.

K E ^ g [ H E W

February, 1930.

I E

Vol. 2, No. 2

"7 don't think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was
yesterday".
—Abraham Lincoln
It is with pleasure that we announce what we hope will be one
of the biggest steps forward for greenkeeping in New England that
we have ever experienced. This is the formation by the club of an
Information Bureau, a committee to help the members of the club
solve their greenkeeping problems. The members of this committee
will know where to find information if they can not themselves solve
the problems presented. It will be a clearing house of greenkeeping information. This committee can only help you if you submit your problems to it. Address problems which trouble you to
care of the NEWSLETTER Editor for the present until the Committee
is in full working trim. NEWSLETTER will publish some of the
questions submitted with their answers from time to time, with no
names attached, if the subjects seem to be of general interest. Here
is a big opportunity to have your club help you; use it!
The March and April meetings should be of interest to many
green chairmen, and it is hoped that many will be present at each
meeting. Notice of these meetings is given elsewhere in this issue.
We note with interest and approval the evident desire on the
part of several dealers in golf equipment to help greenkeepers with
various suggestions in the literature sent out by them from time to
time. It is happy cooperation.

NEWSLETTER

2

This NEWSLETTER is published
monthly by the Greenkeepers Club of
New England, and sent free to its members and their Greens' Chairmen. Subscription price ten cents a copy, or a
dollar a year.
GUY C. WEST
Editor
312 Mt. P l e a s a n t St., Pall River, Mass.

MARSTON BURNETT . Business Mgr.
330 W a l t h a m St., W e s t Newton, Mass.

February, 1930.

Vol. 2, No. 2.

W H A T DO W E RECEIVE FOR
OUR MONEY?

I have heard this remark in our Club
and it is mentioned in all clubs, but I
do know as Members of the "Greenkeepers Club of New England", we are
getting far more than what we pay.
Let us, for instance, check up our outdoor meetings in the summer. There are
six, possibly seven, where we inspect
the course, have lunch and play golf.
The individual pays for his lunch and
entrance fee for a golf tournament
which goes towards prizes, but who
pays for the use of the course? The
various clubs have been kind enough to
offer their courses, where if we went
alone we would pay Green Fees from
one to three dollars, which would alone
mean six to eighteen dollars in the
season saved because we are Members
of this club. At our indoor meetings we
have interesting speakers, and this last
meeting a free lunch. Aren't we all
getting something out of these talks?
We have had other dinners and entertainments furnished by the club. There
is an equipment day where all the latest
in Golf course equipment is shown.
Doesn't this mean something to us?
Then last, but I would say the greatest,
the "Newsletter". That alone is worth
our dues. Even the member who does not
attend the meetings, has his money's
worth here, and above all else there is
the good fellowship, the changing of
ideas, new friends, and to me this means
an awful lot. How can the question be
asked—What do we receive for our
money ?
But—at our January meeting, when
the subject was taken up to increase
the dues, and there seemed to be a lot
of favorable comment, the motion was
ready to go through when, at the last
moment a bomb was exploded and everyone fell, for when the vote came for an

increase in dues there were, I believe,
three of us for it. Why it could be
turned down I don't know. Personally,
I should say that in this day and age
is seems hard to get ahead without
some money.
Some ask what is the Club doing?
They are doing a lot, but with an increase in dues it could do a lot more. Provide more and better entertainment,
speakers from a greater distance, and
then there is the sad subject of illness
and death which in most organizations
is taken care of among the club's first
ideas. Are we in a position to do a lot
more about this matter? Have we money
to back up any unforseen matter combined with these other needs? How can
our standard be improved if we do not
go ahead?
I hope in another year we may vote
for this increase in dues, and I firmly
believe what I heard someone say a
short time ago—"To take sugar out of
the bowl we must put some in."
HOWARD D. FARRAXT.
FEBRUARY

MEETING

The February meeting was held at
Horticultural Hall, Boston, on Monday,
February 3rd.
President Treat appointed the following committees for 1930:
Employment
Shanahan. Chr., Peckham, McBride.
Welfare
Anderson, Chr., O'Grady, Ferme.
Auditing
Volmer, Chr., Latvis.
The speaker for the meeting was Mr.
Walter B. Hatch, Associate of Donald
Ross, well known golf architect. Mr.
Hatch's talk was so interesting and helpful that we are giving you the main
parts of it in this NEWSLETTER.
"The greenkeeper is—the most
important employee of the club. The
property in charge may range in value
from $200,000 to $500,000, and its upkeep
is usually his entire charge. As you
realize the matter of satisfying several
hundred people is no easy task, and the
fact that you are doing it better and
better every year, shows conclusively
that you are learning as you work. The
fact of Greenkeepers' Associations and
of special instruction in schools and
colleges indicates the desire to learn
and the willingness on your part to help
your fellow man in your chosen line of

3 NEWSLETTER
work. The day of secret methods of the
care of greens passed with the unknown
seed mixture—the successful green
keeper is the one who has a large degree
of "horse sense", to apply along with his
arsenate of lead. I fully believe that
the New England Greenkeepers Club
does more for golf in this section than
does the Green Section of the last few
years.
The quality of a golf course is dependent on three things; its design, the
type of construction, and its upkeep.
The design of a course is primarily
dependent on the area to be used and the
topography of the property. The design
of a course can not be copied from some
other course and it is rarely that individual greens or holes may be copied
with any degree of success. It is often
tried, mostly in the copying of noted
holes from abroad, but as a rule something is always lacking.
To attempt to say that any one course
is the best in New England or any other
section, is a mistake that is often made,
through local pride or misinformation.
It is safer to say that a course is the
best that a particular piece of land will
permit. There is no hard and fast yardstick for measuring the quality of a
course.
The first step in the making of a
course is the selection of the land. Too
little attention is given to this important
detail. The fact that a particular
property is for sale cheap means but
little. The accessibility is not of too
much importance because it can usually
be made accessible at a reasonable cost.
The fact that it has buildings that lend
themselves to club use should not be
^ ^ given too much weight. The finished
course is to play golf on, and unless it
has soil that will grow a good turf and
topography that will permit an interesting layout, it should usually be condemned for use as a golf course.
You greenkeepers are often asked
to go over property with a view of its
adaptibility to make a good golf course.
I wish you would pay more and more
attention to—soil and the topography.
The amount of money it takes to try to
produce a turf on soil poorly adapted
for such use, must among the clubs of
the country be a staggering figure. But
consideration must be given the section
in which the course is desired—-A desired topography is one which is easily
rolling. A flat property is probably the
most difficult to make into an interesting course.

The design of a course is made up not
only of the location and length of the
holes but of the details of the individual
hole, its tees, traps and greens, the
curves of the fairgreen, and many times
the water system and the planting of
unused areas.
The construction of a course is the
interpretation of the design, and no one
knows better than the designer of the
course what the interpretation should
be. For a general contractor, not
familiar with the results to be obtained,
to try to build a course from the plans
of any golf architect has so far led to
unsatisfactory results and always will.
The design and construction of greens,
tees and bunkers, have a decided bearing on the ease and cost of maintenance. I feel that recently the matter has
been stressed almost too much.
Admittedly long slopes that permit
mowing with a tractor mower are
economical to care for. If you eliminate
all hand work around greens and the
outer slopes of bunkers, you are cutting
costs, but you do so at a sacrifice of the
character of the course. The uniform
design of greens and bunkers to permit
this brings in a sameness of appearance
and play, and the holes lose individuality and character—I would suggest
that only a few of the greens and bunkers be graded as to be able to mow all
about them with tractor mower, and
that the mowing of the semi-rough
about the green be done only half as
often. Semi-rough and rough are important hazards in a course. As for tees,
where the adjacent topography will permit there is no reason why they should
not be built so that the motor mower
will do the entire work—large tees are
a decided asset both to the greenkeeper
and the player. Common sense plays a
large part in the design of the green.
Its size is influenced by the length of
the shot to the green, and the varying
difficulty of its surroundings. Not so
long ago—contours were carried to the
extreme, cup space was difficult to
find, and putting was a precarious
occupation. So also was the care of the
green. The mowing and watering of
these ridges and rolls was a difficult
operation. The green had to be overlarge on account of the strong slopes
of the surface—good practice now
dictates that the contours of a green
shall be gentle and well blended.
There are a great many details entering into the construction of a course
that do not show much on the plans.

4

NEWSLETTER

Drainage is often one of the most important items, but usually it can not be
intelligently planned until the work is
underway and the various drainage defects of the ground noted
The preparation of the soil both for
fairgreen and green is a study in itself
and usually no two courses are alike.
The question of the type of tools and
machinery to use in the construction
deserves more consideration than is
usually given. Too often the conclusion
is reached that anyone using less than
steam shovels and tractors is antiquated
and doing the work at an extravagant
cost—in many cases the trend toward
large machinery on a small job is overdone.
On construction work, foremen and
sub-foremen who are somewhat familiar
with golf work are indespensible. It is
difficult to make many clubs see this in
the proper light. I expect you find many
times the same situation in the upkeep
of the course. Your foreman is usually
a future greenkeeper and worth all you
can get for him.
Construction costs vary widely as
there are so many varying items that go
to make them up. All communities can
not afford what we may call a "standard
course", and whatever they may have
that will further their interest in golf
and give them pleasure is well worth
while.
Another reason for widely varying
costs is to be found in the type of ground
used. It may be without rock and consist of well-drained meadow land. Or it
may present problems in drainage,
grading and clearing that will bring the
cost up to a large figure. For this
reason I always maintain that there
can be no average cost per hole that any
club can take for a working basis on
contemplated work.
One of the large items of the finished
cost of the course is always the water
system. There are so many sources of
water to consider in many cases; the
spring with the opportunity of a reservoir, the river or stream, the driven
well, and the possible city supply to be
hooked on to—. The size of pipe through
the course can not be guessed at if you
are to have good results at the far runs.
Loss of pressure due to too small pipes,
and its consequent friction, is the ill of
a great many courses.
To my mind the most critical time in
the life of a golf course is the two years
immediately after it is seeded. Your
maintenance begins and nothing can be

neglected if your turf is going to be
really good. From one third to one half
more should be added to the budget for
these two years ,and if it is I can safely
say -that .the saving in the years to come
will much more than make it up. A
great many other faults can be and
will be put up with by the players if
only a good turf is had. I always have
had a feeling that there is little known
as to just what causes the varying results that may be found on the same
course. There are a great many things
that I am uncertain about in my own
mind. One is whether a seeded green is
better than one from stolons, or visa
versa, and which is the easier and
cheaper to maintain."
TWO

SUGGESTIONS

Our ninth green here at Reservation
has always been infested with ants,
probably because it is located on a
sandy knoll. We have tried different insecticides and chemicals, but did not
succeed in eliminating the ants. In some
cases the preparation killed the grass
and apparently fed the ants. In other
cases it caused the ants to move over a
few inches with the result that we had
two ant hills where only one existed
before.
Finally, last July, we tried taking
them out with the hole cutter, going
down to a depth of five or six inches.
These holes we filled with plugs from the
nursery. By using this strong arm
method we have succeeded in eliminating practically all of the ants from that
green.
If it is desired to pull out a cup that
is frozen in a green, put a gasoline
soaked rag in the cup and allow it to
burn for two or three minutes. It is
then easy to extract it.
JOHN COUNSELL.
NOTICES!

Will all those members who have not
sent their green chairman's address to
the Editor, kindly do so on the enclosed card? Thank you!
All members knowing of clubs desiring greenkeepers should notify Employment Committee at once. This committee desires to bring together members needing positions and clubs needing
greenkeepers.

NEWSLETTER

5

isiiHiasisiasHagssg^^
T h e L a r g e s t Golf C o u r s e C o n s t r u c t i o n a n d Supply H o u s e
in N e w E n g l a n d

Everything for the Golf Course
Power Putting Green Mowers,
Jacobsen Power Lawn Mowers, Pennsylvania Tractor Mowers,
Pennsylvania Hand Mowing Equipment, Worthington Mower
Company Products, Roseman Fairway Mowers, Roseman
Tractors, Staude Tractors.
S E E D — B e n t — C o l o n i a l , Rhode Island, German, Velvet, F e s c u e —
Sheep, Chewings, Red; Red Top, Blue Grass, Clover, Timothy,
Rye, Wood Meadow.
FUNGICIDES—Semesan, Nu-Green, Cai-Clor, Cal-O-Green, Uspulin.
A C C E S S O R I E S — F l a g s , Poles, Hole Rims, Hole Cutters, Hole
Setters, Tee Balls, Tee Plates, Lewis Ball Washers, Brushes,
Tee Boxes.
TOOLS—Shovels, Spades, Rakes, Sod Lifters, Sod Cutters, Hoes,
Edgers, Hand Shears, Hand and Tractor Rollers, Seeders.
INSECTICIDES—Electric
Naga, Dry Arsenate ofWorm
Lead.Eradicator, Antrol, Mowrah Meal,
A G R I C U L T U R A L I M P L E M E N T S — P l o w s , Harrows, Cultivators,
Scoops, Graders, Rough Mowers, Lime Spreaders, Stone Drags.
HOSE—Goodyear, U. S. Rubber, Bull Dog, Vigilant, Tiger.
SPRINKLERS—Lark, Thompson, Double Rotary, Rose, Fairy,
Boston Nozzel, Ring, Carpenter.
FERTILIZERS—4-8-4, 6-8-6, 5-8-7, 2-10-2, 8-6-6, 10-16-14, Koppers
Sulphate of Ammonia, Muriate of Potash, Bone Meal, Sheep
Manure, Collodial Phosphate, Tankage.
SCREENS—Hand, Royer, Converse.
W E E D K I L L E R — H e r b i c i d e , Casim, Purfeck.
M O W I N G EQUIPMENT—Jacobsen

gj
S
1
gj
§1
11
1

H

1

|
g
IS
g

g

|
SI
I

WOODWORTH BRADLEY
SEEDSMAN

136 South Water Street, Prov., R. I.
|
jamais^

'

P h o n e G a s p e e 9 7 8 9 — P . O. B o x 1534

W h e n buying f r o m our advertisers, mention N E W S L E T T E R !

¥

6

NEWSLETTER 6
BROWN PATCH A-LA-CARTE!

Professor Lawrence S. Dickinson of
the Massachusetts Agricultural College,
will be the speaker at the next meeting
of the club, which will be held at Horticultural Hall, Boston, Monday, March
3, at 2 P. M.
Prof. Dickinson will give a resume of
his work on Brown-patch during the
last three years. The conclusions drawn
have been carefully checked by him at
the Boyce-Thompson Institute during
this past Summer.
When a man tells you that he can
forecast Brown-patch within three
hours of its arrival, and then gives you
control methods which are startling because of their simplicity, your curiosity
should be aroused! This talk was delivered to a group of 450 greenkeepers
at Louisville and was very favorably
received.
This meeting is open to ALL who are
interested. Light lunch will be served
at 1 P. M.
MARSTON BURNETT
for Entertainment Committee.

mWSYLVANIi
LAWN MOWERS

Fairway Quint or Trio for fairways
and rough. Super Roller and N e w
Aristocrat for greens.

J O H N J. N Y H A N

Distributor

122 C y p r e s s St., Brookline, Mass.
Pennsylvania Lawn Mower Works

r

Established 1877
Philadelphia

AN ANNOUNCEMENT

We are pleased to advise that the 1930 copies of the NEW
ENGLAND TORO COMPANY and the TORO MANUFACTURING
COMPANY catalogues are now ready for distribution.
We have already mailed one of each of these to all men on
record at this office, and if you have not received yours, please advise ^s*
us at once and a duplicate copy will be sent at once.
We are still maintaining our well known policy of offering
quality merchandise at fair and uniform prices, and on this basis
we solicit your inquiries.
Our desire is to be of real service to all NEW ENGLAND
GREENKEEPERS, and we welcome the opportunity to cooperate
with each of you.

NEW ENGLAND TORO COMPANY
247 NEWTONVILLE AVENUE
NEWTON, MASS.
"Phone or wire your orders at our expense"

W h e n buying f r o m our advertisers, mention N E W S L E T T E R !

NEWSLETTER
S P A C E IS O P E N T O A D V E R TISERS. FOR RATES WRITE TO

BUSINESS MANAGER

Newsletter
330 W A L T H A M

STREET

W E S T NEWTON, MASS.

DOW'S
PURE GROUND BONE
is the standard for quality in
BONE MEALS. We also can
supply all other kinds of FERTILIZERS needed.

John C. Dow Company
121 B e v e r l y St., Boston, Mass.

HOVEY & CO,
Specialists In

GOLF COURSE GRASSES
AND EQUIPMENT
A FEW

SPECIALS

Emerald Cord Rubber Hose
Sulphate of Ammonia (Koppers)
V. C. Fairway Fertilizer
Fancy Recleaned Grasses
Worthington Mowers
MacAndrews Green Seeder
W h e n in t h e c i t y v i s i t o u r
s h o w r o o m s in t h e s h a d o w
of t h e C u s t o m H o u s e .
150 M I L K

ST., B O S T O N ,

MASS.

Tel. HANcock 1454 - 1455

7

CORENCO SUPERLAWN
The Plant Food for

PARKS and GOLF COURSES
Lawns—Gardens—Small Trees
Shrubbery
You cannot have beautiful Flowers,
Trees or Lawns without
feeding them
Write for our Booklet

"A Lawn To Be Proud

Of"

Address

Corenco Superlawn
40 North Market Street
Boston, Mass.

KOPPERS VELVET LAWN
SULPHATE OF AMMONIA
The superfine, extra dry
non-lumping
SULPHATE OF AMMONIA
f o r golf courses.
E x t r a processed to r e m o v e
moisture attracting elements.

all

P a c k e d in 1 0 0 lt>. b a g s f o r e a s y
handling and storing.

Arthur B. Porter, Inc.
New England

Agents

55 DEARBORN STREET
SALEM, MASS.

W h e n buying f r o m our advertisers, mention N E W S L E T T E R !

8

NEWSLETTER

THE NATIONAL G R E E N K E E P E R S '
CONVENTION AT LOUISVILLE
The 4th Annual National Greenkeepers' Convention, Conference and
Golf Show, was held at Louisville. Ky.,
February 4-7, 1930.
The Golf Show opened at the Armory,
February 4, with the best display of
golf equipment that has been shown.
The Conference, also held in the
Armory, started February 5, at 2 P. M.,
with an address of welcome by Pres.
John Morley, who introduced Prof. Geo.
M. McClure of Ohio State University,
as chairman of the conference.
Addresses of welcome were given by
officials of the city and by the presidents of the three Louisville Country
Clubs.
The first speaker was Mr. Lewis
Evans, a Greenkeeper of Penn., who
spoke on the fraternal side of Greenkeeping.
Prof. L. S. Dickinson of the Mass.
Agri. College, gave a most interesting
talk on "Seeds and Grasses". He told of
simple tests for determining the quality
and kind of seed, and by these tests
opened up many tricks of the seed trade.
Among the points brought out were the
following. In general, large seeds produce coarse grasses. Chewing's Fescue
is superior to red fescue. Mixtures by
weight are no indication of the stand
of grass; in a mixture, by weight of
48% Chewings fescue, 25% redtop,
and 15% S. G. Bent it would give a
stand of 1 fescue to 4 red top and 4
bent plants. A good grade of bent seed
would show awns. Domestic rye is
superior to imported. Seed of meadow
fescue is often mistaken for rye. When
examining seed it is well to keep in mind
that weight plays an important part.
The best grade of seed is always the
cheapest. Five pounds of bent seed per
one thousand square feet would give
102 plants per square inch. This talk
was finely received and created much
favorable comment.
Mr. A. E. Grantham of the V-C
Fertilizer Co., spoke on the functions
of the three plant food elements. He explained, at considerable length, the way
plants make food, and how this food is
used. He stated there were 12 essential
elements for plant growth, classifying
them as necessary, essential, and important. He brought out the fact that phos.
acid and potash were as essential as
nitrogen, and that early fertilizing was
important. His talk was quite technical,

much in detail, but brought out the
desirability of a balanced plant food.
The Life and Activities of Soil
Bacteria, by James A. Smith of London,
Ohio, opened the Thursday session. He
gave an interesting talk on the action
and the great importance of bacteria in
the soil, and the ways and means of increasing this bacteria action. He stated
that food, in the right stage, air, water,
temperature, and darkness were essential for the best development. He advised the making of compost by the
area, or field, method, starting in the
late fall, using as much manure as can
be obtained, harrow and keep it worked,
and harvest in July. Hard soils cannot
assimilate, or digest chemical fertilizers. It is necessary to get organic
matter into them.
Dr. H. B. Sprague of the New Jersey
Experiment Station in his talk, gave a
resume of the turf work at the New
Jersey station. Results were influenced
by the kind of plants, the soil, and the
climate. He spoke of the way in which
different fertilizers effected the acidity
of the soil, the effect of fertilizers on
weeds, worms, clover, and poa annua, and
the lasting effect of the fertilizers on the
quality of the grass. By adding sulphur,
the acidity can be rapidly increased, by
adding lime, acidity can be decreased
rapidly. Lime does not increase weeds
or clover provided there is enough
available nitrogen for the grass in the
soil. Potash and phos. acid seem to encourage clover, while poa annua can be
controlled by making soils strongly acid,
or by withholding phos. acid and potash.
Urea encourages poa annua. Arsenate
of lead gives complete control of worms
there, as well as controlling some weeds.
This was a very interesting talk and
shows the value of the State Experiment
Stations in turf work.
Mr. O. J. Noer gave a talk on the
"Trend of Greenkeeping." He discussed
the methods of greenkeeping in the
early days and the changes to those of
the present day.
Mr. Wendell P. Miller read an interesting paper on "Drainage and Soils".
He brought out the great importance of
good drainage for early and late playing conditions, improving soils, and the
influence drainage has on all turf
growth.
The Friday meeting was opened with
an address by Prof. L. S. Dickinson, on
"A New Phase in the Control of Brown
Patch". He described the 3 stages of
Brown-Patch, resting or spore, the

9 NEWSLETTER
critical and the parasitic. He told of
forecasting the attacks of brown-patch
by watching the temperature. The critical stage occurs between 64-69 and the
parasitic stage at 73. With a sudden
drop of temperature to 64-69 followed by
an immediate rise, large brown-patch
will appear. As the critical stage lasts
about 3% hours, it can be controlled by
poling or spraying, brushing or washing
before it has a chance to get into the
parasitic stage. Watering in the heat of
the day may bring on brown-patch or
help its development, by causing a sudden drop in the temperature. This is a
new slant in the much discussed subject of brown-patch and was very interesting and a noteworthy addition to our
information on the subject. This same
talk will be given by Prof. Dickinson,
at the March meeting of the Greenkeepers Club of New England, and we
would impress on every one the advisability of attending.
Mr. D. G. Grove of the Davey Tree
Co. gave a talk on the "Care of Trees".
This was taken up as a story of the
tree itself, from seedling to full growth
and transplanting, with subsequent care
of pruning, spraying etc.
Greenkeeping Problems in Canada,
were described by W. J. Sanson, a
greenkeeper of Toronto, which showed
that many of his problems were similar
to ours.
The Activities of the Green Section,
were discussed by Dr. Monteith of the
Green Section at Washington. His talk
was a very able answer to the critics of
the Section, and he thoroughly explained the workings of that organization, and brought out the need of
greater funds and better cooperation.
We understand that this show and
conference was the largest that has
been held. The whole tone of the convention was a decided improvement over
the one last year. This convention was
indeed very valuable, and we feel that
through the cooperation of our Green
Comm. Chairman, it was a privilege to
attend it. We wish that more of the
New England golf clubs could have
sent their Greenkeepers.
JAMES McCORMACK, Unicorn.
FRANK WILSON, Charles River.
CARLTON TREAT, Woodland.

the Island of Rhode Island, covering the
greater part of fifty-six acres, and
crossing this hog-back ridge twice east
and west.
After I had finished construction, I
was allowed to retain three men for
eight months each year for upkeep
mainly; however, many changes were
made, compost prepared, and stolon
bent nursery maintained.
Our Club is privately owned, and a
year ago two of the four owners met
with severe financial losses, so the burden of supporting the club fell on two
only, and a drastic cut in the budget
became necessary. Asked what I could
do to retrench, I agreed to keep the fairways and greens in playing condition,
with one man to help me, (incidentally
an inexperienced one), he to drive the
tractor, I to care for the greens.
To a fair understanding of the situation, a brief statement of equipment
on hand is essential. We had a Fordson
tractor with dump cart, (4 years old),
three new units for the Ideal mower,
large rotary screen, two Pennsylvania
Super Putting Green Mowers, and
three three hundred pound rollers. Here
I must explain that the 2800 pound
Fordson is altogether too heavy for
using on fairways. This Fordson has
seen a thousand days service, costs more
to repair than it is worth, excellent for
construction and transporting compost,
but obsolete for use on fairways.
Now one of the most important ways
to save time is to watch your course
and roll both greens and fairways just
as soon as the frost is out, and before
the ground settles with Spring rains.
Greens can be rolled to perfect condition
even with Fordson, followed by the 900
pounds roller to erase tractor marks,
if great care is taken to see that they
are not too wet, and no short turns are
made. I have had my course ready for
play the first day of April every year so
far, secure a material sum in green
fees before any other courses are open
on the Island, and hold the course open
until December 15.
Another time saver on my course is
the fact that two greens can be mowed
around up to the putting surface with
the units, as they are sufficiently difficult without bunkers. Four more large
greens had wide collars between the
putting carpet and bunkers which perWAYS TO ECONOMIZE
mitted one complete circuit with fairMy course is a modest nine hole course, way mowers; however, this is to be
approximately three thousand yards avoided as the Fordson left scars from
long, is located on the central ridge of pressure.

10

NEWSLETTER

I began the season with greens quite
free from weeds, and kept them so by
only topdressing in April, and escaping
the usual monthly treatment by discreetly using a ton of highly nitrogenous fertilizer instead, and postponing
topdressing again until late October and
November, when early frosts account
for many of the weeds. Six of the nine
greens are stolon bent greens and can
be kept free of weeds with less expense
than the other three.
By the last of June, I was teaching
several hours some days and could not
have handled the greens if the most important time saver of all had not been
purchased. With a new Jacobson Power
Mower, I was able to mow and roll at
the same time, all of my greens and tees
in eight hours at the cost of one gallon
of gasoline. With my up and down hill
course I do not find the heavy carrier
practicable. Over reasonably smooth
fairways, between greens, it travels on
its own corrugated roller as fast as one
can comfortably walk, by slightly depressing the handle.
In my budget was a hundred dollars
for overtime for the tractor driver, as
after heavy rains, some days had to be
twelve hours long, and there was always
a half day Sundays. The extraordinarily
dry season forced me to water evenings
with Lark sprinklers to the limit of my
water supply.
Because our course has two steep
climbs between green and tees, I replaced the wooden settees with stone
ones cut on the course. They do not
blow over or require painting, look most
inviting when one is out of breath, and
make a permanent picturesque asset.
In Spring and Fall, or when very dry,
I only mow every other day, and use a
light roller the other days. Two greens
built with 150 to 200 pounds of arsenate
of lead in the first three inches are free
from earthworms. The others I give 25
pounds each in the Spring topdressing,
and five pounds a month thereafter
applied with fertilizer or topdressing.
If any of these suggestions help a fellow greenkeeper, I will be glad to know
of it.
R. WALLACE PECKHAM.
Keep in mind the dates of the
annual show of the Winter School for
Greenkeepers at Amherst, Mass., March
15, and 16. The exhibitions and discussions at this show will help and interest
you.

GREEN CHAIRMAN

ATTENTION!

No one attending the annual meeting
of the U. S. G. A. Green Section at the
Hotel Biltmore, New York, could have
failed to note the emphasis placed on
sectional experimental plots. The powers
that be seem to be in the mood to
abandon any main experimental plant
in favor of those which would work
under more local conditions.
With this in view, why not turn our
attention to an ideally equipped plant in
New England, namely the Experimental
Station at the Massachusetts Agricultural College? It has been in operation for
years, and is manned by a personnel
which is competent and unbiased. There
are few of us that do not know of the
work of Professor Dickinson, and not a
great deal of imagination is necessary
to realize how much the staff of the
Station might do if put to work on golf
course problems.
The speaker at the April meeting will
be Dr. Fred J. Sievers, Director of the
Experiment Station. He fully realizes an
opportunity for service and is anxious
to meet greenkeepers and their chairmen, to ascertain if there is a demand
for such service, for without a demand
the Station is not justified in expending
its funds.
The meeting will be held at Horticultural Hall, Boston, on Monday,
April 7, 1930. A light lunch will be served at 1 P. M., and the meeting will
start promptly at 2 o'clock. Let us all
turn out with our chairmen if possible,
and show that there is immediate demand for this service!
MARSTON BURNETT.
FROM A QUESTION BOX
MEETING
A Toro compost screen was increased
in capacity by adding two extra buckets
to the loading elevator. The screen being
on rollers makes changing the location
very easy. (Charles River).
A Royer compost machine works well
where there are not too many rocks,
doesn't work well on sod. Compost heaps
are kept harrowed. Now changing to
field method, dumping leaves, soil, refuse,
etc., on field, plowing and harrowing instead of cutting down piles. Use has
been made of old building, storing
screened compost for next year. (Kernwood) .

NEWSLETTER
COLLOIDAL PHOSPHATE WILL
GIVE THE GRASS WEARING
QUALITY

11

FOR QUALITY

Sturdiness of cellular structure of
grass determines its wearing quality,
as well as its ability to resist disease
and stand drought.
Cell walls are thickened and made
stronger by phosphates and only by
phosphates.
COLLOIDAL PHOSPHATE, therefore, gives grass strength to resist
wear. Wearing ability of grass depends on the amount of phosphate
the plant can get.
0. J. Noer, writing in Golfdom,
April, 1929 says:

LAWNS, GOLF
and SPORT TURF

COLLOIDAL PHOSPHATE
SALES COMPANY
of New England

60 Congress St
Boston, Mass.

" I t p r o b a b l y will b e n e c e s s a r y
t o o v e r h a u l t h e p r a c t i c e in n i t r o gen feeding. In the past the color
a n d t h e a m o u n t of g r o w t h h a v e
been w a t c h e d to d e t e r m i n e the
n e e d of n i t r o g e n , b u t s t u r d i n e s s
a c t u a l l y is m o r e i m p o r t a n t . "

1 2 6 N e w b u r y St., B o s t o n , M a s s .

BRECK'S

Tested Seeds:

Rhode Island Bent
Colonial Bent
Velvet Bent
Seaside Bent
German Mixed Bent
Putting Green Mixtures
Fair Green Mixtures

Purity

and germination test
with each shipment

Retail Store
85 State Street
Automotive Dep't and
Warehouses
20 Lewis Wharf
Boston, Mass.
Telephone, Hubbard 1662

RECENT IMPORTATIONS
OF GRASS SEED

10,000 lbs. German Mixed Bent
from Germany.
1,000 lbs. Red Fescue.
1,000 lbs. Improved Creeping Red
Fescue (New) from Holland.
10,000 lbs. Chewing's Fescue.
2,500 lbs. N. Z. Brown Top from
New Zealand.

sent

Thos. W. Emerson Co.
213-215 STATE STREET
BOSTON, MASS.
Telephone, HUBbard 0985

W h e n buying f r o m our advertisers, mention N E W S L E T T E R !

The Worthington "Overgreen"
BII
B
1
BB
siB
B

COMBINATION. Above cut illustrates principle. Two distinct
elements—a complete tractor and complete gang mower.
TRACTOR. Motorcycle engine of world-wide reputation for
reliability. Service in all localities. Drives through an automobile differential. One clutch only is used.
TIRES. Rubber pneumatic. Partly deflated. Forms soft pad
which adapts itself to every irregularity of ground surface.
MOWER GANG. Three units, each 13 or 18 inches wide. Entirely
separate from tractor. Each has independent rising and
rocking motion.
COMBINED SWATH. Thirty six or fifty inches.
WORK ACCOMPLISHED. Finishes an average green in ten
minutes. Perfect surface guaranteed.
Price, Complete, 36 inch cut
$400.00
Price, Complete, 50 inch cut
$425.00
&

New England Representative

E. R. Sawtelle, Mgr.
Tel. Hubbard 2424
ONE STATE STREET
BOSTON
WORTHINGTON MOWER COMPANY
Stroudsburg, Pennslyvania

HB
BB
B
BB
B
BB
BB
B
B