J. F. CORNMAN

THE BULLETIN

of the

UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION GREEN SECTION

Vol. 8 

Washington, D. C., December, 1928 

No. 12

Contents

Page

Turf Gardens and Experimental Work......................................................................... 238

Demonstration Turf Gardens on Golf Courses. John Monteith, Jr...................  239

The Arlington Turf Garden. John Monteith, Jr...................................................... 244

Turf Studies at the Florida Experiment Station. Charles R. Enlow.................  246
Turf Experiments at the Massachusetts Agricultural College. Lawrence S.

Dickinson ........................................................................................................................ 248

Experiments with Turf Grasses in Kansas. J. W. Zahnley................................  249

Turf Studies at the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa. G. P. McRostie. . . 250

Turf Experiments at the New Jersey State Station. Howard B. Sprague.. . . 251

A New Experiment Station in Chicago......................................................................... 252

Turf Experiments at Nebraska College of Agriculture. Fred V. Grau...........  253

Turf Experiments at Rhode Island Experiment Station. E. S. Garner...........  254

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Wynant D. Vanderpool, Chairman, 766 Broad 

Street, Newark, N. J.

Russell A. Oakley, Washington, D. C.
Harvey L. Westover, Washington, D. C.

H. Kendall Read, Philadelphia, Pa. 
Walter S. Harban, Washington, D. C.
H. Y. Barrow, New York, N. Y.
John Monteith, Jr., Washington, D. C.

RESEARCH COMMITTEE

United States Department of Agriculture

United States Golf Association 

Russell A. Oakley, Chairman.
Harvey L. Westover, Acting Chairman.

John Monteith, Jr. 
Kenneth Welton.

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

Washington, D. C., at Room 7207, Building F, 7th and B Streets, N. W.

Address all MAIL to P. O. Box 313, Pennsylvania Avenue Station, Washington, D. C.

Send TELEGRAMS to Room 7207, Building F, 7th and B Streets, N. W., Washington, D. C.

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

all other countries, $5.00 per year.

Entered as second-class matter, April 21, 1926, at the postoffice at Washington, D. C.. under 
the Act of March 3, 1879. Copyrighted, 1929, by the United States Golf Association Green Section.

238

Vol. 8, No. 12

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

W. A. Alexander, Chicago, Ill. 
Eberhard Anheuser, St. Louis, Mo. 
A. C. U. Berry, Portland, Oreg. 
N. S. Campbell, Providence, R. I. 
Wm. C. Fownes, Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa. 
F. H. Hillman, Washington, D. C. 
Thos. P. Hinman, Atlanta, Ga. 
Frederic C. Hood, Watertown, Mass. 
K. F. Kellerman, Washington, D. C. 
Norman Macbeth, Los Angeles, Calif. 
E. J. Marshall, Toledo, Ohio.

W. L. Pfeffer, St. Louis, Mo.
George V. Rotan, Houston, Tex.
Sherrill Sherman, Utica, N. Y. 
Frederick Snare, Havana, Cuba. 
James D. Standish, Jr., Detroit, Mich. 
Charles E. Van Nest, Minneapolis, Minn. 
W. R. Walton, Washington, D. C. 
Alan D. Wilson, Philadelphia, Pa. 
M. H. Wilson, Jr., Cleveland, Ohio. 
Frank L. Woodward, Denver, Colo.

Turf Gardens and Experimental Work

In this issue we give a brief review of the principal experimental 
turf gardens in America. We frequently find men interested in such 
work who are not acquainted with the turf gardens in their immediate 
vicinity. It is hoped that this number of The Bulletin will serve 
as a guide for any who may be interested in observing some of the 
experimental work being conducted for the betterment of turf. We 
do not claim to include all turf gardens which may be carrying on 
constructive work, for it is recognized that there are many small but 
interesting turf gardens conducted by other experiment stations and 
on many golf courses. No attempt is made to evaluate the various 
gardens nor to give results obtained on each. The purpose is rather 
merely to point out the location of each, the type of work, and by 
whom it is being conducted.

It will be noted that the turf gardens are divided into two groups; 
experimental and demonstration. The experimental gardens are all 
supervised by institutions whose business it is to conduct experiments, 
and in most cases they receive some financial aid from the United 
States Golf Association Green Section. On the experimental turf 
gardens new grasses, new chemicals, and new methods may be tried 
out. A large proportion of these tests prove of little value and must 
be discarded. The occasional new development which comes out of 
all these trials must be further tested before being recommended for 
general use on golf courses or elsewhere. Although there is ap­
parently much repetition of work at the various stations, this is de­
sirable due to the different responses of grass to different treatments 
under unlike soil and climatic conditions. Beyond a certain point 
repetition leads to waste. It is the purpose of the Green Section to 
try to correlate the fundamental experimental work in order to avoid 
needless duplication of effort with its resultant dissipation of limited 
funds. As an example, it is proposed to continue to concentrate the 
principal disease work at the Arlington Turf Garden but at the same 
time to conduct some disease studies at other stations on a small scale.
Each of the new series of demonstration plantings on golf courses 
is intended to serve as an intermedium between the experimental 
work and the golf courses in the immediate vicinity of the planting. 
These will give the experimental men an opportunity to further check 
their results under more varying conditions. At the same time they 
will “take home” the experimental work to men interested in turf pro­
duction throughout the country.

No doubt all this work will meet the usual objection from the 
super-practical man that these plots do not represent actual putting 
green conditions. The answer is that we all recognize that they are 
not actual putting greens and no effort is being made to make them 

December, 1928

239

such. This work may well be compared with the experimental work 
in the automobile business. Before being adopted, the improvements 
in engines and body parts are worked out by engineers and mechanics 
in experimental laboratories and on machines quite different from the 
highly polished and be-cushioned product of the show window or 
boulevard.

Demonstration Turf Gardens on Golf Courses

By John Monteith, Jr.

During the season of 1928 the Green Section established 15 new 
demonstration turf gardens on golf courses in different sections of 
the country. These will be supported and cared for by the local clubs, 
under the direction of the United States Golf Association Green 
Section.

It has been recognized for a long time that soil and climatic con­
ditions exert such important influences on plant growth that recom­
mendations based on tests in one locality may need modification under 
somewhat different local conditions. This has been found to be true 
in growing most plants, and as a result the State agricultural experi­
ment stations and the United States Department of Agriculture have 
established many branch stations throughout the agricultural dis­
tricts. The purpose of these new demonstration turf gardens is to 
extend the Green Section experimental work by providing a series of 
plots near several golf course centers. There it will be possible to 
reproduce under various local conditions some of the most promising 
experimental work of the turf gardens at the Arlington Experiment 
Farm and a few of the State experiment stations where golf turf 
work is under way. These series of plots are distributed as follows:

Minneapolis:
Chicago:
Grand Rapids:
Detroit:

Pittsburgh:

Boston:
Metropolitan District:

Atlantic City:
Richmond:

Interlachen Country Club.
Olympia Fields Country Club.
Municipal.
Detroit Golf Club.
Lochmoor Club.
Meadowbrook Country Club.
Oakmont Country Club.
Allegheny Country Club.
Charles River Country Club.
Morris County Golf Club.
Upper Montclaii- Country Club.
Wheatley Hills Golf Club.
Century Golf Club.
Country Club.
Country Club of Virginia.

Similar plantings have been made on the grounds of the Agricul­
tural Experiment Station, Amherst, Mass., and on the campus of 
Leland Stanford Jr. University, Palo Alto, Calif.

Each series consists of 55 plots, each 10 by 10 feet, requiring an 
area for the complete set of 50 by 110 feet. It is recognized that 
there are several objections to small plots, but these objections are 
overcome by the advantages of lower cost, more uniform soil con­
ditions, and more direct comparisons. These plots are all numbered 
and are planted in practically the same order in every locality. The 
arrangement is such as to bring together the plots that will be most 
interesting for comparison and also to condense into a small series 

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Vol. 8, No. 12

as many of the interesting features of experimental work as can be 
arranged. This is done also with the view to simplifying the plan in 
order that the plots may be cared for with least expense and with the 
least possibility of confusion.

The 55 plots are arranged 5 plots in width and 11 in length. The 
5 plots at one end are designated as optional plots, in which tests are 
to be made of different grasses or fertilizers which are of more re­
stricted local interest. In some cases this set is being increased to 
provide more room for testing out local strains of bent or various 
soil mixtures, as well as fertilizers. Ten of the plots are used for test­
ing various putting green grasses. In some cases these plots have 
been divided so that a plot may be planted with two grasses, or with 
the same grass from seed originating in different regions. In this

The demonstration plots at the Country Club of Atlantic City

group there is a comparison of red fescue, Chewing’s fescue, annual 
bluegrass (Poa annua), Rhode Island bent grown in three different 
localities, German mixed bent, seaside bent, velvet bent (both from 
seed and vegetative planting), and four strains of creeping bent 
planted by the stolon method. It is planned to keep these plots 
mowed at putting green length, and all will receive the same fertil­
izing, watering, cutting, and other treatments. This group will give 
anyone an opportunity to compare the various grasses commonly used 
on putting greens as grown under identical conditions without the 
usual variation in soil and treatment, which is found when one tries 
to compare turf on two or more different putting greens.

Fifteen plots will be devoted to experiments with various fertil­
izers, both organic and inorganic. Four of these 15 will be used as 
checks and will receive no fertilizer whatever. Each plot will receive 
one fertilizer, and none other, over a period of years. The check 
plots are so arranged that each of the fertilizer treatments will have 
one side adjoining an unfertilized piece of turf. One can then stand 
in the center of this area and within a distance of 30 feet can see the 
response of turf to 11 different fertilizer combinations. Since nitro­
gen is such an important factor in turf production, these fertilizers

PLAN OF DEMONSTRATION TURF GARDENS

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Urea.

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}> grass 

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6

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10

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Sulphate 
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Complete 
fertilizer 
12-6-4.

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experiments on 
s fairway grasses 
(Kentucky blue­
grass and redtop 
mixture).

1 Soil in plots 7A and 8A poisoned with arsenate of lead before seeding.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
242

Vol. 8, No. 12

will be applied at rates which will give the same amount of nitrogen 
for each plot, with the exception of the 4 check plots and one other 
which will receive no nitrogen. It is planned that the fertilizers will 
be weighed accurately and distributed by the Green Section, to be 
applied by those in charge of the individual plantings. No fertilizer 
was added before planting, and soil was selected so that the turf in 
each case starts out evenly. After the grass has become established, 
fertilizers are to be applied at certain intervals. The grass used in 
this fertilizer group is German mixed bent, since this will give an 
opportunity to observe the response of the several different bents in 
the mixture rather than one particular species or strain of grass.

Planting: one of the Green Section’s series of demonstration plots on the course of the Interlachen 
Country Club. The planting was done by the local greenkeepers’ association

In the two plots below the fertilizer series there is a test of the 
effect of arsenate of lead in the soil on German mixed bent. Both of 
these plots are seeded with the same amount of seed from the same 
bag. Everything else is equal, with the exception that the soil on one 
of the two plots was treated with arsenate of lead at the rate of 5 
pounds to 1,000 square feet. These two plots will serve to indicate 
the value of arsenate of lead in controlling earthworms, weeds, and 
grubs under local soil conditions.

In three plots there is to be a test of the influence of cutting put­
ting greens at different heights. One of these plots is of mixed bent 
seed, another is planted with creeping bent stolons, and another with 
fescue. One-half of each plot will be cut with the mower set low and 
the other half of each will be cut with the mower set high for putting 
greens. It is hoped that this series will throw some light on the ques­
tion of the most desirable height for cutting these three different 
types of putting green turf.

The remaining 20 plots are to be devoted to fairway experiments. 
Five plots are used for different grasses or mixtures commonly used 
for fairway turf. Ten plots, planted with a mixture of Kentucky 

December, 1928

243

bluegrass and redtop, are used for testing fertilizers. Three of these 
10 will be used as check plots without any fertilizer, and the others 
will receive periodic applications of different fertilizers in a manner 
similar to that outlined above in the fertilizer series on putting greens. 
Two plots will be used for testing the effect of arsenate of lead on 
fairways in a manner similar to the test on putting greens. For this 
test a mixture of Kentucky bluegrass and redtop is used. Three plots 
are devoted to tests of the most desirable height for cutting fairway 
turf. Three different mixtures are used, including Kentucky blue­
grass, redtop, German mixed bent, and fescue.

Finishing the planting of the demonstration plots on the course of the Country Club of Virginia, 
at Richmond

In most cases it has been possible to obtain seed from the same 
source to provide for planting all of these different series. There­
fore, if the fescue, for instance, fails in one locality and thrives in 
another, it will indicate that the difference was due to local conditions 
rather than seed differences, since both were planted from the same 
bag of seed.

In most cases the demonstration will be placed under the direct 
care of a practical greenkeeper and the work on the plots will be done 
by the regular golf course staff. This will probably serve to remove 
some of the “mystery” in which individuals try to enshroud some of 
the experimental work done by the Green Section or experiment 
stations.

Hazards should be visible. They should not be so severe as to 
discourage bold play. In general, they should not penalize to the 
extent of more than one stroke.

“A tee is almost as important as a green. If the tees on a course 
are kept in good shape one may be sure to find the greens well cared 
for; they are unfailing barometers, as it were.”—Walter J. Travis.

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Vol. 8, No. 12

The Arlington Turf Garden
By John Monteith, Jr.

The events leading up to the establishment of the Arlington Turf 
Garden were recounted by the late Howard F. Whitney, formerly 
president of the United States Golf Association, in an address of his 
delivered at a meeting of the Green Section in Washington, July 21, 
1921. Mr. Whitney said:

“It appears from authentic records that Dr. W. S. Harban was the 
first golfer who went to the United States Department of Agriculture 
for technical assistance in regard to green turf problems. This was 
in 1906, when he first met Messrs. Piper and Oakley. Two years 
later, when Mr. Charles B. MacDonald was building the National 
Links near Southampton, Long Island, he encountered such serious 
problems in attempting to grow satisfactory turf on the old sand 
dunes that he applied to the Department of Agriculture for help,

Arlington turf garden as viewed from the air. Photographed in August, 1927

The central portion. 224 by 128 feet, is used for experiments with grasses kept at putting green 
length. At the right of this area are nursery rows of some of the most important strains of creep­
ing bent, which are propagated for distribution of material to member clubs of the Green Section.

At the upper right are rod rows of various selections of grasses.
The area at the upper left is now used for lawn experiments.

which was of course accorded. In studying the difficult turf prob­
lems at the National Links, the Department scientists came to the 
realization that the existing knowledge on the subject was very far 
from adequate and that extensive experimental investigations were 
necessary. Unfortunately, no funds were available for the purpose; 
but in cooperation with many golf clubs a considerable amount of 
investigation was undertaken by the Department men. Much of the 
information thus garnered formed the basis for a long series of 
articles in the golf journals by Messrs. Piper and Oakley. The first 
appeared in January, 1913. These articles were immensely helpful, 
but in the meantime the needs of the golf clubs for information and 
advice were increased enormously. In the spring of 1915 the Execu­

December, 1928 

245

tive Committee of the United States Golf Association waited on the 
then Secretary of Agriculture, Hon. David F. Houston, and requested 
additional help in solving the problems of greenkeeping. The com­
mittee pointed out that about $10,000,000 a year was being spent on 
the establishment and maintenance of turf by golf clubs, and it was 
believed that through ignorance half of the money was wasted. As a 
result of the appeal, the turf experiments were begun at Arlington, 
in the spring of 1916, the results of which having already been of the 
highest value.”

The Arlington Turf Garden is located on the Arlington Experi­
ment Farm, which is operated by the Bureau of Plant Industry, 
United States Department of Agriculture. This farm is located near 
Washington between the Arlington National Cemetery and the Po­
tomac River. A large part of the funds for the turf garden work is 
contributed by the United States Golf Association Green Section. In 
recent years the Arlington turf work has been growing, and there is 
now an area of nearly 30,000 square feet kept cut at putting green 
height. The soil is of a clay type, which is unfavorable for turf pro­
duction, and therefore is typical of the soil found on a great many 
courses in the East, where difficulty is experienced in producing and 
maintaining good turf.

The garden is divided into small plots 8 feet by 8 feet, giving the 
whole area a checkerboard-like appearance. In each of these plots 
different grasses and chemicals are tested. Most of the early work 
with stolon plantings of creeping bent was done at this garden, and 
there still is a large section devoted to various strains of both the 
creeping and velvet bent planted by the vegetative method. In addi­
tion to these tests there are plots of various grasses obtained from 
seed from different sources. About one-fourth of the turf garden 
is used for experiments with various fertilizers, particularly on bent 
grasses. These plots are used for observations as to the effect of the 
fertilizers on fine turf as well as their influence on common weeds of 
putting greens. Most of the Green Section experimental work on 
diseases has been conducted at the Arlington Turf Garden and a large 
area is still used for this purpose.

One section of the garden serves as a demonstration of different 
grasses used on putting greens. This area is not used for any experi­
mental work but is maintained as nearly as possible like putting 
greens on golf courses. It receives top-dressing, fertilizers, disease 
remedies, and other treatments, as needed, to keep the turf in as 
good condition as possible throughout the season. On these plots it 
is possible for a golfer to compare the putting qualities of different 
grasses as well as the different strains of bent planted vegetatively.

In addition to the turf section there is a nursery section main­
tained by the Department of Agriculture in which various grasses 
are grown in rod rows. These offer an interesting comparison of the 
many grasses used on golf courses as well as in agricultural work. In 
one section of the nursery there are rows of several strains of bent 
maintained for distribution. Stolons from these rows have been sent 
out for several years to golf clubs, experiment stations, or individuals 
located throughout the United States and many foreign countries.

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Vol. 8, No. 12

Turf Studies at the Florida Experiment Station

By Charles R. Enlow

The inauguration of experimental work with turf grasses at the 
Florida Experiment Station, at Gainesville, elates back to 1922, when 
a series of lawn plots were set out. This particular work has grown, 
until we now have 15 plots being maintained under lawn conditions. 
Our turf plots at present cover about 1/2 acre of land, but in addition 
we have 18 or 20 acres of land devoted to pasture experiments and 
from which we expect to obtain valuable fairway information. A 
contribution of $900 a year toward the expense of the work is made 
by the United States Golf Association, additional funds being con­
tributed, as needed, by the Florida Experiment Station. Our prevail­
ing soil at Gainesville is Norfolk sand. In places we have stripped 
this to a depth of four inches and have substituted other kinds of soil. 
Our experimental work has consisted chiefly of testing a wide variety 
of grasses and many different fertilizers, also the seeding of winter 
grasses on permanent turf and alone. Approximately *Ui. of the area 
in plots is cut with the putting green mower and the remainder with 
the lawn mower, the areas in pasture grasses being kept down with a 
horse-drawn mowing machine. A weed-control experiment is being 
conducted on the 15 lawn plots, consisting of a comparison of the 
effects of sulphate of ammonia and nitrate of soda, the former being 
applied at the rate of 1,000 pounds per acre per year, and the latter 
at 1,290 pounds. The applications are made once a month, and are 
equivalent to about 2 pounds of sulphate of ammonia and 2^4 pounds 
of nitrate of soda per 1,000 square feet at each application. On No­
vember 2, 1928, these lawn plots were planted with mixtures of winter 
grasses, consisting chiefly of Italian rye grass.

In April, 1925, our first fine turf plots were started. These con­
sist of 5 plots, 10 by 25 feet in size, one-half of each plot being Norfolk 
sand and one-half Gainesville clay loam. They are planted with 
Atlanta Bermuda grass, Arizona Bermuda, grass, St. Lucie grass, 
blue couch grass, and Manila grass, and are kept in putting green con­
dition.

In February, 1926, 22 plots were set out for testing rates of appli­
cation of sulphate of ammonia. These plots are 5 by 22 feet in size 
and are kept in putting green condition. There are 10 plots of At­
lanta Bermuda grass, 7 of blue couch grass, and 5 of Manila grass. 
Two plots of blue couch grass and 2 of Atlanta Bermuda grass are 
left unfertilized as check plots.

A solid block of Bermuda grass was seeded in March, 1928, for test­
ing different fertilizers. It is kept in putting green condition. A 
portion is divided into 18 plots for a source of nitrogen test, the fol­
lowing fertilizers being used: urea, cyanamid, calurea, nitrate of cal­
cium, leuna saltpeter, sulphate of ammonia, nitrate of soda, phosphate 
of ammonia, dried blood, tankage, cottonseed meal, castor bean meal, 
poultry manure, and tung oil meal. Four of the plots are left unfer­
tilized as check plots. A comparison of six special commercial fer­
tilizers sold under trade names is also being made on this block of 
Bermuda grass, the applications being made four times a year. An 
inorganic equivalent of each of these special fertilizers is used on 
other plots, and on still others another equivalent of each is used in 
which one-half of the nitrogen is inorganic and the other half organic.

December, 1928

247

We also have a demonstration putting green, 25 by 36 feet in size, 
which was set out with Atlanta Bermuda grass on August 15, 1928. 
This is on Gainesville clay loam, and is fertilized as needed.

Our winter turf seedings for the current winter were made No­
vember 1, 1928. Four of our Atlanta Bermuda lawn plots were 
seeded respectively with Italian rye grass, Kentucky bluegrass, red- 
top, and bulbous bluegrass, leaving a small area of each plot unseeded 
as a check. Our solid block of Bermuda turf was seeded over its entire 
area with Italian rye grass. Our demonstration putting green has

Bird’s-eye view of the experimental plots at Gainesville, Fla. Photograph taken 
December 6, 1928, from a water tower
The long strip near the center of the picture is the solid block of Bermuda grass which was seeded 
with Italian rye grass November 1. Next beyond this is seen a tier of 30 fine turf plots. The first 
8 plots in the right of this tier are the winter grasses seeded alone. The bare plot fifth from the 
right is bulbous bluegrass carried over the summer but which failed to come up. Near the center 
of this tier are seen three dark plots; these received the heavy applications of sulphate of ammonia. 
The next tier consists of lawn plots, and just beyond this is another tier of fine turf plots, at the 
extreme left of which is the demonstration putting green
been divided into quarters and seeded to mixtures of redtop, Kentucky 
bluegrass, and Italian rye grass in different proportions. In addition 
to these seedings of winter grasses on permanent turf, we seeded 8 
plots alone, consisting of redtop, Italian rye grass, perennial rye 
grass, Oregon rye grass, bulbous bluegrass, Kentucky bluegrass, 
annual bluegrass (Poa annua), and a seaside bent. Each of these 
plots receives two different fertilizers. In the fall of 1927 we also 
planted considerable bulbous bluegrass in order to ascertain the possi­
bility of its becoming a permanent winter grass for both putting 
greens and fairways.

Miscellaneous experiments in weed control have been conducted 
with a mixture of sulphate of iron and sulphate of ammonia, in the 
eradication of nut grass and other pest grasses with chlorate of soda, 
and in the control of a small black billbug (Calandra inaequalis). 
Also some work is being done with various strains of centipede grass 
as possibilities for lawns and fairways.

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Vol. 8, No. 12

Turf Experiments at the Massachusetts Agricultural College

By Lawrence S. Dickinson

Six definite and separate lawn and golf turf projects, together 
with a number of minor projects, are being conducted at the present 
time by the Massachusetts Agricultural College, at Amherst. For 
many years the station has conducted hay and pasture experiments 
which have furnished much information valuable on the growing of 
the finer turf grasses, but it was not until 1923 that the present proj­
ects were started. Perhaps it would be more correct to call this 
work “demonstrations” rather than “experimental projects,” as it is 
being conducted under actual growing conditions and not under com­
pletely controlled environment. The information being furnished by 
the projects is easily understood by the layman; and because of the 
“practical atmosphere” confidence is placed in the results.

Project 1 consists of 24 plots one rod square laid out on one of 
the campus lawns in 1923. The object was to demonstrate the 
changes of vegetation as brought about by the continued use of vari­
ous fertilizers and fertilizer combinations. Each plot is top-dressed 
twice annually (mid-April and mid-June) with its designated fer­
tilizer. These plots are maintained as an ordinary lawn as to cutting 
and other general care. Very noticeable changes in vegetation have 
taken place during the five years, and surprising results as to the acid 
toleration of certain grasses and clover have been noted.

Project 2, started in 1926, is a combination of grass and fertilizer 
experiments. Twenty plots of different grasses are crossed with 6 
fertilizer strips. Fertilizer series 1 received its nitrogen from sul­
phate of ammonia. Series 2 has an equal amount of sulphate of am­
monia, as 1, but in addition acid phosphate. Series 3 is the same as 
2, with muriate of potash added. Series 4 differs from series 1 in that 
the source of nitrogen is nitrate of soda and cottonseed meal instead 
of sulphate of ammonia. Series 5 and 6 are as series 4, with the addi­
tion of acid phosphate and muriate of potash respectively. Thus we 
have acid and alkaline reacting nitrogen, nitrogen plus acid phos­
phate, and nitrogen plus acid phosphate and muriate of potash, acting 
on 20 different grasses. These plots are developing a very mottled 
appearance, and much information as to the particular food require­
ments of the various grasses is being obtained.

Project 3 consists of 18 plots started in 1927, and 18 more in 1928. 
With the aid of recording instruments data are being obtained as to 
the possibility of accurately forecasting an attack of brown-patch, 
the susceptibility of various grasses to the disease, and the effect 
of the various controlling methods on the grasses.

Project 4 consists of 9 plots devoted to shade-enduring grasses 
and mixtures. These plots are growing under typical shade condi­
tions and will be fertilized alike with a complete fertilizer.

Project 5 is a large turf nursery in which new strains are de­

veloped and propagated and seed tested under growing conditions.

Project 6 comprises 59 plots planted in 1928 in cooperation with 
the United States Golf Association Green Section. This series of 
plots is one of the number of such areas planted throughout the 
United States. That it will give valuable results is needless to say, 
and that the data assembled from all such plots will be very compre­
hensive is most certain.

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249

The area devoted to turf garden is about 114 acres. The soil for 
project 1 is gravelly loam over gravel; projects 2 and 3, light clay 
loam over hardpan; project 5, deep, light, sandy loam over yellow 
sand; project 6, clay loam over clay and hardpan.

These plots are valuable adjuncts to the teaching of turf culture 

and are visited by many persons during the summer months.

Experiments with Turf Grasses in Kansas

By J. W. Zahnley

In the summer of 1924, the United States Golf Association Green 
Section, through its chairman, Dr. Charles V. Piper, prepared plans 
for a series of experiments with turf grasses in cooperation with the 
department of agronomy of the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Sta­
tion. The first plantings were made in the fall of that year. Since 
this beginning, the work has expanded and, under the direction of 
Dr. R. A. Oakley and Mr. H. L. Westover, has become an interesting 
and valuable experimental project. These experiments are financed 
cooperatively by the United States Golf Association Green Section 
and the State of Kansas. The Green Section contributes $250 annu­
ally toward the support of the work. The State sets aside $150 and in 
addition furnishes land, water for irrigation, horse labor, and com­
post material, and designates a member of the experiment station 
staff to direct the work. Hand labor, special equipment, and supplies 
are paid for from this $400.

Turf Rarden at the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station

The Kansas turf garden is located on the campus of the Kansas 
State Agricultural College, at Manhattan. The soil is a loam of the 
Wabash series, second bottom, nearly level, very fertile, and with fair 
drainage. The area is nearly surrounded by timber and subject to 
heavy dews which frequently remain on the grass until nearly noon 
except in very dry weather. Perhaps it is due to this location that con­
siderable trouble is experienced every year with brown-patch disease.

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Vol. 8, No. 12

The Kansas experiment comprises 86 plots each 10 feet square 
arranged in a solid block 100 feet square. In addition to the turf 
plots, several nursery rows are maintained for identification purposes 
and to supply planting material. On these plots 18 varieties and 
strains of grass are being tested, consisting of Kentucky bluegrass, 
redtop, buffalo grass, and 15 strains of bent. The Kentucky blue­
grass and 1 series of 8 plots, making an area 10 feet wide and 80 feet 
long comprising 8 strains of bent, are cut at lawn or fairway height. 
This is done to determine the adaptability of the bents for lawns in 
this locality. The Kentucky bluegrass must all be cut high, because 
it is quickly destroyed by close mowing in this section. The remain­
ing 63 plots are kept cut close with a putting green mower. Forty- 
two plots are devoted to tests of fertilizers. These consist of dupli­
cate series of 7 plots each of bluegrass, German mixed bent, and 
Washington creeping bent. Each fertilizer treatment is applied cross­
wise of the series in strips 10 feet wide, so that duplicate plots of blue­
grass, mixed bent, and Washington creeping bent receive the same 
treatment. The remaining 21 plots of the 63 that are cut with the 
putting green mower receive compost and sulphate of ammonia.

The strains thus treated consist of the following: Washington, 
Metropolitan, Columbia, Virginia, Arlington, Vermont, Acme velvet, 
seaside, Cocoos, Astoria, Narragansett, Rhode Island mixed bent, and 
redtop. Buffalo grass was originally included in this list, but owing to 
its failure to respond favorably to fertilizer and compost treatments 
attempts to make a putting turf of Buffalo grass have been abandoned. 
It may, however, be of interest to state that, under conditions of 
drouth as exist in central and western Kansas, Buffalo grass is wrell 
suited to fairways. It forms a firm sod, is extremely resistent to 
drouth, and is not injured by frequent mowing.

For the past two seasons experiments have been in progress to 
find a way to exterminate white clover from the turf garden by means 
of chemical sprays. Various chemicals recognized as herbicides and 
used in weed eradication have been tried. The results have been 
sufficiently promising to warrant a continuation of the work.

Very few projects at the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station 
have attracted wider attention and interest than the turf grass experi­
ments. The grass garden attracts many visitors and frequent in­
quiries are received through the mail regarding the bent grasses for 
lawns and putting greens. It is the unanimous opinion of those asso­
ciated with the work at this station that it is fulfilling its purpose 
by supplying much needed and valuable information regarding turf 
grasses for this section of the country.

Turf Studies at the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa 

By G. P. McRostie

Our special experimental work with turf grasses was begun in the 
spring of 1924 by request of the Royal Canadian Golf Association, 
although previous to that time we had maintained a collection of bent 
grasses in the forage plant division of our regular work. There is 
now an area of about 1% acres devoted to this special turf work. So 
far the expense of the work has been taken care of solely with Federal 
funds, but cooperative work with golf clubs is now being inaugurated.

December, 1928

251

Centers for the multiplication and distribution of the most desirable 
strains of the bent grasses are also being established. In 1928 we 
distributed about 20 tons of stolons from the increase plots at the Cen­
tral Experimental Farm at Ottawa.

Our soil is a sandy clay loam. The work now in progress includes 
experiments with different fertilizers, comparative tests of strains of 
creeping bent and velvet bent, comparative tests of seedsmen’s mix­
tures and bent grass seed, and tests of various worm exterminators. 
As yet no experiments in disease control have been started, nor in 
heights of cutting. We keep about j/j acre cut at putting green height 
and 14 acre at lawn or fairway height.

Turf Experiments at the New Jersey State Station

By Howard B. Sprague

The first definite experimental work on golf turf at the State Agri­
cultural Experiment Station, New Brunswick, wTas started in August, 
1925, with the assistance of the late Dr. C. V. Piper. At that time 
an area of about 10,000 square feet was planted to stolons of Virginia 
bent grass and 1,000 square feet to stolons of Metropolitan bent grass. 
In the early summer of 1926, the area in Virginia bent w’as laid off 
in plots 10 by 10 feet in size.

Tw’elve types, of fertilization wTere selected for study, and each of 
these was used separately on 8 different plots, thus making 8 series 
of plots with each series containing all 12 of the treatments. The 
treatments are as follow’s: No fertilizer, sulphate of ammonia, nitrate 
of soda, Ammo-phos, complete fertilizer, alfalfa meal, bone meal, 
nitrate of ammonia with sulphur at 2 rates (to make the soil acid), 
and nitrate of ammonia with lime at 2 rates (to make the soil alka­
line). The fertilizer w’as first applied in the summer of 1926, and 
has since been added at equal rates of nitrogen per plot per season. 
These plots yield data as to the relative value of these various nitrog­
enous fertilizers.

The first 3 of the 8 series of plots noted above are being used to 
test the effect of different proportions of sand in the top-dressing. 
Series 4 receives 15 pounds of arsenate of lead per 1,000 square feet 
during the season, the material being applied in the top-dressing. 
Series 5 is used for observations on diseases. Series 6, 7, and 8 have 
been set aside to test the long-time effect of the fertilizers used on 
soil acidity, abundance of w’eeds, abundance of clover, annual blue­
grass, number of w’ormcasts, and the vigor and color of the grass.

In addition to the fertilizers listed above, such materials as sew’age 
sludge, Nitrophoska, castor-bean pomace, and sulphate of ammonia in 
varying amounts are being tested on single plots.

The area in Metropolitan bent is being used to compare urea and 
cottonseed meal with sulphate of ammonia. All of the fertilizer plots 
on both Virginia and Metropolitan bent receive top-dressings made 
up of 2/3 topsoil and 1 3 sand. No organic matter is added, since 
this wmuld tend to mask the effect of the fertilizers.

An additional area of Virginia bent is being used to compare the 
relative values of mushroom soil, barnyard manure, peat-humus, sewT- 
age sludge, and peat-moss manure as compost materials.

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Vol. 8, No. 12

A group of 14 species and strains of grasses are being grown in 
plots 20 by 20 feet to observe the value of each in this climate. One- 
half of each plot is cut at putting green length and the other half at 
fairway length.

Experimental plots at the New Jersey State Station. Photograph taken in June 
1928
The 14 plots at the right of the telephone pole contain the experiment in height of cutting, each 
plot having a different kind of grass. At the left of the pole are plots of Virginia and Metropolitan 
bent kept at putting green height. These contain miscellaneous experiments, including comparison 
of fertilization treatments, use of different proportions of sand and soil in top-dressing, comparison 
of various compost materials, and the value of arsenate of lead. The plots are 10 by 10 feet in size

A nursery of turf grass selections is maintained which contains 
a number of strains of bent grass obtained from golf courses, lawns, 
parks, and pastures throughout the state. Some of these are promis­
ing enough to warrant trial under putting green conditions.

The United States Golf Association Green Section is now con­
tributing $600 a year for conducting these experiments; the balance 
of the cost is borne by the State Agricultural Experiment Station.

Our soil is a heavy silt loam grading into a clay loam at about 2 

feet. It is a little below the average in fertility, but is well drained.

A New Experiment Station In Chicago

In September, 1928, a new experimental turf garden was started 
just north of Chicago. This garden will be under the direction of 
the United States Golf Association Green Section. It is located near 
Everett, Ill., on the Mill Road Farm Golf Course, the private course 
of Mr. A. D. Lasker.

December, 1928

253

About 20,000 square feet have been planted so far and the area 
will probably be increased early next season. It is divided into two 
distinct areas, one portion of which is devoted to experimental work 
and the other to demonstration plots. The experimental section is cut 
up into plots 8 by 8 feet, similar to the Arlington Turf Garden plots. 
Certain sections will be devoted to testing various fertilizers on both 
putting green and fairway turf. Other sections will be devoted to 
weed control experiments, various grass strains or grass mixtures, 
diseases, and similar problems. The demonstration portion has been

Planting the new experimental turf garden. Mill Road Farm Golf Course, Everett. III., 
September, 1928

planted in 12 plots 24 by 24 feet, using different putting green 
grasses. These plots will be maintained in good putting green con­
dition and will enable visitors to compare the quality of the different 
grasses maintained under identical conditions. Most of the common 
putting green grasses, both seeded and stolon, have been planted sepa­
rately in plots 8 feet square, where they can be kept in the best pos­
sible putting green condition for direct comparison with the larger 
demonstration plots. Nursery rows of the important golf course 
grasses will probably be available for comparison by early summer.

Turf Experiments at Nebraska College of Agriculture
By Fred V. Grau

In the latter part of September, 1925, Nebraska’s first experi­
mental turf garden was started in the Plant Museum of the Univer­
sity of Nebraska College of Agriculture, at Lincoln. This was made 
possible through the efforts of Dr. C. V. Piper, who at that time was 
senior agronomist in charge of forage crop investigations of the 
United States Department of Agriculture, and the cooperation of 
Profs. W. W. Burr and F. D. Keim, of the Nebraska station, who com­
pleted the arrangements. The shipment of stolons and seed was made 
from the Arlington nurseries at Washington, and the stolons were 
planted about the first of September. A good growth was made dur­
ing the fall. All the grasses except the Acme velvet bent came 

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Vol. 8, No. 12

through the winter in good shape. The expenses of operating the 
turf garden are defrayed by funds furnished by the United States 
Golf Association Green Section and the Nebraska College of Agricul­
ture. The field work is carried on by an assistant, usually a student, 
who is interested in this type of work. Dr. Keim, of the department 
of agronomy, personally supervises all operations.

The turf gardens lie on a deep layer of Waukesha silt loam. This 
is an old alluvial soil and is well adapted for bent grasses. The fer­
tility and texture of the surface six inches are well fitted for mixing 
it with sand and manure for composting. The ratio of the compost 
used is 2-2-1, sand, soil, and manure respectively. Sharp, clean,, 
plaster sand has been used with good success.

The turf work at the Nebraska station is conducted on an area 
of approximately 10,000 square feet. Of this area there are 80 plots 
10 feet square which are devoted to clipping, fertilizing, and disease­
control experiments. The nursery stock covers 1,000 square feet. 
The remainder is occupied with newly seeded plots of new and promis­
ing strains of bent.

All fertilizers, with the exception of the lime, are applied three 
times during the season. Lime is applied in the spring only. Com­
post is the vehicle used to spread the fertilizers, thus accomplishing 
two jobs with one operation.

Comparative growth is measured by standardized clipping and 
weighing of the clippings each time. Weed growth is determined by 
digging the weeds and then drying and weighing them.

Turf Experiments at Rhode Island Experiment Station

By E. S. Garner

The Agricultural Experiment Station of the Rhode Island State 
College, at Kingston, commenced in 1905 a series of experiments with 
lawn grasses. The object, as then stated, was “to test the influence 
of different fertilizers upon the permanence of white clover and cer­
tain grasses and to compare the adaptability of different grasses and 
mixtures for lawns, golf-links and polo grounds.”

Thirty-five plots, occupying an area of about % acre, were laid out 
on a piece of fairly level ground. The topsoil of this land is mellow 
and friable, but is underlain by a plastic yellow silt loam which pre­
vents excessive leaching. These plots have been mowed at ordinary 
lawn or fairway height. They have provided data for two station 
bulletins, and a third is about to be published.

In May, 1928, two new projects were approved. About l’/i. acres 
of new ground were taken. The soil is of the same type as that of 
the old lawn plots and has a degree of acidity of about 4.5 on the Ph 
scale. This land was divided into three sections, known as A, B, 
and C.

The first of the new projects is a study of the seed production of 
the bent grasses. The object in view is to determine the suitability 
of the bent grasses for seed production in Rhode Island. As very 
little is known concerning the factors influencing seed production, 
data will be obtained as to the quantity of seed produced from differ­
ent species, varieties, and strains of bent. The uniformity and tex­

December, 1928

255

ture of the turf produced from the seed will be taken into considera­
tion. Sections A and B will be devoted to this project. Section A 
has been planted with seed, or stolons, obtained from different 
sources. All of the strains used belong to one or other of the three 
species Agrostis stolonifera, A. tenuis, and A. canina.

These plots are maintained under putting-green conditions and 
provide a testing ground where the individual strains can be ob­
served. Those which prove inferior are scrapped, the best strains 
being used for seed production. Next to each planted plot on section 
A there is an unplanted plot. The former will serve as a basis of 
comparison for each adjoining plot, as it is desired to see whether 
the vegetative characteristics of the pedigreed strains are transmitted 
through the seed. In order that this may be done plants from the 
plots are being grown in the greenhouse, enclosed so as to exclude 
the possibility of cross-pollination. Seed from these will be collected 
and the vegetative increase from the plants so obtained will be grown 
on one-half of each of the reserved plots and compared with them.

Section B is devoted to seed production and was planted with 12 
varieties and strains of the above-named species. Some of these plots 
were planted with stolons and some with seed. Where seed was used 
it was taken from the same bags as contained the seed planted on 
section A. There are 4 plots of each kind, arranged so as to mini­
mize such variations as might result from inequality of the environ­
mental conditions. A record will be kept of the weight and percentage 
of germination of the seed produced by each tested variety. This 
seed will be used for planting the other half of the reserved plots on 
section A. It will then be possible to see to what extent cross-polli­
nation has affected the characteristics of the strains, under field con­
ditions where every facility has been afforded for this to occur.

The second new project is a study of the response of acid-tolerant 
grasses to fertilizer nutrients. The purpose of this experiment is to 
determine the minimum nutrient needs of the bent grasses for maxi­
mum hay and seed production, having regard to the law of diminish­
ing returns.

Thirty-six plots have been laid out on section C, and 4 plots, 1 
in each quarter section of the field, are receiving the same fertilizer 
treatment. Rhode Island bent was selected for this experiment, as 
being a well-defined and representative species within the acid-toler­
ant group of grasses.

It is thought that nitrogen is usually the limiting factor in the 
nutrient requirements of grasses, and the fertilizer rations have been 
arranged on that assumption. This station has found that certain 
cereals which are sensitive to active aluminum require three times 
as much phosphoric acid for normal growth in the local acid soils as 
in solution cultures. This is probably because the high aluminum con­
tent of these soils is counteracted by heavy applications of phosphoric 
acid. But since the bent grasses are not sensitive to acid-soil con­
ditions, it is probable that they are also tolerant of aluminum, in 
which case they would not require nearly so much phosphoric acid 
for normal growth as the cereals. This belief was also kept in mind 
at the time when the fertilizer treatments were formulated.

Next year these plots will be allowed to grow up and to produce 
seed. Tables will be made to show the results of the different fertil­
izer treatments in the yield of hay and seed, per pound of fertilizer.

AS WE FIND THEM

This is the season when the budget makers assemble to chart the financial 

seas.

One committee of the shekels is determined to have the most elaborate and 
expensive equipment in existence. “Machinery saves labor,” it argues, “so let’s 
cut down on all wages to help pay for the machines.”

Other committees have learned that complicated machinery calls for 
some intelligent and well-paid help on the staff. Cheap, careless help 
around elaborate machinery makes the proverbial bull in the china shop 
look like a sick calf. A Rolls Royce requires something more than a Ford 
chauffeur.

Other guardians of the golden hoard have decided to make a big allotment 
for expensive chemicals to prevent all the pests of turf even though they recog­
nize they have no one on their staff who knows howr to use chemicals.

In time they may learn, as other committees have learned, that the 
worst pest of turf is cheap help with an unlimited supply of high-powered 
chemicals. Compared with that kind of a pest, brown-patch, grubs, and 
the like look like blessings. When, the “baby cries for Castoria” some 
committees apparently would put the kid in a barrel of it.

Another committee has decided on a new club house although the course is 

admittedly in miserable condition.

It is argued that when members become thoroughly disgusted with 
the turf around the course and get all “het up” about the management it 
is well to have a luxurious and comfortable building where they may 
retire and vent their wrath. Most of the golf in some clubs is played in 
the club house anyway.