairways and putting greens, as well 
as economy of upkeep, disease resistance, and other questions. It is 
hoped and expected that with this cooperation we can definitely settle 
some of the disputed questions and correct some of the faulty prac­
tices now in use on golf courses.

Another evidence of cooperation has been the invitations from the 

July, 1931 

141

Pennsylvania State College, the University of Wisconsin, and the 
Michigan State Agricultural College to take part in their programs 
of short courses of instruction for greenkeepers. Still further cooper­
ation, assisted by funds from the Green Section, is the experimental 
turf work at the Pennsylvania State College and at the New Jersey 
Agricultural Experiment Station. It was the active cooperation of 
the New Jersey State Golf Association and the Greenkeepers’ Asso­
ciation of New Jersey which induced the legislature of the state to 
appropriate $5,000 annually for this work. Other states and univer­
sities are now taking up turf problems.

The cooperation between the Green Section and the member clubs 
of the United States Golf Association in the way of correspondence 
and service is one of our greatest activities. Not only are soil and 
seed samples examined and reports rendered, but the Green Section 
staff visits on request a large number of golf courses to give advice 
to clubs and greenkeepers on the turf problems submitted. During 
the past year many clubs in as many as 24 states were visited, and 
this number would have been considerably increased had the personnel 
of the staff been larger.

In the publication of the Bulletin of the United States Golf Asso­
ciation Green Section the spirit of cooperation is again in evidence. 
Unfortunately, on account of illness in the editorial staff and impor­
tant work in other fields, the Bulletin has been somewhat delayed in 
its issuance, but it is expected that in the future it will be promptly 
printed and circulated.

It is interesting to know that in February, 1929, a Board of Green­
keeping Research was established for the scientific investigation of 
greenkeeping problems by a Joint Advisory Committee of the Golf 
Unions of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Its director, R. B. 
Dawson, acknowledging my congratulations in the issue of their most 
attractive journal, said, “Like yourselves we are finding experimental 
work of increasing value not only in advising clubs as to treatments 
but in adding to the general knowledge of turf culture.” Thus is now 
seen in Europe further cooperation in the general work and problems 
in which we are all interested.

In further cooperation are the activities of your splendid National 
Association of Greenkeepers of America, organized primarily, as was 
the United States Golf Association Green Section, for the betterment 
of turf conditions. You are very fortunate in still having at your 
head the founder of your Association, a man of vision and experience 
who has given his time and effort to the interests of greenkeeping, a 
man commanding the respect and affection of every one who knows 
him—John Morley. In still further cooperation is the publication of 
your interesting magazine The National Greenkeeper, with its in­
structive articles on turf maintenance and ably edited by Robert E. 
Power. To them and others in your organization, as well as to state 
and local associations throughout the country, the greenkeepers and 
the golf clubs are indebted for valuable advice and suggestions in the 
betterment of golf courses. May I take this opportunity to congrat­
ulate the committee in charge of the splendid golf shows you have at 
your conventions, which have added much to their interest and pleas­
ure, and for which in recent years your hard-working chairman, Fred 
J. Burkhardt, is responsible ?

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Vol. 11, No. 7

The comprehensive nature of the work of the Green Section can 
perhaps be better understood when I tell you that our Association 
now expends annually nearly $42,000, which is $9,000 more than is 
received in dues from member clubs. It realizes that golf is a game 
of pleasure and that a golf club, to be successful and self-supporting, 
must have an adequate membership, which can not easily be had if 
links are not kept in first-class condition. An increase in the number 
of clubs means, of course, more employment for greenkeepers. If a 
greenkeeper values his job, he should be glad, for self-interest alone, 
to receive the reports of the Green Section; and if, in availing himself 
of its experiments and research, he can give his club a finer golf course 
and save money in its maintenance, he can command a higher salary. 
Greenkeeping today is a profession requiring technical and scientific 
knowledge.

The work of the Green Section is still in its infancy. It does not 
claim immunity from error or that its advice is infallible. But it 
does feel that progress has been made and valuable information ob­
tained, which have greatly helped the golf clubs in the way of better 
links and reduced expense of maintenance. There is still, as you all 
know, much to be learned, especially in leaf-spot disease, turf-insect 
control, and fairway improvement; and as we learn from continued 
experiments and research, the great waste of money now going on 
will be materially lessened in the knowledge of the best methods to 
follow.

May I briefly state some of our future problems, which we hope 
to work on if further funds are made available? Insects continue to 
be the greatest source of trouble on many golf courses, such as the 
mole cricket in the South, ants, grubs, cutworms, army worms, grass 
webworms, and many others; and until adequate information on their 
control is obtained through research and experimental work large 
sums of money will continue to be spent each year in the war against 
insects, but without results.

Most of our experimental work has been in the preparation and 
treatment of putting greens; but fairways are as important as putting 
greens, and few clubs have perfect fairways. This brings to the front 
problems which in most cases have been unsolved, such as the follow­
ing : best methods of preparing, fertilizing, and seeding various soils 
in different climates; time of application of fertilizers and their rota­
tion ; best use of water, particularly in connection with the sprinkling 
systems which most clubs are establishing; best height of cutting; 
control of weeds, particularly clover, which is encouraged to spread 
by the application of an excess of water; renovation of poor, weedy 
turf; perpetuation of good Bermuda turf; treatment of brown-patch; 
methods best suited for effecting the recovery of turf from the deplor­
able conditions resulting from the drought of the summer of 1930. 
Systematic study and experimentation is necessary to obtain informa­
tion which will enable one to solve and successfully meet these prob­
lems. In all of these matters the greenkeepers, working in coopera­
tion with the Green Section, can be of the greatest assistance, and 
through our combined efforts success will be attained. The Green 
Section not only seeks your help and experience, but is glad to make 
use of them in its own field of activity. Golf can not get along with­
out greenkeepers. Few realize the time and effort the greenkeeper 

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143

puts in from early morning until late at night to create better turf 
conditions. But there is this difference between the Green Section 
and yourselves, namely, that golf clubs have not the necessary funds 
to enable greenkeepers to conduct intelligent and scientific experi­
ments and research on a scale as large as that on which the Green 
Section proceeds, and in addition they are unable to give the results 
the same wide publicity that the Green Section does. We appreciate 
the value of your work and hope you in turn appreciate ours and that 
you feel, in fairness and good will, that the sole desire of the Green 
Section and of the United States Department of Agriculture is to help 
you as best they can.

Only in a hearty and cordial cooperation between us all can the 
best results be obtained. We are all interested in producing the finest 
fairways and putting greens possible. If this is accomplished, the 
existence and cost of the Green Section will have been justified, as 
will also your Association of greenkeepers and others, and you will 
have a just pride in the golf links of which you have charge. An 
honest difference of opinion will of course prevail at times as to the 
best methods to pursue. But in any event let us unselfishly work to­
gether without jealousy or friction, in the spirit of the utmost har­
mony, to make golf, which we all love, the most enjoyable of games, 
with better conditions of turf at a minimum expense as our ultimate 
goal. In brief, let the fullest cooperation be our watchword for the 
future. 
---------------------------
Ammoniating Superphosphate

Demonstration of the cheap process of adding ammonia to super­
phosphate, a new development which is proving of practical benefit 
to farmers and the fertilizer industry, was the feature of an exhibit 
by the Bureau of Chemistry and Soils at the annual meeting of the 
National Fertilizer Association held June 8 to 10, 1931, at White 
Sulphur Springs, W. Va. The small-scale apparatus, constructed in 
the Fertilizer and Fixed Nitrogen Research unit of the bureau, car­
ried on the process of ammoniating superphosphate in the main lobby 
of the Greenbrier Hotel and drew groups of visiting chemists and 
executives of fertilizer companies in whose business this process has 
been one of the most important and revolutionary of recent de­
velopments.

In the miniature apparatus which was shown at the exhibit, an­
hydrous ammonia, contained in a small steel cylinder under a pres­
sure of 150 pounds, is released in gaseous form at regular intervals 
and in small amounts, to be absorbed by the superphosphate which is 
visible in a revolving glass drum. A manometer filled with colored 
liquid was so arranged as to show the pressure of the ammonia re­
leased from the cylinder and the decrease of pressure upon its re­
lease for absorption by superphosphate. Commercially the ammonia­
tion of superphosphate is carried out in one step rather than grad­
ually, as shown in the apparatus, sufficient ammonia being added to 
the superphosphate to correspond to V/2 to 2 per cent of the super­
phosphate. The availability to crops of the phosphoric acid in super­
phosphates, or superphosphate mixtures, when higher percentages 
of ammonia are used is under investigation by the Bureau of Chem­
istry and Soils, and is a development of much interest to the fertilizer 
industry.

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Vol. 11, No. 7

An Improved Mower Brush

Brushes attached to putting green mowers are gradually com­
ing into more general use, especially on turf that has a marked ten­
dency to produce an excessive growth of stolons, such as Bermuda 
grass and some strains of creeping bent. If the turf can be lightly 
brushed ahead of the mowers many more of the objectionable stolons 
are removed from the turf than would be the case if the grass were 
mowed when it is trampled down by players or pressed down by the 
rollers of the mowing machines. The brush attachments are more 
common with the power mowers than with the hand mowers, but 
even the hand mowers are now occasionally equipped with brushes.

The efficiency of the mower brush is increased by equipping it with casters. The 
casters are adjustable and thus the pressure of the brush on the turf may be 
regulated. The axle running between the bristles increases their resistance

One of the objections encountered in one of the common types 
of brush attachments is that the long bristles tend to bend backward 
as the brush is being pushed over the turf and this defeats the pur­
pose of the brush. One method for overcoming this objection was 
devised by George T. Cunningham for use on the Metropolitan bent 
turf on the putting greens of the courses of the Country Club of 
Virginia, in Richmond. The accompanying illustration shows the 
additions which were made to the brush attachment furnished with 
the power mower used by Mr. Cunningham. A strip of 3/16-inch 
steel with the ends 3/8 inch thick was screwed on the top of the 
brush. This strip was bent over the ends of the brush. The ends 
of this steel strip were provided with slots % inch deep, in which 
were fitted the extra brackets and casters taken from a discarded 
hand mower. A bolt through the brackets and side irons makes it 
possible to raise or lower the rollers and hence the height of the 
brush may be carefully adjusted. A half-inch axle runs through 
the brush between the caster wheels. This axle is about an inch from 
the ground and holds the bristles in front of it from bending too 
far back. The resulting increase in the resistance of the bristles 
makes the brush much more effective in raising the runners of creep­
ing bent or the seed heads of annual bluegrass (Poa annua).

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145

How We Built Our Oiled Sand Greens
By Wright D. Taylor
Live Oak Golf Club, Weatherford, Tex.

In common with golf courses in this section of the country, where 
rainfall is inadequate for the maintenance of grass putting greens, 
our club, being unable to install a sprinkler system, was confronted 
with the problem of the proper construction of sand greens. The 
sand greens as first built were very unsatisfactory because the heavy 
rains churned up the sand, washed it off, and floated the lighter fuel 
oil out of the sand onto the fairways. This not only interrupted play, 
but necessitated a continuous outlay for labor and material in re­
placing sand and oil. In the winter of 1926 the sand greens were 
rebuilt, and we now have no trouble from the loss of sand and oil by 
wind and rain.

Our course is located on a high ridge or divide with headings of 
small draws or valleys leading out from the ridge. The soil on the 
ridge is rather poor, with layers of stone underneath, and the grass 
is poor. In the draws we have a good black soil and a splendid turf 
of curly mesquite grass. This grass occurs mostly here on black soil 
of a tight nature, although on gravelly land it seems to thrive well 
but the turf is not as thick as on good soil. In very dry weather it 
does not die, but becomes yellow and remains dormant. Our annual 
rainfall is 32 inches, heavy rains usually occurring 3 to 6 weeks apart 
in June, July, and August, with warm to hot, clear sunshine during 
the period. In March and September we usually have considerable 
wind.

Our sand greens are 42 feet in diameter and are built on the native 
soil. In rebuilding them 3 barrels of rather heavy fuel oil are first 
put on the base and allowed to soak in for a few days in order to 
kill the vegetation and to help keep the base from absorbing the oil 
out of the sand on the green. The base is tamped smooth and almost 
level, leaving the top of the cup about % inch higher than the outer 
edge of the sand green 21 feet distant. The purpose of this slight 
rise is to keep as much water as possible out of the cup. It really 
helps rather than retards good putting. The cup holes, which are 
3 feet deep, are filled to the bottom of the cup with small stones so 
as to permit quick drainage of any water in the cup.

For about a foot around the cup the hard base is leveled with the 
top of the cup so that in play the sand can be dragged on this to a 
depth of Vn to i/i inch, which is sufficient to permit a ball to run true 
if struck true. This also prevents the players creating a saucer­
like depression of several feet around the cup resulting from their 
dragging sand away from instead of toward the cup and dragging 
the sand too firmly. This hard ground around the cup also, to a 
large extent, prevents sloughing of the side walls of sand into the 
cup and creating a hole at the top that is much wider than the regu­
lation 414-inch cup.

In our case we obtain a mixture of limestone gravel and sand 
washed into ravines. We first screen out the rough particles through 
a screen of 8 meshes to the inch, and then screen out the dirt and 
very fine sand through a screen of 24 meshes to the inch. It is this 
dirt and very fine sand which, in our opinion, is the chief cause of 

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Vol. 11, No. 7

sand greens becoming packed by rains and players. The portion 
of the material saved for use is about 20 per cent of the whole. This 
is then thoroughly worked in a mortar box with heavy oil or residuum 
until the sand has absorbed all the oil it can. At first thought this 
amount of oil might seem to be too much; but after the sand is spread, 
much of the oil will pass down into the base, and that on the surface 
dries out to such an extent after a few days that it will not stick to 
the players’ shoes. The screening of and working oil into the sand 
should be done when the material is thoroughly dry, as it can be 
done much better when in that condition and at far less cost, the 
process being a tedious one at the best. As this residuum is a rather 
heavy oil, it can not well be worked into the sand in cool weather. 
In this case it should be well heated or thinned with a very small 
amount of light fuel oil. The sand is spread only 1 inch deep on 
the green, because only a light smoothing of the surface is required 
to permit a ball to run true, and it is deep enough to cause a ball to 
stick to the sand green if it hits the near side from a good distance— 
up to about 50 yards in case of a mashie shot of fair height. A few 
weeks later, after rains and play tend to pack the sand, the surface 
will need to be regularly roughed up to a depth of about •% inch and 
dragged with a mat. We use light drags made of two pieces of half­
round 1 Vi-inch moulding nailed together, with a flat handle of about 
14 by 114 inches.

Our sand greens have sodded dirt rims and are built sufficiently 
high to accomplish their purpose of keeping outside water off and 
washing rains from removing sand and needlessly floating the oil. 
To facilitate play the rims are tapered several feet outward to a 
feather edge, leaving the surface a rather gentle swell. Rain water 
on a sand green is drained off through one or two 2-inch gas pipes 
set into the rim of the green, which, after a rain, quickly drain off 
the water, soon putting the sand green in a condition for play.

Prior to July, 1930, we had not begun to remove the dirt and 
fine sand from the material used on the greens, which we consider 
to be the chief cause of packing. The old sand greens, prior to that 
time, had nevertheless gone a long time without requiring reoiling 
and were splendid greens when properly roughed up and dragged 
with a mat. The sand greens we reconstructed in July, 1930, by 
removing the dirt and fine sand, appear after a year to be as good 
as they were the day they were finished, which is certainly enough 
to satisfy anyone.

We attribute the satisfactory results we have had with our sand 
greens largely to the coarser sand which we use, but especially to 
the heavy residuum from oil refineries or cleanings from old fuel-oil 
supply tanks of steam users which we use in place of the ordinary 
light fuel oils. There, is little oil in the residuum to dry out and float 
off, and it serves its purpose of holding the sand together. Our sand 
greens will not need to be reoiled more often than once a year, and 
probably less often.

Greens at the foot of a hill should be protected from surface or 
seepage water from the hill, by ditches or underground drain tile. A 
foot or two of crushed rock under the ditch will help greatly to im­
prove the drainage.

July, 1931

147

Artificial Manure

There has been for some time a scarcity of farm manure for 
agricultural purposes which has been felt even by golf clubs. Since 
the desirable farm manures are no longer obtainable, various methods 
have been devised to manufacture “artificial manure” by a process 
of rapid decomposition of such rough organic material as straw, 
leaves, cornstalks, and grass clippings. Most of these methods are 
dependent upon a plentiful supply of moisture and nitrogen in an 
available form to assist in the decomposition process. The organic 
material is saturated and nitrogen in a soluble form is mixed through 
it as it is piled. Lime and superphosphate are sometimes added. The 
lime (calcium carbonate) in some cases hastens decomposition, and 
the superphosphate increases the phosphoric acid content of the 
manure and also assists in decreasing the loss of ammonia during 
decomposition.

The Bulletin of the United States Golf Association Green Section 
has from time to time referred to these processes, and in the Bulletin 
for June, 1924, and September, 1930, methods are described in suf­
ficient detail to enable the greenkeeper to apply them on the course. 
The Bulletin for November, 1929, contains a brief review of Bulletin 
No. 573, entitled “Artificial Manure from Straw,” issued by the New 
York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, N. Y.

Two bulletins have recently been published by the Iowa Agricul­
tural Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa, dealing with the production 
of artificial manures, and with the effects of the manures on the soil 
and crops. The bulletins are technical in character, but the results 
of the work, from which we will quote, have considerable practical 
value. In fact they are, on the whole, of more value to the green­
keeper than to the farmer, because the large amount of water re­
quired in the process of decomposition is often more readily avail­
able on the golf course than on the farm.

Credit for the first practical work in composting raw organic 
materials with chemicals and water is given to Hutchinson and Rich­
ards in the following quotation from Iowa State College Research 
Bulletin No. 126, “The Production of Artificial Farm Manure,” by 
F. B. Smith, W. H. Stevenson, and P. E. Brown:

“Hutchinson and Richards in England were the first to develop 
a really practical method for the production of an artificial farm 
manure. They treated alternate layers of straw with ammonium 
sulphate and limestone, making heaps 10 feet square and 5 feet high 
for each ton of straw. Water was added in sufficient amounts to 
bring about thorough decomposition of the straw in a minimum 
period of time. The process was later improved by the use of a 
phosphate with the ammonium sulphate and lime. It was patented 
and is now controlled in this country by the American Adco Com­
pany.”

By their own experiments Smith, Stevenson, and Brown found 
that it was desirable to provide soluble nitrogen in some form to 
hasten decomposition. “It seems very desirable,” the bulletin states, 
“that some reagent supplying soluble nitrogen be employed in pre­
paring composts from straw, cornstalks, or other similar materials, 
in order to hasten the decomposition processes, and permit of the 
earlier production of a well-decomposed manure. Such a reagent will 
also increase the fertilizing value of the manure produced because 

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Vol. 11, No. 7

of the nitrogen added. Artificial farm manure may be produced by 
composting straw and such materials without the addition of any 
reagents, but the process advances much slower and the manure 
formed is of less value when applied to the soil.”

These investigators call attention to the necessity of keeping the 
piles moist, “These experiments on the production of artificial farm 
manure,” they write, “show that a good grade of well-decomposed 
manure may be made by composting straw or cornstalks with cer­
tain chemicals, provided a sufficient supply of water is added to keep 
the compost heap moist. The addition of a proper amount of water 
is essential for the best decomposition of the materials and for the 
production of the best grade of manure.”

Even though the manufacture of artificial manure has been prac­
ticed for some time, there still remains a doubt in the minds of many 
as to its value compared with farm manure. In the second Iowa State 
College Bulletin referred to above, Research Bulletin No. 127, the re­
search workers, F. B. Smith and P. E. Brown, show that similar re­
sults may be expected from the use of artificial manure and farm 
manure. The results of their work are shown in the following quo­
tation from this bulletin:

“From the results as a whole it is apparent that the proper com­
posting of straw and cellulose residues may permit the production of 
artificial manures which will give similar effects on bacteriological 
conditions in the soil and on crop yields to those occasioned by farm 
manure. There is a similar stimulation in the nitrification process 
and in the numbers of organisms, and while nitrate assimilation is 
also stimulated by the artificial manures, the influence on this process 
is no greater than that produced by farm manure. While, therefore, 
there may be a reduced content of nitrates in the soils following the 
addition of these artificial manures, there is no greater reduction 
than that brought about by farm manure. As farm manure has a 
well-known beneficial effect on crop growth, it is apparent that there 
need be no deleterious effect from well-decomposed artificial manures 
either on crop yields or on soil conditions in general. In fact it 
would seem that quite as large beneficial effects should be exerted, 
and any increase in nitrate assimilation and decrease in nitrate con­
tent is more than offset, from a crop production standpoint, by the 
increased nitrification which is occasioned.”

1931 Official Edition of the Rules of Golf

The United States Golf Association announces the publication of 
the 1931 Official Edition of the Rules of Golf. The booklet contains 
recommendations, form and make of golf clubs, etiquette; special 
rules for match play competitions; rules for three-ball, best ball, and 
four-ball matches; special rules for stroke competitions; rules for par 
and bogey competitions; together with interpretations as passed by 
the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews and the United 
States Golf Association.

In quantities of 25 booklets, or less, the price is 10 cents each, 
but in larger orders the price is scaled down to 6 cents for 1,000 
copies or more. On orders of 200 or more copies the club name will 
be printed on the cover. Wall cards containing complete Rules of 
Golf are available at 50 cents each. Orders may be sent to United 
States Golf Association, 110 East 42d Street, New York, N. Y.

July, 1931

149

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

All questions sent to the Green Section will be answered in a letter to 
the writer as promptly as possible. The more interesting of these questions, 
with concise answers, will appear in this column. If your experience leads 
you to disagree with any answer here given it is your privilege and duty to 
write to the Green Section. While most of the answers are of general 
application, it must be borne in mind that each recommendation is intended 
specifically for the locality designated at the end of the question.

Treatment of putting greens containing considerable annual blue­
grass (Poa annua).—Annual bluegrass is giving us considerable 
trouble in our greens. Some greenkeepers object to it and try to get 
rid of it while others do not seem to mind it. What are your sug­
gestions? (New York)

Answer.—Annual bluegrass makes up a large percentage of the 
turf on some of the most famous golf courses in the country. It is 
at its best in spring and fall. When a green contains also bent grass, 
there is a gradual change in late spring and early summer from a 
large percentage of annual bluegrass to a large percentage of bent. 
The bent predominates during summer, and in fall the annual blue­
grass returns in abundance. Greenkeepers who have mixed annual 
bluegrass and bent greens have varying success in bringing the bent 
grass in as the annual bluegrass disappears in hot weather and in 
keeping the annual bluegrass in good condition during the seasons 
when it is most in evidence. Apart from general observations, little 
is known regarding the best method of culture for annual bluegrass. 
It is possible to have very fine annual bluegrass putting turf in spring 
and fall. The grass adapts itself fairly well to most cultural methods. 
Often it is necessary to cut annual bluegrass greens twice a day. The 
grass requires frequent watering, but not to the extent of keeping 
the soil saturated. Also frequent light applications of fertilizer are 
advisable; it is better to apply small amounts of fertilizer every two 
weeks than large amounts once a month. If the annual bluegrass 
produces a great deal of seed and becomes bumpy, the turf can be 
improved by dragging it with steel mats, followed by close cutting, 
in order to eliminate as many of the seed heads as possible. Also a 
light top-dressing at that time will improve the putting surface.

The undesirable feature of annual bluegrass is that it may become 
weak or even die out very quickly in summer. The fact that it can 
not be depended upon to provide good turf in certain sections of the 
country through summer seems important enough to some clubs to 
endeavor to prevent it from becoming established in their greens, 
particularly by paying special attention to means of preventing this 
when the greens are first planted. No doubt large quantities of seed 
of annual bluegrass are carried to putting greens through top­
dressing material. Also seed of it may be washed from plants on 
higher elevations, to a putting green, unless sand traps or grassy 
hollows are provided to catch the surface wash before it reaches the 
green. When annual bluegrass has become thoroughly distributed 
in a putting green and makes up a large percentage of the turf, there 
is no practical method of getting rid of it apart from removing the 
turf and replanting the green.

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Vol. 11, No. 7

Value and use of marsh muck.—We are sending you a sample of 
a fertilizer said to consist of dried and screened leaf mold to which a 
small amount of gypsum has been added. Surprisingly good results 
are claimed by the use of this fertilizer. It is offered at the same price 
we pay for activated sludge, which is .$30 a ton. How does it com­
pare in fertilizing value with activated sludge? (Michigan)

Answer.—The material you sent is not leaf mold but marsh 
muck. It contains considerable woody material and hence has a high 
percentage of organic matter. It is very well decomposed and evi­
dently has been under cultivation for a number of years. It is an 
excellent source of organic matter, but does not compare with acti­
vated sludge as to fertilizing value. The latter contains 5^ per 
cent nitrogen, 2^2 per cent -phosphoric acid, and up to per cent 
potash. Marsh muck in its native state may contain about half as 
much nitrogen as activated sludge, but its nitrogen is in so insoluble 
a form that it is of little value to growing plants. Muck contains only 
a trace of phosphorus and potash, and its fertilizing value as far as 
these are concerned is negligible. The addition of gypsum to the 
muck gives it some calcium and sulphur. Peats and mucks of this 
kind are generally sold at about $10 a ton, and although $30 a ton 
is a fair price for activated sludge the material you sent is not worth 
anything like that price. Peats and mucks are valuable chiefly for 
their organic content, and can be used to great advantage, if the price 
is right, for mixing in soil beds or placing in compost piles in order 
to bring up the organic content of top-dressing material. A certain 
amount of such organic matter mixed, together with sand, with heavy 
clay soils, will greatly improve the physical texture of the clay; and 
mixed with sand, such organic matter will raise the water-holding 
capacity of the sand.

Objections to layer formations in building putting greens.—Our 
soil is a very heavy clay. We have exhausted the supply of our best 
lighter loam but have an abundant supply of muck available. It has 
occurred to us that this muck might be advantageously used in build­
ing our new greens. Our plan is to lay down first a gravel bed of 
about 8 inches for drainage purposes, and then on top of that a layer 
of about 18 inches of muck. This we will then let settle over winter, 
and in the spring will roll it down with rollers as heavy as can be 
handled. The top 6 inches, or seed bed, will be a screened mixture of 
muck and clay loam, which will also be rolled, and then lightly raked 
before seeding. We should like to have your suggestions in the 
matter. (New York)

Answer.-—The idea of building greens with layers for various 
reasons received considerable attention years ago, and in almost 
every case greens built along these lines have proved unsatisfactory 
and have since been torn up and rebuilt. Experiments in soil physics 
clearly indicate that layers of gravel, peat, or muck, especially in 
putting greens, are injurious on account of their interfering with the 
natural fall and rise of soil moisture. In constructing your greens 
we would suggest that you build up the base with your natural soil, 
installing tiles for drainage purposes since your soil is heavy. The 
top soil on the fill should be made to a depth of at least 6 inches. Con­
siderable organic material and sand should be disced into this top 
soil so as to obtain a fertile soil of a sandy loam consistency.

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It is well to emphasize the material benefits that 
come from well-directed scientific research, because 
the work requires material support. Nevertheless, 
a narrow view of the purposes of science tends to 
defeat its object. Scientific investigations are some­
times most fruitful when directed merely toward 
the discovery of fundamental principles. Hence the 
ultimate justification in utility may be remote rather 
than immediate. Results will come, which can not 
be reckoned in advance. Results achieved as an un­
expected by-product are often more important than 
those originally contemplated.

Arthur M. Hyde