HEATING LOAM FOR WEED CONTROL
RHODE ISLAND FIELD DAY
MASS. STATE COLLEGE LAWN DAY
AG AW AM HUNT NEWS
MORE ABOUT BROWN
PATCHES
JUNE MEETING

J U N E

1932

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 Greens' Chairmen. Subscription price ten cents a copy, or a
dollar a year.
GUY C. W E S T

312 M t . P l e a s a n t

St., F a l l R i v e r ,

Editor

Mass.

MARSTON BURNETT . . Business Mgr.
W y a n t e n u c k G. C., G r e a t B a r r i n g t o n ,

June, 1932
HEATING
WEED

Mass.

Vol. 4, No. 6
LOAM

FOR

CONTROL

With the advent of the present Chairman of the Greens Committee a t Belmont Spring Country Club it was decided to investigate ways and means of
heating loam used f o r topdressng to
destroy the weed seeds.
While three years work has not produced a method entirely f r e e f r o m
faults, very definite results on weed
control have been demonstrated and the
writer has become thoroughly converted
to the practice of heating' loam f o r
weed control.
One of several troubles at Belmont
Spring, four years ago, was t h a t of
weeds in the Greens. Probably Chickweed was the worst, at any rate that
received the most publicity; however
Plantain, Dandelion and
Shepherds
Purse were all too numerous. The looks
of more than one Green a f t e r these
three weeds had been dug' out is still a
vivid memory. The operation bordered
on the heroic but the membership was
most tolerant and bore with the new
Greenkeeper, despite the f a c t t h a t he
had reduced some of the putting surfaces to shell torn terrain. As f o r the
Chickweed, the high point in number of
plugs in one Green alone would undoubtedly, if stated, set the writer up
as a competitor of Baron Munchausen.
It was not difficult to determine t h a t
the chief source of weed infection was
our top-dressing. Investigation of our
loam brought to light t h a t aside f r o m
this drawback it was ideal f o r our conditions. To work up any of our waste
land into a compost of equally good
physical condition as our purchased
loam meant a long, slow, expensive
program and when we had reached t h a t
point, we had no guarantee t h a t our
weed contamination would be any less,

f o r our waste land is full of Chickweed
which is as resistant to destruction
through cultivation as any weed we
have, clover not excepted.
Chemical extermination did not nor
does it now present a very happy solution. A cure which does not begin somewhere near the source of the trouble is,
at best, a makeshift.
To arrive at this point took some
time. Next ways and means f o r heating
loam were investigated. Dry heating
by piling loam over a fire, much as
sand is dried, did not seem to fill the
bill. Wood is usually used for fuel in
this method and under our conditions
the fuel cost would be prohibitive. Also
our experience had not been too conclusive of its economical effectiveness.
Labor costs are high and there seems
to be too much chance f o r uneven heating unless closely
supervised
and
checked through frequent temperature
readings. Subsequent experience proved
t h a t a mass of loam is surprisingly re
sistant to heat and t h a t it is almost impossible to heat it uniformly if there is
any depth to it. It is also well known
t h a t dry heat is much less effective in
destroying seeds than is moist heat.
Dry heating was ruled out and we
turned to steam which ¿eemed the ideal
medium f o r obtaining the desired results. No matter what method we
looked into f o r getting- steam into a
given amount of loam our stumbling
block was boiler costs. Our situation is
such, both as to location and legality,
that we cannot run a boiler which is
not capable of passng the Massachusetts Standard, and three years ago a
second hand boiler which would do this
had a first cost t h a t prohibited asking
f o r an appropriation f o r the boiler alone,
not considering the other items which
would have run the installation cost
well over $1,000.
We believed t h a t if the moisture content of loam was normal, a given amount of loam exposed to sufficient heat
would generate steam which would percolate through the loam and destroy the
weed seeds. To get this heat we decided to use oil as fuel. As there is always the possibility of s a t u r a t i n g some
of the loam with oil because of f a u l t y
combustion we had to apply the heat indirectly Our set-up was a boiler plate
box approximately three feet deep with
a drop side f o r unloading and a slip
cover. The capacity was one cubic yard.
This box was put on a six inch fire
brick wall with a wall cf common brick

about f o u r inches away f r o m the sides
of t h e box and closed in a t the top.
The drop side was not bricked in and
the fire brick wall was vented to allow
the heat to escape and r u n up around
the sides of the box between it and the
common brick. Heat was furnished by
a Hauck Burner. This is an oversize
blow torch which throws a 30 inch
flame, generating 1800 degrees of heat,
using either kerosene or f u r n a c e oil for
fuel. The burner was set up to throw
its flame through a 4 inch opening left
in the fire brick into the chamber beneath the boiler plate box. In a surprisingly short time this chamber became a roaring inferno f n d apparently
we had heat enough f o r all our needs.
Until we learned to respect this heat,
shoes, gloves and clothing would smoke
and char when we stood too near the box
f o r only a very short time. We went to
work optimistically. Dry, moist or soaking wet, it made no difference, we could
not get uniform heating through the
loam. With the box full, half or quarter
loaded the heat would travel unevenly.
A spot would show 190 degrees and a
few inches away the loam would not be
hot enough to be uncomfortable to t h e
bare hand. There was too much handling
of loam, too much time lost standing
around waiting for the loam to heat;
in fact, our first attempt was most unsatisfactory, but not a total failure, f o r
we learned t h a t loam heated to 190 degrees with a normal amount of moisture
in it before heating will be practically
weed free. The test was of sufficient
length to bs conclusive. A box was
divided in half, unheated loam in one
side and heated loam in the other. This
was set out of doors f o r three months,
watched to see t h a t it did not become
too dry, and at the end of t h a t time the
difference in numbers and types of
germinated weeds was so marked t h a t
those of us who had been skeptical up
to this time were convinced t h a t heating loam to kill weed seeds was of sufficient value to w a r r a n t f u r t h e r investigational work.
A f t e r taking stock of our first years
•work we found that we had convinced
ourselves of the soundness of the
practice and t h a t we muat work up
some scheme of keeping a continuous
flow of loam passing through indirect
heat of sufficient temperature to do the
job.
In 1931 we set up what is our f u n d a mental principle. A continuous flow of
loam heated uniformly to the necessary
temperature, by indirect heat.

This set up is two sections of 10 inch
cast iron pipe, 18 feet in total length.
Inside this pipe is a 9 inch screw conveyor of the same length hung in three
bearings, the whole being supported a t
the ends and in the middle, with a
pitch of 10 to 12 inches. Probably the
pitch is of little consequence as the
screw conveyor is slung off center in
the water pipe, leaving only enough
clearance to keep the flanges of the
conveyor f r o m rubbing on the bottom.
The center support is of the bridge
type, allowing p a r t of the Hauck burner
flame to shoot through and acting also as a baffle forcing the upper p a r t of
the flame around the pipe. The upper
end of the pipe is closed in with sheet
metal with a hopper on top to facilitate
loading. The cast iron pipe is bricked in
f o r three-quarters of its length starting f r o m the lower end. Better design
of the upper support would permit
bricking in of the pipe f o r its entire
length but in order to set our Hauck
burner in the proper position it was
necessary to leave the upper part of the
pipe unbricked. For a cover we salvaged
boiler plate f r o m our box of the previous year having it cut to the proper
width.
Our screw conveyor is driven by a
one and one-half horse power electric
motor through a reduction gear, chain
and sprockets. By changing the ratio of
the sprockets the speed of the conveyor can readily be speeded up or
slowed down.
The results f r o m the first year of
this set iip were most satisfactory.
Under normal conditions loam came
through continuously and uniformally
heated to 190 degrees, but when winds
were strong or mid-day temperatures
much below freezing there was considerable fluctuating in the temperature of the loam as it came f r o m the
discharge end of the pipe.
In 1932 we added another Hauck
burner. Running one f r o m the upper
end, as before, and shooting the flame
f r o m the second one in the side about
mid-way of the pipe. We were able to
increase the speed of the conveyor appreciable, lowering labor costs and reducing t h e liability of jamming. Our
heat jumped to a constant 200 degrees
and we r a n through some 70 cu. yds.
at a not unreasonable cost.
The loam f r o m this 1932 batch has
had a very thorough testing. We have
used nothing else in raising seedlings
of annual flowering plants which we

g'row f o r a cutting garden f o r the Club
House. We have potted up several
hundred plants in this loam in addition
to the loam in the flats where the seed
was germinated. Obviously conditions
in the hot bed were as favorable f o r t h e
germination of weed seeds in the loam
as the planted seeds but we have germinated just two weed seeds, both clover,
and not over six grass plants. The
grasses are noted because a f t e r t h e
loam is screened we cover it with hay
to keep it f r o m freezing before we run
it through the heater. The upper layer
of the loam must be filled with the
seeds of wild grasses and the f a c t t h a t
we have so few g'rass plants germinate
is still f u r t h e r proof of the effectiveness
of the heating.
For our last top dressing of 1931 we
were obliged to use unheated loam and
the amount of Shepherds Purse present
in all our Greens brings home once
again the effectiveness of heating loam
to destroy weed seeds.
For our first year we r a n the conveyor in plain bearings, but this last
year we fitted it with roller bearings.
The upper one served both as an
annular and thrust bearing'. We believe
this to be important, f o r under operation there is a heavy t h r u s t load on
the conveyor which if not properly
taken up, causes undue wear and cuts
into
the
efficiency
of
operation
materially. The middle bearing, much
to our surprise, gave us no trouble. We
were unable to secure any definite
recommendations on a special bearing
to fit this condition so put on an ordinary annular bearing which r a n unoiled
in a known temperature of 400 degrees
and when examined this Spring was
in very good shape. When the machine
is set up next Fall we shall put in a
new bearing, the expense f o r this being much less than to r u n the old
bearing and perhaps have it fail in the
middle of the work.
Jamming
may
happen f o r
two
reasons. Rocks occasionally get in, but
with the speeding up of the conveyor we
found t h a t what few rocks did get in
were run through without any serious
jamming. Loading' the conveyor too
heavily will also make it jam. Experience soon teaches the proper loading
speed and our second year took care of
this also without any real difficulties.
The speed at which the conveyor can
be r u n depends basically on the amount
of heat inside the cast iron pipe. W h a t
heat is actually needed inside t h e pipe

to kill the seeds we do not know, neither
do we know j u s t how long the loam
should be in passing through the heat.
We do know t h a t we have 400 degrees
minimum heat in the hottest p a r t and
t h a t the loam flows through in approximately two minutes, coming out a t
200 degrees. There is still considerable
study to be made of the three factors,
speed, heat and time of flow to bring
them into the most efficient correlation.
Our weakest point is that our set up
is not permanent. Our loam shed is
small with one side open. Seventy-five
cubic yards of loam are put in, screened
through a power screen and then out
conveyor heater set up just inside the
open side of the shed. A f t e r the loam
has been run through we must t e a r
down the set up to get our loam out
easily. Our construction consequently is
much lighter than is desirable. Our
motor and reduction unit must be taken
up at the end of each day's work,
causing us some minor trouble in keeping it in perfect alignment. This coming year with our past experience to
work from, we may be able to correct
some of these minor weaknesses and improve upon the
efficiency of
the
machine as a whole.
Undoubtedly by now many readers
have condemned the practice of heating
loam because, " I t does something i n j u r ious to it."
The field of micro-biology is not one
in which we even attempt to enter, being satisfied to leave t h a t to men who
have studied and trained f o r t h a t
particular field of science. We are content to depend on their opinion, which
is, t h a t if heating is injurious to soil
bacteria it is of little consequence f o r
the soil of the golf course is teeming
with micro-organisms which will immediately correct a sterile condition of
the heated loam, if such a condition
does exist. Practically speaking, we
have germinated a wide variety of
annual
flowering
plants
and
have
grown them along f o r two months or
more in nothing but heat treated loam.
The resulting plants are strong, healthy
and vigorous. We are, therefore, convinced t h a t heating' loam, at least as
we are doing it, has done nothing more
to the loam than kill the weed seeds
t h a t were in it.
I have purposely omitted figures on
labor costs and cost of building a conveyor heater. We have these
figures,
but as our original material was for the
most p a r t second hand, the figures are

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of little practical use to anyone. Our
labor costs are not secret but it is our
observation that maintenance
figures
when put before the public are wrongly
applied and analyzed and so do harm
rather than help. That this is so is a sad
observation on the mental processes of
us all; however I am straying f r o m the
point.
We do not believe that anything new
or revolutionary has baen instituted: if
this report of our experiences is of help
to anyone we are more than satisfied.
We are not interested in debating the
pros and cons of heat treating loam as
a maintenance operation. We do believe,
unreservedly, that for our conditions a t
Belmont Spring' Country Club we are
rendering a distinct service to the Club
throug'h this maintenance operation, the
cost of which is more than justified. We
admit that the efficiency of the machine
can be improved upon, but we do not
claim perfection for it.
The evolution of this practice and the
development of our conveyor heater is
in no sense the result of individual
work. We are indebted, in particular, to
the following; The Hacck Manufacturing Co., Mr. Harold Robie of Bellamy,

Robie and Sargent who would have
liked to build us a drag link conveyor
but told us that our principle was
sound and to stick to it; Mr. Malcolm
S. Cate of the engineering department
of the Hood Rubber Co., for much
practical advice; Mr. Duncan Shenk for
his friendly criticism; Mr. J . F. Buel
who helped us, materially, in adapting
the various parts into one workable
unit; Mr. Osborn Bezanson of the
Merrimac Chemical Co., for assistance
in locating much of the material used,
and, of course, none of this work could
have come to pass without the co-operation. confidence and encouragement of
Mr. F. D. Shenk, Chairman of the
Greens Committee of Belmont Spring
Country Club.
Charles W. Parker.

RHODE ISLAND FIELD DAY
The third annual Greenkeepers Field
Day was held at the Rhode Island State
College and Experiment Station on
May 23, 1932.
Following registration, those present
visited the experimental plats, where
Dr. T. E. Odland and Prof. H. F. A.
North explained the various plots and
experiments being conducted on them.
The old lawn plots, established in 1905,
are still of much interest. Various new
experiments with compost, the effect of
different soil reactions on newly seeded
R. I. Bent, arsenate of lead, etc. are also
of interest.
On the golf green plats, the plats of
Yorkshire velvet, B. P. I. 14276, and
Kernwood velvet attracted much attention, as probably the best plats at this
time. Two series of seed production
plats show that Rhode Island is a seed
producing region, and that the experiment station is trying to help those who
grow grass f o r seed production.
Following lunch, Director B. E. Gilbert of the Experiment Station presided
at the Grass and Turf Conference.
President Raymond G. Bressler of Rhode
Island State College welcomed the visitors to the campus, and announced that
the College would offer a five day Short
Course for greenkeepers this coming
Winter, probably in February. He read
a sample program for approval.
Other speakers were R. Wallace
Peckham for the Rhode Island Greenkeepers Association, Dean Adams of the

College, Melvin Brightman in behalf of
the seed testing department of the R. I.
Dept. of Agriculture, and P r a n k H. Wilson, J r . who brought greetings f r o m the
Greenkeepers Club of New England.
The main address was presented by
Dr. Howard B. Sprague of the New
Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station.
Dr. Sprague spoke on "Soil Conditions
and Plant Growth". He pointed out
t h a t this subject is not a single one nor
is it easy to understand. It will be some
years before we understand soil conditions. Practically everything we do to
grass is effective through the soil; theref o r e it is very important.
Get best system of management to
manage soil to get best results. We look
for sources of information—what is the
best combination of soil conditions to
bast grow grass?
Dr. Sprague pointed out the differences between the soil in eastern United
States, originally n a t u r a l forests, and
the western soil, n a t u r a l grass land.
The textures are similar, most obvious
difference is in color, black soil in west,
color due to organic matter, distributed
f u r t h e r down in soil. Also differences
in structure,, east f a i r l y light on surface, down some inches denser in struct u r e ; in west, more or less same structure all the way down, with good drainage. E a s t soil is usually acid, prairie
soil neutral. Eastern soils are more
deficient in plant food, poor in phosphorus, also lime; the n a t u r a l supply of
potash is lower. Our soils are not
naturally suited f o r grass production.
The conditions in West are maybe not
ideal, but they show the trend.
Experiments show t h a t most grass
roots are confined to the first inch, with
a substantial development down to five
inches, a little to seven inches. Grasses
produce a new root system every year,
starting when grass becomes green.
The old roots are dying, begin to decompose, conditions must be right in
soil f o r root development.
Any accumulation of organic matter
tends to lose its capacity for holding
water, especially material not decomposed.
How f a r should we go in changing
soil textures? On fairways, we sometimes must take them as they come1, except on sandy fairways, where they can
be topdressed' with clay soils. On greens,
ideal is toward sandy loam. This is
most likely to give best results. We cannot hope to get the organic m a t t e r con-

tent same as prairie soils, but we should
increase the organic matter content on
greens.
Bent grasses, even though
tolerant of acidity, probably do best on
soils not more acid t h a n 5.5 pH. On
strongly acid soils the danger of i n j u r y
to grasses is greatest.
I t is wise to provide nitrogen in
several f o r m s ; the solution of problem
of supplying nitrogen is a compromise
by supplying all forms, nitrate, ammonia, and organic N.
Dr. Sprague showed and explained several charts picturing results of various
experiments conducted by him in New
Jersey. One experiment on the effect of
adding organic matter to soil on w a t e r
holding capacity and growth of g r a s s "
showed t h a t all materials used increased t h e water holding capacity f r o m
untreated soil, and also increased the
top growth of grass, in both sandy and
clay soils. The more thoroughly material has been decomposed, the better
source f o r soil improvement. Layers of
organics are very undesirable; if we can
produce a blend of these materials ill
soil, improvement will show. Peat moss
is better composted unless it can be kept
wet while decomposing.
Following a short question period,
the annual meeting of the Rhode Island
Greenkeepers Association was held, with
President Peckham presiding. The following officers were elected:
Pres.,
Lawrence Hay of Agawam H u n t ; V.
Pres., Thomas Galvin of Rhode Island
C. C.; Sec., Woodworth Bradley; Treas.,
Martin Greene of Wannamoisett.
Exhibits
and
demonstrations
of
sprinklers, putting green mowers, hand
and power, lawn mowers, and other
small equipment completed the day's
program.
This third Field Day was blessed with
fine weather, a f t e r the two previous had
plenty of rain.
The cooperation between th^. State
College and Experiment Station staffs
and the greenkeepers of the State is a
fine thing for golf in Rhode Island.
Prof. John B. Smith tested many soil
samples during the day.
Dean Adams brought out the three
rules f o r a successful public speaker-—
to stand up, speak up, and shut u p !
We wonder where this "world's worst
golf course" is, on which all the staff
play. It shouldn't be in Rhode Island!

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HOSE

MASS.

STATE
LAWN

COLLEGE
DAY

Your attention is called to the prog r a m f o r the annual Lawn Day a t t h e
Massachusetts State College a t Amherst.
Tuesday,

July

L A W N DAY
Room 20, Stockbridge

26

Hall

10:00 A . M . Why a good lawn, and
how I find them about the state.
A. N. Davis M.S.C.
11:00 A . M . Experiences in turf grawL. S. Dickinson, M.S.C.
12:15
Luncheon.
1:45 P . M . Lawn soils.
Professor George McClure,
Soil Technologist,
Ohio State University.
3:00 P . M . For Question answering.
3:30 P . M . Inspection of Turf Plots.
N O T E : If weather is stormy an illustrated lecture will be substituted f o r
the plot inspection.
All who are interested in turf growing should plan to visit the exhibition
in Room 20, Stockbridge Hall.
AGAWAM

HUNT

At present we are topdressing our
greens f o r the second time this season
with compost. We have added to our
equipment a power screen, which is a
great help; also a five g a n g mower has
been changed to a seven gang by adding
two units. The greens are cut by power
mowers, this being the third season, and
are a success.
Lawrence Hay, Greenkeeper.

NEWS

The Agawam Hunt, one of the oldest
golf courses in the State of Rhode
Island, has reached the stage where it
is so well established t h a t few changes
can be made in the n a t u r a l layout f r o m
year to year. Yet we have never passed
up the opportunity to make minor improvements whenever there is a chance
to better the present layout.
This year we have added a few more
t r a p s and altered some of our greens.
The third f a i r w a y received first attention; nearly an acre of sod was lifted
in order to eliminate casual water which
remained there a day or two a f t e r a
heavy rain. The f a i r w a y was regraded
and all the low spots filled, resodded,
and topdressed. The brook in f r o n t of
the 4th green has been filled in, and the
contour of the sloping green built up so
as to afford a better approach shot.
The sixth f a i r w a y was topdressed and
seeded. Being on high ground, we have
put in a water supply. The 17th and
13th have had same treatment with
water supply.

NEW

JERSEY

FIELD

DAY

You are cordially invited to attend a
field-day program devoted entirely to
turf culture, a t the New Jersey State
Agricultural Experiment Station on
Monday, June 20, 1932. The meeting is
sponsored jointly by The New Jersey
State Golf Association, The New Jersey
State Greenkeepers Association, and
the State Agricultural
Experiment
Station. It is expected t h a t a large
number of persons interested in producing and maintaining turf on lawns,
golf courses, parks, etc., will be present.
The program will begin at 3 P. M.
(Daylight Saving Time) on the experimental turf plots cf the Agronomy Department at the College F a r m , New
Brunswick. Each of the several hundred plots will be labeled, and visitors
may draw their own conclusions as to
the effects of the various treatments
and conditions. A discussion of the
field experiments will be conducted
during the afternoon.
At 6 P. M. the group will adjourn to
the Hotel Woodrow Wilson where dinner will be served a t a cost of $1.50 per
plate. A short evening program of
talks on turf culture and a discussion of
turf problems will follow.

The July meeting will be held a t the
Tedesco Country Club, Swampscott,
Mass. on July 11th.
To retain their standing, those who
have not paid their dues f o r 1932
should do so this month. Send clues to
the Treasurer, F r a n k H. Wilson, Jr.,
Charles River Country Club, Newton
Centre, Mass.
Two new practice t r a p s have recently
been built a t Braeburn Country Club.

FOR

"QUALITY"

LAWNS, GOLF and

Golf

Course,

Park

S P O R T TURF

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WYANTENUCK
Great

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Barrington,

CLUB

Mass.

MORE ABOUT BROWN P A T C H
By C. W. Hazlett, Bel-Air C. C.
Reprinted f r o m the Pacific Greenkeeper
The following is in answer to a number of questions asked of the Association
president in regard to a very popular
subject.
Your Letter with its many interesting angles and suggestions in regard
to old man Brown Patch received and
would say no as to him being carried
around on players' shoes, or at least not
likely. He only thrives when the temperature is just right, and it does not
seem at all probable t h a t t h e players
wrould go to the trouble of accommodating the old boy to t h a t extent. And
even if the players did pack it around on
their brogues, there seems to be nothing
t h a t can be done about the m a t t e r ;
they have to get f r o m course to course
and f r o m green to green, and the pest
could be carried by bare feet as easily
as not. The same thing applies to it
being carried around on the mowers; the
greens must be cut in the least amount
of time, without benefit of fumigation.
Possibly the idea is to carry around a
bucket of hot suds to wash the machines
every time a brown patch is seen. There
are a lot of hokus pokus ideas floating
around about this subject and I think
it a waste of time to investigate many
of them. Of course it is well to give all
the evidence the once over.
Since
no
one yet
has
demonstrated satisfactorily what the disease is
all about, let us mark up a few f a c t s
against the old boy t h a t we have seen
come to pass and t h a t we know are true.
When the weather is cold and windy he
doesn't come around, neither does he
leave his cave during nice warm growing
weather. But let the temperature rise
to about 80 or 90 degrees with the air
still and a little fog or haze lingering on
the horizon, and he sneaks in and bites
where ycu aren't looking. Ordinarily
the change can be very gradual, barely
enough to be noticed. But if you look
closely, you don't have to have very
good eyes to see a few of the f a m i l i a r
spots on some of your finest t u r f . From
my own observations I would say t h a t it
comes when there is least circulation of
air, and it attacks the closest clipped
grass the hardest. I t seems to settle
down just as a heavy gas would do

when there is very little circulation. It
doesn't seem to be particular in its preference for high or low, and wet or dry
spots. Night seems to be the time when
the villian gets in his deadliest work,
and he is particularly dangerous to a
shaded green, but I would say t h a t this
last is due to the fact t h a t the turf has
not as much chance to recuperate in the
sun's rays as does t h a t on an open green.
We know t h a t brown patch and humidity
hand in hand, and, because humidity
is caused by the presence of atmospheric vapor under certain conditions,
I cannot help but associate brown patch
with something in a gasgeous form t h a t
becomes active when conditions of temperature and atmosphere are j u s t right,
conditions which allow a thin f o g to
settle down. Of course the f o g and
changes of temperature are all t h a t my
senses were able to record. Humidity
and the presence of gases associated
with the disease do not always register
to one not equipped with delicate instruments.
Atmospheric
conditions being matters over which we have no control
let us accept them as they come, and
put the greens in favorable condition to
ward off any dangers t h a t may be present. Excessive water to keep the temperature down will not do, because the
soil_, if of a heavy nature, will pack and
algia will develop, thus putting the green
in very poor condition to overcome anything. The sun and air must be allowed
a chance to put in their good work, and
this they cannot do_ if the turf is kept
loaded with water, i t is better to spike
the greens and put in enough sand, peat,
and soil so t h a t the turf in the region of
the roots will be of such a texture as to
retain moisture; then the sun and air
can do some good work. Of course there
are extremes. The top must be kept a little moist; if allowed to get dry, no condition below would be of any help. This
spiking and topdressing by all means
should bs done in cool growing weather.
If, a f t e r getting the green in good growing condition by the right application of
nitrogen, potash and phosphoric, you a r e
still subject to brown patch, you will
find t h a t a green in this condition will
respond very readily to treatments of
mercury-chlorine compounds.
It
is
stated that these ingredients, being
deadly poisons, kill soil bacteria. I personally do not give a tinker's cuss if
they do. If the greens are in a healthy
condition they will overcome these ill
effects to a great extent, and in the fall

more bacteria can be added. The average golfer will never know that anything has been added or taken away,
having enjoyed good golfing conditions
throughout the summer.
In the season when brown patch is
most prevalent and it makes its appearance on two or more greens at the same
time, do not err on the side of economy. For those greens which do not
have it or have only a slight attack I
would say cut down a little below the
average full dosage. But of they have
it in any noticeable amount, don't kid
yourself, give it to them quick. When
you analyze the whole mess and weigh
the benefits of good greens for twelve
months of the year against a summertime of questionable putting, it does not
seem that $20 a year for the average
green for brown patch medicine is prohibitive, does it? Especially not when
you are giving old man brown patch a
kick in the slats. All these other preliminaries such as topdressing to get the
soil into the right texture for a healthy
turf should be performed under any con
ditions and should not be charged directly to the cost of handling brown
patch. I would say that if the time is
right for adding ammonium sulphate,
mix this with the mercury treatment
and water and you will get good results. The wet method seems to work
best for me. It takes about 20 minutes
for two men to treat a green.
JUNE

MEETING

The June meeting was held at the
Oyster Harbors Club, Osterville, Mass.,
on June 6th. Some fifty members and
guests were present and enjoyed playing the very testing layout, scene of
this year's State Open. Gross winners
of the 18 hole medal turnament were:
Michael McDonough, Oyster Harbors
—40-47-87.
James McCormack, Unicorn—48-40-

88.

Net winners were:
Tom Galvin, Rhode Island—94-18-76.
Wm. McBride, Nashua—97-18-79.
H. B. Cottelle, Barrington
101-20

-81.

Mr. A. B. Hopkins, formerly Turf
Specialist for the Armour Fertilizer
C o m p a n v . is now with Goulard & Olena,
Inc. of New York City.

There recently reached our desk the
very fine year-book of the Highland
Country Club, Attleboro, Mass. This
book gives a list of the club events
planned for this season, and results of
the main club tournaments the past
season. A list of the members is included, as is also several of the important by-laws of the club. This book
is of special interest in that it shows
that one club at least of the smaller
clubs actually plans ahead for the whole
season. We believe that this idea
could be copied with profit by many
nther clubs whose tournaments are now
being run in rather slipshod manner.
A new practice putting green had recently been opened at the Highland
Country Club, Attleboro, Mass.
A new practice fairway is under
construction at the Oyster Harbors
Country Club.
The Board of Directors held a well
attended meeting on May 20, with President McCormack at Unicorn.
The new Providence Municipal Course
opened on May 1st with an attendance
of 178 in pouring rain. Everett Pyle,
greenkeeper in charge, reports crowds
of over four hundred each Sunday since
opening, with 422 as high mark to date.
Frank Wilson reports two new tees
built this past month at Charles River,
the third, 60 by 20 width, and the
twelveth, 70 by 25' width.
R. L. Mitchell is now located at the
Edison Country Club, Schenectady, N.
Y. as greenkeeper, and W. F. Mitchell
at Lake Sunapee Country Club, New
London, N. H. as greenkeeper. With
Samuel and Henry also working on golf
courses this Summer, it seems t h a t
Robert of Kernwood and his greenkeeping family could have an association
all their own !

W h e n writing our advertisers, m e n t i o n

NEWSLETTER!

Prevent Brown Patch
With Proven
Fungicides

i

There's plenty of trouble in the maintenance of Golf greens without
adding Brown Patch to your worries. Every greenkeeper knows Brown
Patch may ruin a perfect green overnight if proper protection is not
given the grass.
Applied to turf at regular intervals, either Du Bay Semesan and NuGreen can prevent large and small Brown Patch. If the disease has already appeared, a prompt application quickly restores the grass to normal
health.
Semesan and Nu-Green application chart:—One pound to 50 gallons
of water will treat 1000 square f e e t of turf by sprinkling. Applied in a
power sprayer 50 gallons of Semesan solution treats f r o m 2000 to 3000
square feet, and 50 gallons of Nu-Green solution treats from 1500 to
2000 sruare feet. Neither will burn or injure the turf.
Nu-Green
Semesan
Size Package
$ 9.00
$ 12.00
5 lbs.
33.75
51.25
25 lbs.
130.00
200.00
100 lbs.
Calogreen is a calomel product especially recommended by the
Manufacturers for the control of Small Brown Patch.
Calo-Clor is a newer product consisting of a mixture of Calomel
and Corrosive Sublimate. It ir very effective in checking and controlling
both Small and Large Brown Patch. Also good for earthworm eradication.
Corrosive Sublimate has been used for years for not only accurate
control of both Brown Patches but for killing worms in t u r f .
Calogreen
Calo-Clor
Corrosive Sublimate
Size Package
$ 9.30
$ 9.55
$ 5.85
5 lbs.
42.50
44.75
26.00
25 lbs.
83.50
85.00
50.50
50 lbs.

NEW

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ENGLAND TORO COMPANY
W e s t N e w t o n , Mass.
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lower

collect.—Newton
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on

North

Milorganite,

7900-7901
effective

June

20th