The Higher men climb, the longer their
working day. Any young man with a streak
of laziness in him may better make up his
mind at the beginning that mediocrity will be
his lot. Without immense, sustained effort, he
will not climb high. And even though fortune
or chance were to lift him high, he would not
stay there. For to keep at the top is harder almost than to get there.
There are no office
hours for leaders.
—Cardinal Gibbons.

OCTOBER

This N E W S L E T T E R is published
monthly by the Greenkeepers Club of
New England, and sent f r e e to its members and their Green's Chairmen. Subscription price ten cents a copy, or a
dollar a year.
GUY C. W E S T

Editor

Rhode Island Country
Club
W e s t B a r r i n g t o n , R . I.

GEORGE J. ROMMELL, JR.
Business Mgr.
2S G r a n v i l l e

October, 1938

St., D o r c h e s t e r ,

Mass.

Vol. 10, No. 10

The ideas and opinions expressed in
the subject
matter
of this
NEWSLETTER
are not necessarily those of
the Editor or the members of the, club
as a whole.

MORE STORM NEWS
Since the last issue, we have heard
news concerning storm damage at many
New England clubs.
Practically all
courses near rivers or the shore suffered
f r o m flood waters, with the ones near
to salt water suffering most f r o m a salt
deposit. From news we have received,
we can list the following damage:
Kittansett, much damage f r o m salt
water, buildings, trees down,
and
debris.
Newport, several holes covered by
the salt water, rocks f r o m the Ocean
Drive, which was washed away, debris
and tree damage.
Metacomet, three holes covered by
the salt water, also a layer of oil f r o m
a tank car which was cast up on the
course. Also tree damage.
Agawam and Wannamoisett, mostly
tree damage with some minor damage
due to holes made by fallen trees.
Fall River, one green and parts of
three fairways flooded.
Winnepaug Hills, three holes covered
with salt water and much debris including whole cottages and much lumber.
Misquamicut damage was less due to
fresh water pond lessening the salt
strength of waters which covered the
lower holes, according to a report.

Montaup, damage extensive f r o m salt
water which covered most of the course.
All courses contacted report extensive tree damage.
A letter f r o m Franklin Hammond is
typical of damage suffered:
"At Tyngsboro we also had flood and
wind. Two greens and fairways under
water and sand. Just a mess to pump
out and clear off. The wind hit us hard,
between two and three thousand trees
down in our outing grove. Two thousand f e e t of private electric line completely wiped out. Our new recreation
building, just completed, was buried
under the trees but thanks to its rugged
construction, no harm came to it. Not
even a light of glass broken.
"Cleaning up the grove and grounds
looks to be more than a Winter's job
f o r the whole crew. Two of the holes
must be re-designed because of the
damage to the tree borders of the fairways.
"Vesper was hard hit, both wind and
water, and Nashua had considerable
flood damage."
We would like your story f o r the
N E W S L E T T E R . Let us know how you
are solving your flood problems.

HURRICANE OVER NEW ENGLAND
T. E. Ödland
Rhode Island State College
Hurricanes are usually thought of as
more or less f r e q u e n t disastrous visitors to tropical regions with some occasionally reaching our own coast a t
Florida. That one should even approach
the quiet, peaceful country sides of
New England seemed too fantastic to
even dream about. A f t e r our dreadful
experience on the afternoon and evening of September 21, 1938 we know
that we are not in a restricted area
when Mother Nature is on a rampage.
The hurricane t h a t struck New England with such disastrous effect apparently started out in the usual way
f r o m somewhere in the South Atlantic
and headed over the customary route
towards Florida. For some reason it
verred off before reaching there and
went northward towards Long Island.
It apparently was travelling along a t

the r a t e of about 60 to 70 miles an
hour. I t was thought that it would lose
its momentum long before reaching that
f a r north. However, what was l e f t of it
would, it was thought, pass to the northeast of land and so have no effect on the
New England coast. It had reached
Long Island before it was realized t h a t
its course would take it over this region.
Warning signals were then r u n up at
Coast Guard Stations and radio flashes
broadcast. We are not used to such
warnings here so probably very little
attention was paid either to the signals
by those t h a t saw them or by those who
may have heard the radio warnings.
The center of the storm apparently
travelled northward somewhere in the
vicinity of the Connecticut River about
60 miles west of here (Kingston, R. I.)
It continued up into Vermont and New
Hampshire.
The greatest loss of life occurred in
Rhode Island not because the storm was
the most severe here but because of the
low lying coastline over which the tidal
waves washed. The wind velocity in
the hurricane itself reached more than
a hundred miles an hour in this locality.
This force raised tremendous waves
which swept the beaches clear of all
summer cottages and other buildings
t h a t were not on high ground or a considerable distance away f r o m the water.
I t was f o r t u n a t e that the summer season had closed and there were relatively f e w summer residents left. A month
earlier the casualty list would have
gone into the thousands instead of
hundreds as now.
Along many miles of the South
Rhode Island shore there is a narrow
strip of land f r o m a quarter to half a
mile wide with f a i r sized ponds back of
this ranging f r o m a half to a mile in
width. Back of this is the mainland.
Cottages and small business establishments had been built all along this strip
of land along the ocean and Narragansett Bay f r o n t . In some places where
the land was higher and wider whole
villages had been built. In places this
strip was perhaps 25 or 30 f e e t above
normal high water and considered perfectly safe.
When the hurricane struck it was
just a matter of minutes until everything on these narrow strips of land
along the shore had been completely
washed away.
The buildings were
smashed and l e f t as a great mass of

debris on the land back of the ponds.
From 50 to several hundred f e e t of the
original strip of land became part of
the ocean beach. All of it was leveled
off so t h a t nowhere is it more than a
f e w feet above high water. There are
now beautiful, wide, clean beaches with
only now and then some large chunks
of concrete to show t h a t there had been
some f o r m of human activity there previously. It is difficult to find even approximately where some of the buildings had been.
In Providence, at the head of Narragansett Bay, the waves came in with
such force t h a t large boats and barges
were piled up in some of the main
streets. In some places the water was
10 or 12 f e e t deep in the business section. It seems a miracle t h a t more
lives were not lost here. The water
was 2 or 3 feet higher than it reached
in the last big gale which occurred in
1815.
In the parts of the State not directly
on the water f r o n t , t h e high wind also
did tremendous damage to buildings
and other property. In nearly every
village in southern New England, toppling trees fell on houses and across
roads. Power lines and telephone lines
were either broken down by falling
trees or went down by their own weight.
In Kingston perhaps 1-3 to 1-2 of all
the fine century old elms went down.
In spite of this there was little loss of
life excepting at the beaches where the
tidal waves swept everything before
them.
About a week of steady rain just bef o r e the storm struck had swollen the
rivers so that a flood was just arriving
in the Connecticut valley. This in itself
was nearly as bad in places as the one
2 years ago which broke all records.
Highway and railway bridges were
washed out and whole communities
were isolated as in 1936. This added to
highways blocked with fallen trees made
it almost impossible to get anywhere regardless of urgency. Even here in
Kingston, we were without any outside
communication f o r several days except
by a few main roads that were cleared
the next day. Our electric service was
partially restored through the main section of the village today—six days
a f t e r the storm.
Service crews f o r
power and telephone lines have been
brought in f r o m as f a r away as Ohio
and Indiana.
Many of these were
brought in by airplane.

The high wind which struck Kingston
shortly a f t e r 3 p. m. lasted f o r more
than three hours before it finally began to slacken. It was still of high
velocity at 9 o'clock but by t h a t time
it could be classed as an ordinary high
wind storm. The wind direction was
f r o m east to southeast throughout at
Kingston.
The extent of the storm area was almost as amazing as the severity of it. I t
became necessary f o r us to go to Northfield, Mass. on the second day a f t e r
the storm. This is a small village in
western Massachusetts near the Vermont line. The distance is about 135
miles f r o m Kingston.
We travelled
nearly 200 miles to get there on account of washed out bridges. It was
only through the kindness of various
local people along the route who guided
us through country roads, through pastures and over temporary trails t h a t we
got to our destination at all. It took
8 hours to make the distance and t h a t
was making unbelievable good time.
Trees and poles were down over the
highways all the way. They had been
cleared enough to let traffic through. It
was the washed out bridges t h a t caused
the necessary detours.
Northfield is a small village with fine
old trees much like Kingston. The extent of damage there was about in the
same proportion as here. Fortunately
we found that our daughter was not
among those who had been injured a t
the girl's seminary there. A radio flash
gotten through a car set had told about
an accident there. Two girls were
crushed to death by a falling chimney
and a number injured. We had no way
of finding out who were among those
injured excepting to go there.
An excellent spirit has been manifested among all agencies assisting with
the care of r e f u g e e s and restoration of
property. The State and Local Police,
National Guard, Coast Guard, American Legion, the Red Cross, and others
have labored tirelessly at the task.
Kingston and the State College are
gradually getting back to regular routine. Classes will resume on Thursday
morning a f t e r one week of recess. The
greatest loss to the college was a marine
laboratory on Narragansett Bay. There
is not even a splinter left to show where
it stood. Outside of that it was chiefly
campus trees and a f e w minor buildings that show the signs of the storm.

The college facilities have been used the
past week f o r helping to prepare board
f o r about 1500 r e f u g e e s and relief
workers.
A tree fell on our own house but
very little damage resulted excepting
f o r a broken cornice and rain gutter. We
had a lot at one of the beaches but fortunately no cottage on it. If it is where
I believe it is, about half of it remains.
The other half is beyond the present
high water mark and t h e r e f o r e is now
the property of Uncle Sam. It still is
a beautiful beach and no doubt the next
generation will build some more beautif u l cottages and bathing pavilions there.
It is a wonder how quickly even the
worst of catastrophies are forgotten. I
would not be surprised if I found myself spending my twilight years during
the summer months sitting on the porch
of a cottage built on what remains of
our lot gazing at the tranquil ocean and
wondering how it could ever have behaved as it did back in 1938 just before
the big war broke out.

NEW

JERSEY

NOTES

by Kent Bradley
Meeting

N . J. G. S.

A.

October 10, 1938
Yontakah Country Club, Nutley, N. J.
Twenty-three members and ten visitors were guests of John Cameron,
Superintendent of Yontakah. Cameron
is President of the N. J. G. C. S. A. A
Kickers' Tournament was held in the
afternoon. Speakers of the evening
w e r e : H. W. Bradley, President Trenton Country Club; M. A. Tome, Trenton Country Club; J. W. Cannon,
Chairman
Greens Committee,
Twin
Brooks Country Club; Harry Gray,
Hopewell Valley Country Club; G. C.
Turner, President Yontakah; F. Cunningham, Financial Secretary of Yontakah; Dr. M. E. Husted, Chairman of
Greens Committee, Yontakah.
D r . M . E. H u s t e d

Chairman Greens Committee
Yontakah Country Club
"Two of the Jersey City Water Company's mains 6 f t . in diameter cross the
golf property. We tapped f r o m these

J ^

ARE YOU S A T I S F I E D
WITH

YOUR
Here's

TURF?

REAL

help

for

you!

Woodruff knows New England soil—
has met all the problems it offers in
different localities.
Woodruff knows what grasses thrive
best
under
particular
conditions—
knows, also, the most satisfactory
methods of caring f o r them.
Woodruff continually experiments with
New England turf-raising problems—
both in the laboratory and on the Proving Grounds.
In a word—Woodruff knows New England. And all of this experience is yours
f o r the asking.
Let Woodruff's unparelleled acquaintance with local conditions help you grow better t u r f .
Write today.
Specify

r w o p c u x * .
¿monagAcus Mea

GRASS

SEED

DIVISION

fr-WOOttlBIFF

S E H I 2 3 *

THE 5ICN OF

6 inch lines. Bond issue of $20,000
was raised in 1934-35 to install an irrigation system and do some course revamping. Water systems cost $1-5,000
f o r 18 holes to tees, greens and fairways. The bonds were $100 each with
3 % interest. They are paid back by a
caddy tax with players paying 15 cents
a round.
In three years we have retired $9000 of the issue including 3 %
interest.
Our swimming pool bond
issue was raised in the same manner
and is being paid off by a tax on each
one entering the pool. We believe that
the improvements, irrigation system and
the swimming pool saved the club f r o m
closing:. The sprinkler system is especially valuable in a dry spring and
fall, and we are able to do seeding and
fertilizing with the best of success. It
is advisable to get a good irrigation
engineer a t the start. The system should
be basically right with sufficient pipe
sizes put in. We find little difference
between the leading makes of valves
and sprinkler, one is practically as good
as the other, and largely a matter of
personal choice."

&

SONS

T O L E D O . OHIO

GOOD

Dr.

SEEDS

Hamilton

" J a p a n Beetles were ten days late
this year due to the weather but are
still on the increase. They were affective over a longer period and are spread
out this year. Dichlor Ethyl Ether, a
solvent, shows possibilities f o r sod web
worm and chinch bug control. Apparently it stimulates t u r f , a t least,'the
roots to make this. The cost is around
18 cents a pound. One-fourth an ounce
solution per square foot is the dosage
we are trying."
It is with a g r e a t deal of pleasure
that we inform our readers t h a t Lester
E. Erwin of the Rhode Island State
College, well known to greenkeepers f o r
his studies with "Pink Patch", received
his doctor's degree in Plant Pathology
f r o m Iowa State 'College last July. It
is of special interest to us that his
thesis was on "Pink P a t c h " and covered
his work with this plant disease and
control measures f o r it.
"The ships may come in, but only to
those who have sent them out."

SUGGESTED TREATMENT OF PUTTING GREENS TO
HELP COUNTERACT INJURY CAUSED BY
SALT WATER FLOODING

Prepared by
J. À . D e F r a n c e — R .

i. S t a t e

College

October 8, 1938

1.

Remove debris, sand and silt by raking and sweeping.

2.

With a steel-tooth rake remove dead grass caused by salt water,
and loosen the t u r f . Use your judgment in loosening turf by
severe raking.

3.

Spike greens thoroughly to help loosen soil and hasten salt
leaching.

4.

Apply about 10 to 15 pounds hydrated lime per 1000 sq. f t .

5.

Apply about 10 pounds superphosphate per 1000 sq. f t .

6.

A f t e r grass greens up, a small application of nitrogen in the
f o r m of nitrate of soda or sulfate of ammonia at about 2 or 3
pounds per 1000 sq. f t . would help hurry the grass along but
does not appear to be absolutely necessary this late in the
season. The calcium in the lime will replace some of the sodium
in the salt deposit and the superphosphate will help stimulate
root growth.

7.

Apply quantities of water at intervals—allowing time sufficient
to let salt leach through soil before again washing; thus, allowing air to get to the roots and thereby not drowning the turf
which will rot the roots.

8.

In case some of the greens do not respond to t r e a t m e n t by
Spring, it would be advisable to start a small nursery at once.

Regarding

areas

damaged

by

debris

fires:

Remove

all

ashes;

plow to depth of 8 inches; lime, if test shows need f o r it; apply
25 pounds of an 8-6-4 or 10-6-4 or some similar complete commercial
fertilizer and reseed.

At the recent Boston American Christmas Basket Fund
exhibition match at the Belmont Country Club, it was reported
the following comment was made to the American's representative without solicitation on the p a r t of any of the interested parties, Jimmy Thomson, Lawson Little, Horton Smith
and Harry Cooper all declared that "the Belmont Country
Club greens were the best they had played on this season, in
championship, tournaments or exhibition matches."
BELMONT GREENS

6-6-4 formula with a
humus-forming organic base

mmm

85 State Street—Boston, Mass.
—Seedsmen

TALKS

ON

TREES

By E. Porter Felt
Bartlett Tree Research Laboratories
Stamford, Conn.
Experience is a costly teacher. Shade
tree insects are among the more costly
teachers.
The developments of this season illust r a t e the possibilities of insect attack
on shade trees. The wide spread damage by the forest tent caterpillar to
sugar maples in many of the higher
areas of New England and New York
State, the severe i n j u r y to elms in
numerous New England and New York
localities by the elm leaf beetle, and
the somewhat general defoliation of
many different kinds of trees in areas
within fifty miles of New York City
and in the State of Delaware by the
Japanese beetle, all t e s t i f y to what insects can do.
Some will recall t h a t the ravages of
the Gypsy moth in eastern Massachusetts in the 90's and again in the 1900's
forced communities in those areas to
protect their shade trees.
The same

Since

1818

was true in the Hudson Valley and later
in portions of New England as these
sections became infested with the elm
leaf beetle and literally many thousands
of highly prized trees were killed by
this scourge. The habits of the elm
leaf beetle and effective methods of
control are well known and yet this
season a Mohawk Valley town belatedly authorized the spraying of its
trees a f t e r a large proportion of the
possible damage had been caused.
There is a more general appreciation
of the desirability and value of trees
than was the case a quarter of a century earlier. Nevertheless, the developments of the past season indicate t h a t
many communities still must be shown
that insects are really menaces to shade
trees. It cannot be t h a t residents are
willing to sacrifice these desirable ornaments of our streets. They either ref u s e to face the f a c t s or p r e f e r to take
long chances, and all too f r e q u e n t l y
lose. It is not difficult to forecast serious damage by such pests. The need of
systematic protection of shade trees is
becoming increasingly evident.
Do unto the insects as ye would not
t h a t they do unto you, and do it first.

PREPARATION

OF

COMPOST

(Reprinted f r o m The Australian
Greenkeeper)

Details

of

the

Indore

Process

Every year the public parks of
Britain burn "waste," which could with
very little extra labour or cost be converted into tens of thousands of pounds
worth of humus (leaf mould) invaluable as manure f o r restoring and
maintaining the fertility of the soil concerned or f o r sale to other agencies.
There has long been a somewhat dim
awareness of the possibilities; unfortunately few people have cared to examine the subject f r o m the practical
standpoint or even to discover what has
already been achieved by scientific
workers. There is widely prevalent a
false impression t h a t the cost of production exceeds the actual value of the
humus m a n u f a c t u r e d , and this thought
has acted as a deterrent to f u r t h e r advance or even to small scale experimentation.
Actually, however, there exists a
simple and inexpensive method of compost preparation, known as the Indore
Process, which has been taken up at
many hundreds of plantations in India,
Ceylon, Kenya, Central America, A f r i ca, and other parts of the world where
cultivators feel themselves bound to replace the high percentage of nutriment
which their plants extract f r o m the soil.
Cheapness and elasticity are two of
the leading characteristics of the Indore Process; another is simplicity. A
"humus f a c t o r y " can occupy a small
area in any corner of a park or estate,
the site being screened f r o m the public
gaze and located at a point convenient
f o r supervision.
According to the
amount of humus required the "fact o r y " consists of a number of shallow
pits—each about 30 f e e t by 14 f e e t ,
and 3 f e e t deep—with sloping sides, arranged in three rows with sufficient
spaces between the lines of pits f o r the
easy passage of loaded carts. At Indore there are 33 such pits, arranged in
pairs, with a space 12 f t . wide between
each pair. It is often an advantage to
have water laid on to enable periodical
moistening of the compost to be done
by means of a hose pipe.
In a recent address, Sir Albert
Howard added the following informa-

tion: "Mr. E. F. Watson, the Superintendent of the Government Estates in
Bengal, who has successfully adopted
composting at the Governor's residences
in Calcutta, Barraekpore and Darjeeling, has devised a simple method f o r increasing the aeration of the pits f r o m
below. Aeration drains, 10 inches by
3 inches, are dug in the floor of the
pits. Down the centre of this trench
another trench, 6 inches by 5 inches, is
cut. Old bricks are then laid, open
jomted, is the upper trench. Copious
aeration, followed by f u n g u s development, rapidly spreads in the mass lying
over these drains to a distance of two
feet all around. In all cases where composting is done on a large scale it would
probably pay to lay these aerating
drains under the whole system of pits
and to provide them with the requisite
number of aerating chimneys. Mr. Watson has also introduced an ingenious
arrangement f o r getting still more oxygen into the mass f r o m the atmosphere.
Temporary V-shaped partitions, made
of old scrap perforated
corrugated
sheets, bolted together above and below, "with a bamboo separator at the
top, which also serves as a handle, are
placed in the heaps, at a distance of 6
f e e t apart, and l e f t till compost has
settled, when they are lifted out and
used elsewhere."
Materials

for Making

Humus

The materials needed f o r the manuf a c t u r e of humus may be classified as
follows (closely following Sir Albert
Howard's own list) —
i.

Mixed

plant

residues

All

avail-

able vegetable matter of every description—such as weeds, green-manure,
fallen leaves, the light prunings of
bushes and shade trees, trimmings f r o m
the roadsides and hedges, straw and
chaff, wood shavings, sawdust, waste
paper, old gunny-bags, and so forth. All
these must be carefully collected and
stacked—collection is a normal daily process in our parks everywhere. All hard
woody materials—such as lighter prunings and stalks—are first crushed (by
placing on service roads) and reduced
by traffic to- a condition resembling
broken-up straw. All f r e s h green materials, such as weeds and green-manure,
must be withered before stacking.
Proper mixing of all these dry plant
residues is an essential p a r t of the process, and to ensure this they must be
stacked alongside the humus f a c t o r y as
received, layer by layer—under cover

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during wet w e a t h e r . To ensure even
mixture, the stacked m a t e r i a l is removed to the pits f r o m one end of the
stack. If these precautions are observed
( t h a t is, proper mixing and w i t h e r i n g ) ,
the residues reach the pits as a suitable
chemical composition and, f u r t h e r m o r e ,
u n d u e p a c k i n g (which cuts off air supply) in the pits is prevented. Continuous a e r a t i o n is essential f o r t h e rapid
production of the best compost.
2.

Cattle and horse manure

(includ-

ing stable l i t t e r ) . This material, as well
as the droppings of poultry, has to be
collected every m o r n i n g and broken u p
b e f o r e being added to the compost pits.
Such collection is n o r m a l r o u t i n e w h e r e
animals a r e kept and costs n o t h i n g
extra.
3. Ashes—All
wood
ashes
from
whatever local source should be caref u l l y collected and stored u n d e r cover
alongside the h u m u s f a c t o r y .
Where
wood ashes c a n n o t be obtained, g r o u n d
chalk is an effective substitute.
4. Urine
Earth—When
available,
the e a r t h u n d e r cattle and horses should
be dug out and r e n e w e d to a depth of
6 inches every t h r e e or f o u r months.
This urine e a r t h should t h e n be powdered and stored u n d e r cover alongside
the h u m u s f a c t o r y .
5.

Water

and

Air—These

two

are

essential ingredients f o r t h e m a k i n g of
h u m u s and f o r the fixation of n i t r o g e n
which t a k e s place d u r i n g the latter p a r t
of the process. An a r m o u r e d hose-pipe
with a nozzle which breaks up t h e
s t r e a m is the best m e a n s of applying
the water, while an ample supply of air
is g u a r a n t e e d by the proper mixing of
the plant residues and by the use of
shallow pits 3 f e e t deep.
Charging

the

Pits

The n e x t step is to charge the pits
correctly. This is done by spreading a
layer (about 3 inches deep) of mixed
plant residues lightly and evenly with
a r a k e over a section about 6 f e e t wide
of the pit-floor; t h e n sprinkle the layer
well with dry powdered u r i n e - e a r t h to
which a f e w h a n d f u l s of wood-ashes
have been added. Next apply a layer,
about 2 inches deep, of broken-up man u r e and stable litter. Moisten the cont e n t s of the pit well with t h e hose, t a k ing care, however, not to use too much
w a t e r or to flood the pit. Now continue
the charging process section by section
until the pit is completely filled. The

utility of working section by section
lies in t h e f a c t t h a t this method altog e t h e r avoids trampling. Be c a r e f u l to
finish off each section of t h e pit with a
layer of m a n u r e and litter, followed by
a good sprinkling of urine earth, ashes
and w a t e r . A f u r t h e r w a t e r i n g m u s t
be given in the evening and r e p e a t e d
next morning. These t h r e e stages of
w a t e r i n g give the m i x t u r e time to absorb sufficient moisture to s t a r t the intense f e r m e n t a t i o n which rapidly establishes itself. Incidentally, it is imp o r t a n t t h a t in the charging process t h e
materials should be a r r a n g e d lightly.
A n y t h i n g in the n a t u r e of consolidation
or t r a m p l i n g which would have the e f f e c t of c u t t i n g off the air supply m u s t
be avoided. I t will be noticed t h a t when
first charged the level of the contents
of the pit will be a f e w inches higher
t h a n at the level of the ground, b u t
t h a t rapid shrinkage t a k e s place during t h e composting process.
The importance of powdered u r i n e
e a r t h and ashes or ground chalk as ingredients lies in the f a c t t h a t these
materials are needed to f e e d the f u n g i
and bacteria which are cultivated during the process and also to check excessive acidity.
While sufficient f o r
these purposes, t h e y should not be excessive in q u a n t i t y , as otherwise t h e y
t e n d to consolidate the heap and cut off
the air supply. Experience will show
w h a t quantities are necessary. Experience will also reveal how much w a t e r is
required. In addition to the t h r e e preliminary w a t e r i n g s a l r e a d y mentioned,
the h e a p s have to be w a t e r e d once a
week, and f o r the first, second and t h i r d
turns,
which a r e
described
below.
Moreover, it has to be r e m e m b e r e d t h a t
if too little w a t e r is added f e r m e n t a t i o n
will cease; if w a t e r i n g is too heavy,
on the other hand, t h e r e will be interf e r e n c e with the air supply and the process will t h u s be r e t a r d e d . A t first the
plant residues absorb w a t e r slowly—
hence the reason f o r the 12-hour intervals between the first t h r e e w a t e r i n g s
in the preliminary stage.
Later, as
f e r m e n t a t i o n progresses, the r a t e of
water-absorption is accelerated.
The
aim should be to m a i n t a i n the heaps
moist and mellow ( r a t h e r t h a n w e t )
and the t e m p e r a t u r e high.
Turning the

Material

The m a t e r i a l has to be t u r n e d t h r e e
times d u r i n g the process of compost
m a n u f a c t u r e — t h e reasons being to ensure u n i f o r m m i x t u r e and decay and to

NEW ENGLAND DISTRIBUTORS OF

TORO

Power Mowers—Gang Mowers—Hand Mowers
Tractors and G a n g M o w e r C o m b i n a t i o n s of 3-5-7 U n i t s
Rollers—Spikers—Sod Cutters—Soil Screens

BUCKNER
— Fairway — Tee — Green Sprinklers and Valves
Milorganite —- Netco 8-6-2 Putting Green — Fertilizers
FRIEND
LEWIS

Power Sprayers
Tee Equipment

——

McCLAIN

STANDARD

Hand Pressure Outfits

Green and Tee Equipment

WORCESTER
Lawn Mowers — PEERLESS
and CARPENTER
Grinders
Antube
—•
Arsenate of Lead
•—
Brown Patch Preventatives
Flags — Poles —• Tools —- Fertilizer Distributors •— Seeders
Hose — Markers — Ball Soap — Burners — Sod Cutters — Towels
Grass Seeds
•—Special Mixtures
—
Certified Bents

New England Toro Co.
DISTRIBUTORS FOR N E W E N G L A N D
1121 Washington St., West Newton

furnish the appropriate amount of
water and air. The first turn is generally due when the pit is 10 to 14 days
old. We now turn the whole contents
of a pit f r o m one end at the first turn.
Clear about 3 feet wide at one end.
Then turn the whole pit towards the
exposed end, taking care to turn the
outside and exposed layers into the
middle. As the contents shrink during
fermentation, there will be a vacant
space here at the end of the first turn.
The second turn is normally due 14 days
a f t e r the first turn, that is, roughly a
month a f t e r the original charging; the
process consists of turning the material
again, in the opposite direction, watering it and piling it up loosely along the
empty portion of the pit. The third
t u r n is when the pits are two months
old; the hard crumbling material is removed from the pits, moistened and
stacked in rectangular heaps — 10 f t .
broad at the base, 9 f t . wide at the top
and 3 Vz f t . high—and left there to
ripen for a month, when it is ready for
removal to the fields. The pit can then
be recharged.
The changes which take place in the
chemical nature of the material may
now be described—and they can be ob-

—

WESt New. 1658

served and tested during the process
without resort to chemical or biological
analysis. During the first month fungi
develop to break down the organic
matter, the heaps becoming a mass of
white fungoid growth, with the temperature high (a metal rod should be hot to
the touch when withdrawn). A f t e r the
third week the mass begins to grow
darker rapidly and to become crumbly,
while there is a slight fall in the temperature. It is at this stage that bacteria
begin to take a bigger share in humus
manufacture.
Moisture and Air

Two details to observe are whether
fermentation stops and the pits grow
cool—if so, the most likely cause is lack
of moisture. Secondly, if the heaps begin to smell, flies will be immediately
attracted and will lay eggs in them, followed by the development of maggots in
great numbers; this is a sign that the
air supply has been interfered with, and
the remedy is to t u r n the heap without
delay and to add manure and ashes.
The main causes of inadequate aeration
are excessive trampling, the addition of
too much urine-earth and ashes at the
outset, over-watering, or failure to t u r n

the mass at the proper times. Shortage
of air is also indicated by the production of ammonia.
Individual requirements and experience will reveal the best mode of applying the humus to the land when it is
ready f o r use. In its final f o r m it appears as a pulverised mass. Meanwhile,
what is certain is t h a t the seeds of
weeds are always destroyed by the intense fermentation that occurs during
the composting process.
In Britain we have sports grounds
and parks yielding (in the aggregate)
immense quantities of waste products
which periodically go up in smoke,
whereas by utilization in the f o r m of
compost they could go back to the soil
f r o m whence they came and would solve
many a problem of soil replenishment
with practically no extra cost and extremely little additional labour.—Extracted f r o m article in "Parks, Golf
Courses and Sports Grounds."

Applicants are advised to take the
full course in one year, but it is hoped
that the possibility of dividing the expense through two years will induce
more clubs to pay the full expense of
their greenkeeper, or permit more
greenkeepers to attend as personal, professional improvement.
Though the 1939 course is the 13th,
Professor Dickinson is not pessimistic
as a number of applications f o r enrollment have already been received. The
enrollment is limited in number, and is
f o r greenkeepers, their assistants and
others who have charge of the maintenance of golf courses. No one is admitted who is not thoroughly familiar
with the game of golf or has intimacy
with greenkeeping problems. The school
is f o r the professional improvement of
the individual and not to introduce inexperienced men into the profession.

^Ss.

-

Courses studied are Botany, Entomology, W a t e r Systems, Drainage,
Equipment, Grasses and Turf Culture,
Cost Keeping and Analysis, Managerial
Problems, Soils and Fertilizers. There
is also a daily f o r u m or summary hour.

ANNOUNCEMENT
The
of

the

1939

keepers

Winter

School

at

Massachusetts

the

State

for

Tuition
$ 5.00

One Term Only
Registration
Health Fee
$2.50
$1.50

Tuition
10.00

Two Consecutive Terms
Registration
Health Fee
5.00
1.50

Green-

College

J a n u a r y 3, 1939—March 12, 1939

Expense

The Massachusetts
State
College
Winter School f o r Greenkeepers will
open on J a n u a r y 3, 1939 and conclude
with the annual Golf Course Maintenance Conference and Exhibition on
March 10, 11 and 12.

Incidentals, such as stationery, notebook, etc., will not cost over $2.00 and
good room and board may be obtained
f o r f r o m $10.00 per week up. Special
rates are given by the local hotels, and
small aprtments are often available.

Beginning in 1939, the course will be
divided into two terms, the first beginning J a n u a r y 3 through February 3, and
the second term F e b r u a r y 6 through
March 12. This division is made to give
a greater number of greenkeepers a
chance to attend the school. A man
may attend the first term in 1939 and
the second term in 1940 or 1941. The
division will not weaken the courses or
tend to make the school two five-week
courses, as no one will be admitted to
the second term who has not passed the
first term's work, and no certificate will
be granted until the completion of the
two terms.

No classes are held on Saturday or
a f t e r 3.25 on Fridays. On the other
week days, eight hours are spent in the
laboratory or classroom.
F u r t h e r information and application
blanks can be obtained by writing to
the Director of Short Courses, or to
Professor Lawrence S. Dickinson, Massachusetts State College, Amherst, Massachusetts.
A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.
—Bacon.

_

Homer Darling of the Juniper Hill
Golf Club, Northboro, Mass. had some
fine booklets printed this year, entitled
"Follow t h r u — a guide to good Golfing", and distributed them to his players. This seems a fine idea f o r a public
course.

'"Pioneeis

in Soil Tresis for Seed

¿Mixtures"

Some excerpts f r o m this booklet are:
Follow Thru

^ ^

. . .

Golf is an individualistic game. It is
a real test of one's honor, temper, and
character. What you do on the golf
course, how you score your game, and
your general attitude, reveals your true
self. Don't Cheat. Nobody likes a
chiseler. From the very beginning of
your golf career count every stroke, including the misses. Everyone p r e f e r s to
play with a square shooter and an
honorable sportsman.
Golf is different f r o m many other
sports in that except f o r the most important matches, there is no r e f e r e e or
umpire to call your attention to inf r i n g e m e n t s or violations of the rules of
this game. Your friends and other
players are reluctant to call attention
to your mistakes in the rules. For this
reason many players are careless about
reading or observing rules. There is
definite need therefore, f o r more knowledge along this line.

•-m-

To aid the beginner and others who
need it, a f e w rules and general terms
most commonly misunderstood are discussed below.
Fore. This is the warning or danger
signal used in golf. Most beginners
know its significance, but it is not out of
place to discuss the term here in connection with your protection f r o m a
legal as well as a physical danger viewpoint.
The careful person, wherever he is,
takes no chances in exposing himself or
his neighbors to unforeseen accidents.
The same should be t r u e on the golf
course.
Shout the warning signal, "Fore", bef o r e playing whenever anyone may be
in danger of being hit by your ball.
Someone in your own foursome may
thoughtlessly step in range of your
shot, or someone in another fairway
may unconsciously be in range of your
shot. It is safer to give warning bef o r e hitting than to wait until the ball
is in the air. Neglect in giving the
warning in advance, or in using good
judgment, may make you legally liable
f o r your actions.

T e l e p h o n e us collect or mail
us
your fall seed order for immediate
shipment.
Market
changed
grass

and

pr'ces
Our
advice
feel

reports
as

yet

show

on

the

Redtop.

continue
is

cn

your

free to

Chewings

to

job

to

prices
Bents,

unBlue-

Fescue

rise.
serve

turf

consult

you

through

problems.
us at

any

So
time.

J O H N
» .
L Y ( i \
Seedsmen—Consultants
17

Bartlett

Ave.—Belmont,

Mass.

Tel. Belmont 2907-J, 4346-W

FOR

SALE

We have available 30,000 sq. f t .
of prime K e r n w o o d velvet sod,
which we are offering at 10 cents a
foot, cut, at Tyngsboro. If interested, write

FRANKLIN HAMMOND
Tyngsboro

Country

Tyngsboro,

Club

Mass.

Hazards. A hazard is any bunker,
water (except casual w a t e r ) , ditch, sand
or road. A bunker, is that p a r t of a
depression in the ground where the soil
is exposed, and usually covered with
sand.
When a ball lies in or touches a hazard the club shall not touch the ground,
nor shall anything be touched or moved,
before the player strikes at the ball.
(Penalty Two strokes in stroke play,
or loss of hole in match play.)

WINTER

HARDY—ACCLIMATED
RHODE ISLAND
CREEPING
VELVET

B

E

N

T

GRASS
SEED
and Fairway Mixtures
of h i g h e s t q u a l i t y f o r l o w e s t p r i c e t h a t
i ^ e e d of e q u a l q u a l i t y c a n be o f f e r e d .
NATURE HAS WRITTEN A
PRESCRIPTION for your course.
Right
h e r e in s o u t h e r n N e w E n g l a n d is t h e
n a t u r a l h o m e of t h e e n t i r e f a m i l y of
the Bent grasses, the principal member
of w h i c h , n a m e l y R. I. B e n t , d e r i v e d
its n a m e f r o m this, the smallest s t a t e
in t h e u n i o n .
You c a n g r o w N A T U R E ' S O W N I N SURANCE! into your turf
by
using
F R E S H , V I A B L E s e e d w h i c h g r o w s in
Y O U R l a t i t u d e in Y O U R c o u n t r y .
SAVE for your club: B u y your seed
direct f r o m the grower.

A. N. PECKMAM
KINGSTON

RHODE

Water hazard. If a ball lie or be lost
in a recognized water hazard, the player
may drop a ball, under penalty of one
stroke, behind the hazard, keeping the
hazard between him and the hole.
P r e f e r r e d Lies. This means that you
may place the ball on the grass where
a better shot can be made, providing it
is not nearer the hole. It applies to
the f a i r w a y only, and does not include
the rough. It does not mean that a tee
should be used. The reason f o r allowing this temporary local rule on any
course is f o r your benefit, to save the
course under adverse conditions.
The foregoing are some of the rules
which are more commonly misunderstood, or at first give the most trouble
to beginners. A golf rule book should
be studied to get a better picture of
what the game is all about, just as rules
f o r other games are learned before one
may know what to do.
Strive to learn as much as you can
about golf etiquette, golf rules, and the
proper conduct of players on a golf
course, so that you may be less conspicuous as a beginner.

ISLAND

USED GOLF BALLS
WANTED
Highest prices paid. Check mailed
within 48 hours a f t e r balls
are received.
Known to the trade f o r 15 years.
Get our prices before selling.

EASTERN GOLF CO.
2 4 4 W e s t 4 2 n d S t . — N e w Y o r k , N. Y.

"In early New England days young
men and women f r e q u e n t l y used the
"courting stick," an eight-foot hollow
stick, one inch in diameter, which was
fitted with mouth and ear pieces f o r
secret conversation while sitting on opposite sides of the fireplace in the presence of the family."
A use f o r worn
steel shafts?

bamboo

poles

or

"Facts are not 'stubborn
things.'
It's the person who won't recognize
them that's stubborn."

OFFICERS' DIRECTORY
President
Secretary
Treasurer
Chairman
Chairman
Chairman
Chairman

R. A. Mitchell, Kernwood C. C., Salem,
Philip Cassidy, 45 Grosvenor Rd., Needham,
P r a n k Wilson, Charles River C. C., Newton Centre,
Enter. Coram
Sam S. Mitchell, Ponkapoag G. C., Canton,
Golf Comm
Lloyd G. Stott, Meadow Brook G. C., Reading,
Welfare Comm
Paul Wanberg, 8 Curtis St., Waltham,
Employment Comm
Guy
N E W S L E T T E R officers, see page two.

Mass.
Mass.
Mass.
Mass.
Mass.
Mass.
West

oOTOTI LL£ö
m
^ ^ ^ ^ ^
IP

TRADE MARK
REG. U . S . PAT. OFFICE

NEW ENGLAND
R. R. R I D D L E ,
North Wilbraham, Mass.
Tel.
ALLAN

E. N.

Tel.

72-3

Tel.

309

Tel.

61

When

Street,

writing,

mention

JR.

Worcester,
5-2891

E R N E S T ELFGREN
East

Mass.

1988

R. J. A L L E N ,
1 Brattle

PEARSON BROS.
NURSERIES
Lynnfield Center, Mass.
Tel.

BANKS

230 Lowell Street, Waltham,

Mass.

M
^

DISTRIBUTORS:

STARKWEATHER

Dover,

jjg

ICillingly,

Conn.

Tel. Danielson

103-4

NEWSLETTER.

Ma

Merion

Cricket

C l u b , o f H a v e r f o r d , P a . , is o n e o f t h e m a n y
clubs wbich use W o r t h i n g t o n equipment.

W O R T H I N G T O N

famous

E Q U I P M E N T

will save you money now and in the future
By installing Worthington grass conditioning equipment now, you can save
your club the expense of repairing worn
machinery this Winter.
Worthington
Tractors and Gang Mowers and Worthington Overgreens quickly pay f o r
themselves in time saved, operating
economy and man-power. 44 out of the
56 courses in the United States, Canada
and England, on which the National

Open
been
ment,
Gang
world

and Amateur Championships have
played, used Worthington equipand there are more Worthington
Mowers in use throughout the
than all other makes combined.

C. M. SAWTELLE, New Eng. Distributor
3 Walker Terrace, Cambridge, Mass.
Telephone: Trowbridge 7491

• c??ear out this coupon for illustrated catalogue and discover hoiv you, too, can profit from
equipment in money saved and in increased member
satisfaction.

HJortKington
wower
\trmfMny,
Main Office
Stroudsburg, Pa.

Sales Agencies
All Principal Cities

WORTHINGTON

MOWER

Stroudsburg,

Dept.

Please
ment

send
at

Name
Address
City

no

Pa.,

catalogue
obligation.

Worthington

COMPANY

NL/O
on

your

equip-