MM HEWIEK "Little minds remain little through to see and use big things.'" MAY 1934 failure 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. WEST Editor 312 Mt. P l e a s a n t St., F a l l River, M a s s . HOWARD D. FARRANT Business Mgr. 132 R u s s e t t Rd., W e s t R o x b u r y , M a s s . May, 1934 Vol. 6, No. 5 SPEAKING OF SEED by Mrs. E. E. Pattison, Pres., International Seed Service. The biggest thing on the horizon is the invitation to bid p u t out by the Federal Surplus Relief Corporation in order to relieve the distress of the holders of Kentucky Bluegrass and Redtop to a t t e m p t to control surpluses so t h a t f u t u r e markets will be stabilized and last but not least to in some way exercise control so as to eliminate f r o m the market the poor, off-grade, low and weak germinating material of previous years, more especially the Kentucky Bluegrass of the 1931 crop. While I personally don't approve of the way in which the problem is being handled, yet I do see t h a t there is bound to be some good result. The amount of money the government is spending on this particular bid is $2,000,000. Approximately $900,000. of this amount goes into Redtop. One of the results of this activity of course is going to be increased price f o r the ultimate consumer. Another bit of news t h a t certainly is interesting to greenkeepers is the shortage of the 1934 New Zealand fescue, Chewings fescue crop. The crop is not only short but a good deal of the yield is lighter weight than usual. I have always preached buying Chewings fescue not only on the purity and germination but on the bushel weight but so f a r as I can see, my preaching has done little or no good. Short crop news also comes f r o m Copenhagen where the acreage of Poa trivialis has been so seriously reduced on account of low prices. While lawn grass is not directly in your line of work, yet it affects practically every member of your club and I think t h a t you greenkeepers could extend your field of influence to the benefit of the club members. I have a little delicacy in discussing this with you because some of your advertisers would probably object to any activity along these lines but if you will take the last Massachusetts Bulletin, No. 72, Seed Inspection, and analyze the reports on the mixtures given therein, you are bound to feel that something ought to be done f o r those at least close to you. Perhaps you would be interested in what I recently said on lawn grass to one of the members of the United States House of Representatives and f o r this reason I am appending a copy of this letter. COPY May 3, 1934 Honorable Claude Parsons U. S. Representative f r o m Illinois House Office Building Washington, D. C. My dear Mr. P a r s o n s : — In talking to Mr. C. H. James of the Egyptian Seed Growers Exchange, Flora, Illinois, regarding Redtop and Kentucky Bluegrass seed, I had the privilege of giving him a synopsis of our work in the lawn grass field. The lawn grass business, especially in the East, has been more or less of a " r a c k e t " which has prevented the use of more Kentucky Bluegrass and Redtop seed. I am daring enough to say t h a t if the proper amount of Kentucky Bluegrass and Redtop had been used in the lawn grass mixtures over the last five years, there would now be no burdensome surpluses and the prices could be such as to show the growers a legitimate profit. Almost single handed we have been fighting this racket f o r years. As an evidence of our battle, I am sending you a reprint of an article by myself (somewhat deleted by the editor) which appeared in the Seed World. As another evidence I r e f e r you to the case now in the hands of the Federal Trade Commission placed there by ourselves. ^ ^ H I am advised that no new legislation is necessary to stop this racket. All that is necessary is f o r the government (The Federal Trade Commission could do it) to define what is a lawn grass mixture and to prosecute those dealers who engage in interstate commerce and who mark the most horrible mixtures "Lawn Grass Seed." With f e w exceptions most of this stuff is not only incorrectly labeled but the printing on the packages as well as the literature and sales effort is a deliberate attempt to deceive. The State seed laws do not protect the ultimate consumer and it would be years before there could be state Legislation which would do so. As an illustration as to the possible amount of Kentucky Bluegrass and Redtop seed which could have been used during the last five years, permit us to set down some very conservative figures. The estimates f o r mixtures used for lawn and sport purposes run f r o m fifty to one hundred million pounds per year. Taking an average of seventy-five million, our survey leads to the statem e n t that a t least fifty percent of these mixtures contain at least fifty percent of filler. Some of the fillers used are chaff, bluegrass glumes and pasture grasses such as timothy, meadow fescue and rye grass. (Note—Rye grass should not be termed a filler f o r lawn mixtures used south of the Potomac River or north of this line when the amount is not in excess of fifteen percent.) On the above figures one arrives at 18,750,000 pounds of filler per year. For the sake of giving all the benefit of doubt let us greatly discount this figure. Let us take the ultra-conservative figure of 10,000,000 pounds of filler per year. At this rate over a five year period if these fillers had not been used, we would have consumed at least fifty million pounds of good Kentucky Bluegrass and Redtop seed. Believing that the growers of these grass seeds want a " c u r e " instead of a remedy, I urge y o u and the other congressmen interested to do your utmost in curing a racket that affects not only the producers of these seeds but every conscientious dealer and every home owner in the United States. For this reason I think every congressman should be acquainted with this racket and urged to do his utmost to eliminate it. It is impossible f o r me to acquaint them but I hope you will see the necessity of doing so. I have been in the seed industry f o r over twenty five years having started at the government's laboratory in Washington and I have seen this racket take millions of dollars annually f r o m the American public. When Mr. Homeowner buys this junk he not only pays his good money f o r poor seed hut he loses a great deal more f r o m labor and other materials that are wasted because of it. If I can be of any help in curing this evil, I am at your command. Sincerely, International Seed Service, Inc. President, E. E. PATTISON. EEP:EM This busy season finds your Editor busy as well, and we most earnestly ask f o r more and better cooperation in sending in articles and items of interest f o r the f u t u r e issues. We also ask you to cooperate by sending us changes in green chairmen, new addresses, etc. If you have not already sent your questionaire on "Winter kill" to the chairman of the entertainment committee, do so at once. We hope to have some helpful information f r o m these questionaires, and will present it in the N E W S L E T T E R later. a a COOO^P ! t - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 oo o s & a m a ca 43 o o o o I i m o id ifl io m m CS 00 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 © • w tn &J0 C S fau SH O u 0) o i> , LO lO •pifl^^ioio^oiojioioooio g ° o 3 1J St Si Ui tn 0> r-Q1 ~ 00000000000000 ^OOOOOOOOOOOOOO WNV^^COCDVO'COCD 3 w^ T. T—| H « s N Cl. £ o Sj a > tf m Q w CD J r-O CD c3 fi'.B JM 5. TOPh'-S S3 CD < 60 ™ « Si S H -j-B'S-S 'j3 -o a sQ)'rt -p 0) © £© ffl ' B f^nQ 2 m © o u IK M «i 3o^<> 3 0) i. o. o ® 17© fH 0$ dj feWtftf o o>mo MAY MEETING The May meeting was held at the Weston Country Club, Weston, Mass. on May 7th. In the morning there was a demonstration of the new Tillavator, sold by the New England Toro Co., also demonstrations of the Buel P e r f o r a t o r hitched to a Worthington Tractor. The results of the 18 hole medal handicap tournament held in the a f t e r noon are as follows: Class A : 1st net, M. 0'Grady—89-73. 2nd net, C. Sowerby—87-74. 3rd net, T. Mattus—95-75. 4th net, W. Peckham—90-77. Class B : 1st net, C. Treat—101-71. 2nd net, J. Latvis—100-72. Dr. Howard Sprague of the N. J . Agri. Exp. Station has called our attention to a typographical error in the report in the April issue of his talk a t the Braeburn meeting. The statement which read "Sulphate of ammonia i s 0 . K. on soils excessively acid" should have read "Sulphate of ammonia is 0 . K. on soils, unless excessively acid." We are pleased to note this error, and correct it. GREENKEEPERS' HANDICAP LIST (Revised J u n e 1, 1934) Class Cassidy, Philip Cappello, E. Clark, A. Clinton, John Counsell, John Darling, H. C. F a r r a n t , H. Fahey, T. Fitzpatrick, John Flood, V. Granger, R. T. Howe, W. Hayden, P. Hannon, S. F. McBride, W. McCormick, J . McDonough, M. Maschiocchi, E. Moshier, H. Macbey, P. Mattus, T. 0'Grady, M. Ohlson, Alec. Ohlson, Ed. Oldfield, J . Peckham, W. A (1 - 2 4 ) 24 23 24 15 14 22 23 24 13 18 0 8 22 24 21 14 21 4 24 16 16 15 8 24 14 12 Wipes Out A nt Hill in 24 Hours! No Trouble! No Cans, No Bottles, It's a Knockout! Introductory Special Offer TWELVE DoiMtSiiilyriinrc 6000 500 Hill M1 m )Knockout Drops If n o t S a t i s f i e d w i t h r e s u l t s in 3 0 d a y s , s e n d b a c k 11 A N T U B E S a n d o w e u s nothing- Get in o n really this n o w solve that - because pesky ANT you know nothing problem. For Sale This has looks come like forward it h a s yet arrived. By N E W E N G L A N D TORO GO. 1121 WASHINGTON WEST NEWTON, STREET MASS. ^ySCKEyf to 23 15 12 18 13 22 24 23 20 21 24 Pettizoni, G. Phinney, E. Sowerby, C. Stephenson, E. Swanson, T. Sullivan, J. Treat, Carl Volmer, G. West, G. Wendall, A. Wendell, 0 . Class Anderson, A. E. Braio, D. Burnett, M. Cottelle, H. Darling, J. W. Durkin, H. C. Elder, R. Fuller, E. Fontaine, A. Greene, M. Galvin, T. Hall, H. Hansen, Ed. Holden, J. Johnson, J. Latvis, J. McDonough, J. Murray, T. O'Keefe, C. O'Leary, T. O'Malley, J. Parker, C. Polhamus, E. Pyle, E. Partridge, W. Robinson, R. Stott, L. Tamio, P. Wanberg, P. Wilson, F. WINTER B 25 28 38 38 28 32 28 38 30 26 26 38 28 26 38 26 26 28 38 30 30 38 38 33 30 28 33 26 30 28 Paul Hayden, Chairman Golf Com. KILL QUESTIONAIRE The following is a partial report upon the answers received to date f r o m the questionaires sent all members. All who have not sent in reports are urged to send them at once, so t h a t a complete report may be made. What About Winter Kill? Following is a questionaire being sent to members of the Greenskeepers Club f o r the purpose of assembling usef u l information to the members. QUESTIONAIRE Q. Name and address of golf club. A. Nine courses reported. Q. Kind of grass in greens. A. Mainly mixed bents plus poa annua. Q. Seeded or stolons? A. Both. Q. How many greens had winter kill?— Heavy or light damage? A. Ranged f r o m 10% to 100% and many reported heavy damage. Q. What date did it occur? A. Last week in March and April. first of Q. What strains of grass, if any, were not affected by winter kill? A. In every case where velvet bent was reported it was not winter killed. Q. What parts of the greens were damaged? (High, low, or shaded) A. Usually in low and shaded parts. Q. What do you consider the actual cause of winter kill on your greens? A. Poor drainage, too much snow melting and couldn't get away f a s t enough. Icy water being held under surface by f r o s t underneath practically freezing out roots. Ice under snow earlier may have started more trouble than realized. Q. What are you doing to r e c t i f y the damage now and what plans are you making to prevent it during another cold winter? A. Raking, spiking, seeding and top dressing. CHAMPIONS Grass Seed Division against BROWN Semesan A PATCH Nu-Green Most practical and effective fungicides yet developed. Semesan and Nu-Green will prevent the development of brown patch as long as any known fungicide. Also, they quickly control the brown patch f u n g i even under the most severe conditions and aid in restoring the diseased turf to normal health. Be Prepared for Brown Patch Greenkeepers, knowing how quickly disease can damage t u r f , should keep an ample Supply of Semesan or Nu-Green on hand f o r prevention and control. Both Semesan and Nu-Green can be shipped immediately f r o m Boston warehouse. Distributed by: MSSM 85 S T A T E STREET, BOSTON NEW ENGLAND GROWN Winter-hardy, Acclimated F. H. Woodruff & Sons Main Milford, Office Connecticut The Home of WOODCO Brand Highest SEEDS Purity Maximum Minimum Viability Weed Content Write f o r information on our F R E E Consultation Service and visit our PROVING GROUNDS for Turf Grasses at Milford. The Sign Telephone of Good PARkway Seeds 3467 N. HOWDEN 1131 W a s h i n g t o n Street BENT SEED HOWDEN'S for New England Golf Courses Direct from the farms of A. N. PECKHAM KINGSTON, W e s t Newton, Mass. R. I. SEEDS Recommend themselves and depend not on costly and extravagant advertising, but on public appreciation of their unvarying excellence of quality and on the recommendation by one f r i e n d to another. Such recommendations are greatly esteemed by N . H O W D E N Plans to prevent—Improve drainage, shovel off snow earlier, p u t t i n g up snow fences, putting in more resistant grass. Q. Any severe damage f r o m snow mold? A. Yes and in many cases heavier than seen before. Q. What are you doing about it? A. Raking and seeding where bad. Q. How does the play at your course thus f a r this season compare to 1933 and 1932? Make general remarks. A. One course 40% over 1933. Four course 50c/c over 1933. One course 75% over 1933. One too early to tell and two not reported. Homer C. Darling. DESCRIPTION OF FERTILIZER MATERIALS (R. I. Short Course) Nitrate of soda is a quick-acting water soluble nitrogen carrier. I t is easily leached f r o m the soil. Continuous use tends to make the soil less acid. Nitrate of potash is very similar to nitrate of soda and in addition f u r nishes potash. Nitrate of lime furnishes calcium in addition to nitrogen. Calurea is made by combining urea and calcium nitrate. Sulfate of ammonia is the most widely used of the nitrogenous fertilizers on lawns and golf courses. I t contains about 20 per cent of nitrogen in the ammonia form. The continued use of sulfate of ammonio will make a soil more acid. If not carried too f a r this is just what is wanted on bent grass lawns or other t u r f . Such acidity tends to discourage certain weeds and clover. Cal-nitro is made by combining ammonium nitrate and carbonate of lime. About half of N is in nitrate f o r m and half in ammonia form. Ammo-phos is a synthetic material containing both nitrogen and phosphoric acid. It is similar to sulfate of ammonia in its effect upon grass although it produces soil acidity more slowly. Urea is a highly concentrated nitrogen fertilizer material containing about 45 per cent nitrogen. It should be used with extreme care as its high concentration is likely to cause fertilizer burn if not applied very sparingly. Cottonseed meal is an organic nitrogen carrier. The content of nitrogen is usually about 6 per cent and it carries approximately 2 per cent each of phosphoric acid and potash. It is a slowly acting fertilizer and can be used without danger of " b u r n i n g " the grass. Linseed meal and castor pomace are similar materials. Milorganite is another organic nitrogen carrier. It is a little lower in nitrogen content than cottonseed meal and contains only a very small amount of potash. It has the same advantages of an organic fertilizer t h a t were mentioned f o r cottonseed meal. Other organic fertilizer materials include dried blood, tankage, hoof meal, and guano. These are all more slowly available than the inorganic materials but have the advantage of lasting longer. They are more expensive, usually costing about three times as much f o r a given amount of nitrogen in the material. They are used in making up part of the nitrogen in the better fertilizer mixtures. We find only a few materials to choose f r o m in selecting our carriers of phosphoric acid. The more commonly used are superphosphate and bone meal. Superphosphate may be obtained in a number of different grades ranging f r o m 16 to 45 per cent P 2 0 5 . Superphosphate tends to reduce the acidity of a soil when used continuously. Colloidal phosphate and floats consist of finely ground r a w rock phosphate and are too slowly available f o r general use. Precipitated bone furnishes phosphoric acid in a highly available form. Bone meal, being an organic fertilizer, has some of the advantages of the organic nitrogen carriers already men- ^ ' THE SUPER-DETROIT (Wheel If It's a Power Lawn Mower Why Not a Moto - Mower) Type) The machines hardship that out have of m a d e it a taken labor the and joy. Super-Detroit 27 and 63 in. cut Standard Model 24 in. cut City Model 21 in. cut Junior Model 19 in. cut A l s o L a w n M a s t e r 2 5 in. c u t A twist of the wrist guides Catalog and Full Information on Request. it. MOTO - MOWER COMPANY FACTORY 165 Brighton Ave., SALES & Allston, Mass. SERVICE Telephone Stadium PFIZER MERCURIAL MIXTURE % Calomel—1§ Corrosive Sublimate BROWN PATCH C O R R O S I V E S U B L I M A T E for ANGLE W O R M S CALOMEL — Fine P o w d e r Made and M a r k e t e d by CHAS. PFIZER & CO., Inc. MANUFACTURING 81 Maiden Lane, New CHEMISTS York, N. Y. 0199 tioned. It is a slow acting fertilizer but a safe one to use. The two commonly used potash carriers are sulfate and muriate of potash. There is little to choose between these two f o r m s f o r grass fertilization purposes. Each carries about 48 per cent of K 2 0 . Fertilizer mixtures for 22 lbs. This will make enough fertilizer f o r 1000 sq. f t . of lawn. The analysis will be approximately 8-6-6 Half of the nitrogen is obtained f r o m a quick-acting inorganic f o r m and a half f r o m the more slowly available organic material. 5 lbs. 20 lbs. 1 lb. 26 lbs. This will make a mixture of approximately 10-6-4 and very similar to the first one. Other similar mixtures might be made up in this way. A complete fertilizer of this kind is the one suggested f o r the spring application. For the later summer topdress- 2 pounds per 1000 sq. f t . sulfate of ammonia only is This should be thoroughly to prevent i n j u r y to the GREENKEEPERS R. lawns. In general a grass fertilizer mixture should be one rather high in nitrogen since this is the element t h a t gives the greatest response when applied to grass. Many very excellent mixtures f o r lawns are found on our markets today. Some of the analyses found include 10-6-4, 8-6-6, 12-4-4 and a number of others. The ready mixed lawn fertilizers have the advantage that they are ready to use and come in small convenient packages suitable f o r the average small home lawn. For the home owner who has a larger lawn and wishes to do his own mixing so that he will know just what he is obtaining in his fertilizing materials a f e w suggestive mixtures will be mentioned. Sulfate of ammonia 5 lbs. Cottonseed meal or milorganite 10 lbs. Superphosphate 5 lbs. Muriate of potash 2 lbs. Ammo-phos B Cottonseed meal Muriate of potash ings about of lawn of suggested. watered in grass. I. STATE FIELD DAY AT COLLEGE The fifth annual Greenkeepers' Field Day was held at the Rhode Island State College on May 21st. An inspection trip to the turf experiment plats was held in the morning, conducted by Dr. T. E. Odland and Prof. H. F. A. North. The experiments being conducted are many and varied. The old acid vs. alkaline plots are still in existence, and still a source of much interest. Various other experiments on grasses at lawn length are weed eradication, lead arsenate, iron sulphate, aluminum sulphate. The plats in the test of varieties and strains of grasses f o r greens have been revised, and now contain some new strains. These plats are also used to determine whether a grass comes t r u e f r o m seed, and each plot is used as a brwn-patch experiment, half being treated, half untreated. Sections B and C, seed production tests, are also of interest. A test of fertilizer ratios on t h r e e popular bent grasses is a newer experiment. Here comparisons between the effects of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash may be made, as the ratios of fertilizers used vary as 20-6-4, 10-6-4, 10-6-8, 10-6-0, 5-6-4, 10-12-4, 10-0-4, 10-0-0. These are tried in triplicate on plats of Washington creeping bent, R. I. Colonial bent, and No. 142Y6 Velvet bent. Another new experiment seeks to determine the effect of ammonia, nitrate, and organic nitrogen on popular kinds of bent grass. All these experiments are of interest and it should be the goal of every greenkeeper within reach, to inspect and profit f r o m them. Following lunch, the principal speaker of the conference was Dr. John Monteith of the Green Section. Dr. Monteith said in part, speaking on the general subject "Economic Maintainence of Golf Courses": Golf is picking up, and cuts maybe something of the past, but it would be best to investigate cuts and see what good there is f o r the f u t u r e . Many golfers have in the past been turned f r o m the game by the luxuries thought necessary. Play is increasing f r o m coast to coast, there are more members and members are playing more. The encouraging thing about this depression has been that so many courses have survived. There will be more leisure in the f u t u r e ; all types of recreation will be stimulated, golf included. Golf will be more economical; more people are interested and know t h a t they can get golf at a reasonable figure. This throws the problem up to the greenkeeper. Golf that demands economical dues will not demand millionaire course standards. Not all extravagance has been due to the greenkeeper, probably least to him. Greenkeeper should know and suggest the changes to be made. Traps can often be raked less often, or the size of greens cut down, as economy measures. Many golf greens can not stand much cutting down in size, while others with no character near the outer edges may be. Fairways with fertilization toward the outer edges as good as in the center gives a condition where the man who hits a ball straight down the center has no better a lie than the man who just stays on the fairway, and often the man six inches off the f a i r w a y has the worst lie on the course. This may be a mistaken greenkeeping practice. Watering is also done along these lines. A course t h a t watered only in landing areas f r e q u e n t l y and other areas seldom, gave a definite t a r g e t f o r all shots, shots off line a little I had poorer t u r f , a great saving in watering costs and also a good result. There are still too many courses buying on same old idea that the most expensive materials are the best; this is a fallacy that has been exploded f o r years. The greenkeeper is often not close enough to experiment station officials. The narrow viewpoint is still held by some greenkeepers that experiments on turf plots are valueless because conditions are different than on golf courses. The greenkeeper must be careful these days in turning down experimentation as worthless. Experimentation on golf courses by greenkeepers has contributed little and cost plenty. F a r m e r s have learned the value of experiment stations; golf courses are t u r n i n g toward them. The day of secrets is over. BUCKNER Watering Equipment W e are sure that B u c k n e r Sprinklers will a p p e a l t o t h e G r e e n s k e e p e r s of N e w England because of t h e i r v e r y obvious qualities. Indeed, they speak for themselves, w i t h their sturdy construction, simple design and dependable performance. Their u n u s u a l e f f i c i e n c y has been p r o v e n in t h e a r i d c l i m a t e of C a l i f o r n i a a n d n a t u r a l l y in t h e m i l d e r c o n d i t i o n s in t h e E a s t , Buckner is i n c o m p a r a b l y finest. O n e of t h e m o s t p o p u l a r m o d e l s is i l l u s Rainer, trated below, namely, the California No. 6A Sub Junior. It is priced very m o d e s t l y a t $10.00 o n r o l l e r s t a n d . Excellent for small areas and for pressures of 25 t o 35 p o u n d s , a n d f o r % o r 1 i n c h h o s e . W e s h a l l be p l e a s e d t o m a i l y o u a f u l l d e s c r i p t i v e c a t a l o g u e on t h e a b o v e s p r i n k l e r s upon request. Surely, B U C K N E R SPRINKLERS merit a try. We're sure you'll like them. HAN. 1454 HOVEY & 150 Milk Street COMPANY Boston, Mass. Golfers will demand better turf a t less cost; result will be t h a t the greenkeeper will be an expert in turf culture, not a mere foreman. The greenkeeper must keep abreast of new developments, must use every nickel to advantage. The trend of the greenkeepers toward recognizing the necessity of continuing the green Section is a good sign. The N. A. G. A. at its inception was decidedly antagonistic toward the Green Section, now it expresses regrets t h a t the work of the Green Section had to be curtailed, and is friendly. The American temperament is such t h a t golfers will never be satisfied. Routine greenkeeping is going _ on the scrapheap. Experimental work is something t h a t the greenkeeper is not equipped to do. It is a disgrace to see some of our big courses at the mercy of some green chairmen, trying out something to satisfy their curiosity. A new chairman often has to "prove" his theories, even though they have been disproved many times before. The Green Section does not use Federal f u n d s f o r its main activities, altho it is tied up with the Bureau of Plant Industry. Membership in the U. S. G. A. has fallen off so t h a t drastic cuts are necessary. Often people do not realize that dropping membership in the U. S. G. A. cuts out support of the Green Section. Many projects had to be cut out entirely, such as the work being done on weed control. In Great Britain, golf clubs contribute through Golf Unions. The Budget there last year was twice the budget of the Green Section, and their problems are about as varied as here in New England, while the Green Section must deal with problems all over the United States. There is small support f o r State Institutions, not because of lack of interest at the stations. FIELD DAY NOTES Interest was revived in the Rhode Island Greenkeepers Association, and plans f o r the coming season discussed a t the annual meeting. Officers elected f o r the coming year are Everett Pyle, Pres.; Howard Hall, Vice Pres.; Prof. North, Secretary; and Martin Greene, Treasurer. The land occupied by the experimental plots, heretofore leased, has recently been acquired by the College. Incidently, the Rhode Island State College has just received a Federal g r a n t of over a million f o r changes and new buildings. A new experiment in brown-patch control is planned f o r this season on Colonial and Astoria bents, and a sod web worm experiment on Kernwood. A large stand of 14276 velvet, also one of Kernwood, have been planted with the aim of getting some Rhode Island growers interested in growing these strains. Webworms put in an appearance this past week at turf plots. A bulletin is in preparation covering the work t h a t has been done on the turf plots. Dr. Monteith told of remarking at a golf meeting that golf would do a g r e a t deal to help the f a r m e r s of the country, as a f t e r playing eighteen holes of golf, a man was in the right condition to help reduce the surplus of beef, grain, etc. Herb Graffis of GOLFDOM added, "Yes, especially the corn and r y e " . Many greenkeepers and others have known during the past year of a new f u n g u s which Dr. L. E. Erwin of Rhode Island State College has been trying to identify. Because this is of interest we are quoting a part of a r a t h e r technical article by Dr. Erwin f r o m t h e Fortysixth annual report of the R. I. State College Experiment Station: A GRASS DESTROYING NEW TO FUNGUS AMERICA During the spring and fall of 1932 and 1933 a disease was noted regularly on certain Massachusetts and Rhode Island golf courses and polo fields. It has been found to attack bluegrass and most species of bent grasses. This disease proved to be a f u n g u s (Corticium fuciforme (Berk.) Wakef.) It consists of an effused glutinous layer, composed of filaments with gelatinous walls, attached to the epidermis, and f r o m this arise t u f t s which stand out f r o m the stem and leaves of the grass. These t u f t s are a bright coral pink, are variously branched and sometimes attain a height of fully a quarter of an inch. They consist of a compact mass of filaments, collectively colored but individually almost hyaline, running lengthwise, septate and branched. The t u f t s are typically acute at the apex and they gradually taper away into a few threads. The effused mucous base may spread out and glue different parts of the grass together or the top of the t u f t may expand when it comes in con- Don't Starve the CYLINDRICAL Grass Have FERTILIZE and ECONOMIZE with Wear (8-6-2) Course FERTILIZER also Super-Phosphate Castor We and write OF for Longer Last Longer Have Fewer Nicks Need Fewer Adjustments Meal Chemicals ARSENATE LEAD prices. have an almost n e w Roseman T r a c t o r a t t a c h m e n t for sale at a very low price. We specialize in mower service, and solicit your patronage. M. F. LANSILL POWER Fertilizer 86 LAWN MOWER Specialist CHARLES RIVER NEWTON, Newton ground: 30" Reel and Bottom Knife together $4.00 Bone Pomace cylindrical Prices: Fairway units completely overhauled and painted $10.00 (cylindrical ground) (6-8-2) Golf reels They will LAN - FER Special your GRINDING SERVICE PKY. MASS. North 15 COMPANY T e n n e y Court, Somerset 0992-M Somerville, 0504-W Mass, I 6 iCIGcl I Power Greensmower T w o Sizes—18" Cut, 21" The and 21 fast Ideal inch, growing Positively to Power has a Greensmower number popularity. application of b u r n i n g or tearing turf. Powered tionless and with which RUBBER ^ P o w reerr extra dd rr i v\ e n we in is built in features weight Does two that and a perfect eliminate all engine surplus Transport extra. that is power the job of attachment its operate. of Due roller f o r easy1 o p e r a t i o n . very also inch for cutting. quiet and heaviest C a r t is f u r n i s h e d a s s t a n d a r d Brush 18 to possibility exceptionally for sizes, account easiest Patented clutch control makes 4-cycle cart, greens. power provides TIRED which exclusive Lightest will not pack your unique of Cut provided vibracutting. equipment. at slight cost. Authorized Ideal Sales and Service IDEAL MOWER SALES and SERVICE 111 Cypress Street, Brookline, Mass. t a c t with another blade of grass, thus starting a f r e s h fungal growth. As f a r as the author has been able to ascertain this is the first time this f u n g u s has been reported f r o m North America. From Australia and Great Britain have come descriptions of a f u n g u s disease which seems to be identical with the one found locally. The grass destroying fungus, C o r t i c i u m f u c i f o r m e (Berk.) Wakef. (Syn. I s a r i a f u c i f o r m i s Berk.; I s a r i a g r a m i n i perda Berk, and Muell.; Hypochnus fuciformis (Berk.) McAlp.; Epitheie fuciformis V. Hohn. et Syd). was first collected in 1854 at Mount Gambier, South Australia, but was not described or named until 1873, when Berkeley in "Australian F u n g i " gave it the name Isaria fuciformis. In 1873 a specimen f r o m Victoria was named by Berkelev I s a r i a g r a m i n i p e r d a Berk, and Muell. The first material Berkeley described was pallid, but the second was coral pink; probably during the period f r o m 1854 to 1873 the first specimen had become blanched. In many cases there does not seem to be any real difference between Isaria fuciformis and Isaria and M. C. Cooke i n his handbook of Australian Fungi, practically combines the two. A. R. Wallis graminiperda, reported Isaria graminiperda on rye- grass f r o m Victoria in 1873. In Great Britain the f u n g u s was first found in the South of England in 1880, and was recorded as Isaria fuciformis Berk, by M. C. Cooke in Grevillea. Worthington G. Smith wrote about it in the Gardeners' Chronicle in 1882 and called it Isaria f u c i f o r m i s . H e described it in his book "Diseases of Field and Garden Crops" published in 1884. It was found in Ireland in 1883 by Greenwood Pim on ensilage. In 1899 and 1900 McAlpine gave an account of experiments on the eradication of the f u n g u s under the name of I s a r i a g r a m i n i p e r d a in the Annual Reports f o r the Department of Agriculture of Victoria. In 1906 M'cAfoine published an article in Annales Mycologici, entitled "A New Hymenomycete—the so-called I s a r i a f u c i f o r m i s Berk." In this article he outlined the history of the f u n g u s f r o m 1854 onwards. He discovered t h a t it had an effused hymenium with basidia and basidiospores and regarded it as being near C o r t i c i u m . He thought, however it came nearer the genus H y p o c h n u s and he therefore renamed it H y p o c h n u s f u c i f o r m i s (Berk.) McAlp. giving I s a r i a f u c i f o r m i s Berk. and I s a r i a g r a m i n i p e r d a Berk. and Muell. as synonymous. Following this article of McAlpine's there is a note by H. and P. Sydow pointing out that, according to Von Hohnel, H y p o c h n u s is not a valid genus. The f u n g u s concerned, however, belongs to Patouillard's sub-section E p i t h e l e of C o r t i c i u m , and since this sub-section has now (1906) been raised to generic rank by Von Hohnel and Litschauer, the Sydows say t h a t the f u n g u s ought to be called E p i t h e l e f u c i f o r m e s (Berk.) V. Hohn. et Syd. A f t e r the Sydows' article no r e f e r ence to the f u n g u s appears in the literature f o r a decade. Previous articles which throw some light on the problem are listed in the accompanying bibliography. In 1916 Miss Wakefield in her "Notes on British Thelephoraceae" decided that the f u n g u s should preferably be called Corticium fuciforme (Berk. Wakef. For the present we are abiding by Miss Wakefield's combination. While it is not a typical Corticium it is a t the same time not more closely related to Epithele. PRETTY NEAR NATURALIZED Our German barber was objurgating the t h r i f t of some of his re-patriated countrymen. "Dey spend nudding here und go back to Shjermany rich. Von of dose guys neffer bought a cloes alia nine years he stay in dis goundry. He bick oud sox und bants und sveaters und B. V. D.'s f r o m garbage und ash cans und dot vey liff in udder peoples' cloes. Den he dake den dousant dollars back home and zettle down. Helluva sport, I sez. Dake all he can get f r o m Uncle Sam, safe it all, und den r u n oud on 'im cold. It's guys like him that's causin' this depression." Nine years is enough it appears to absorb one highly ponular conception of the Big Idea. "Credit Where Credit Is Due." "When in doubt say nothing." "Publicity waste." minus perfomance is WE DON'T STUTTER w h e n it comes to volume buying of quality seeds direct f r o m leading shippers. W h o l e s a l e r s by t r a d e and name, we step out of this role only in t h e solicitation of Golf Club buyers. No need f o r you to hesitate, t h e r e f o r e , in w o n d e r i n g w h e t h e r we are c o m p e t e n t to serve you well and economically. Our ability to know and buy good seeds is—the big t h i n g b e h i n d — t h e Emerson n a m e . Don't go by price—go buy Emerson Seeds and close your eyes to indifferent seed quality t h a t normally you would be up against. THOMAS W. EMERSON CO. BOSTON, MASS. "New England's Largest Wholesale Seed House" T H E S E I M P R O V E M E N T S ON F A I R W A Y M O W E R U N I T Decrease Scalping—Cut Down Parts Wear—Make Knife Adjustment A x l e ( s e e N o . 1) is l a r g e r , s t r o n g e r . B a e k of t h e r o l l e r h a s been added a sturdy tie-rod ("see No. 2). No twisting possible. This new Worthington Pairw a y U n i t scalps less t h a n a n y o t h e r . W e c a n p r o v e it to you. In a d d i t i o n to our usual quick-acting h a n d - s h i f t for t h e g e a r s ( s e e N o . 4), o u r n e w U n i t is n o w e q u i p p e d w i t h one for the cutting k n i f e ( s e e N o . 3). N o f u s s ing- w i t h w r e n c h e s . J u s t a turn of the hand-wheel. Self-locking in a n y position. Offer on Scout N o n e b u t t h e W o r t h i n g t o n U n i t is e q u i p p e d w i t h t h e h e r r i n g bone reel blade. T h e alloy steel blade s t a y s s h a r p longer. L a s t s longer. D o e s n o t n i c k o u t . Overgreen W e a r e still s t u b b o r n l y c o n tending and effectually proving, that our Overgreen P o w e r M o w e r will p a y f o r i t s e l f t h e first y e a r , in s a v i n g s . I n f a c t , if t h e s a v i n g s d o n ' t p a y f o r it, y o u n e e d n ' t . W r i t e for full particulars. ' Worthington Mower XOmhanif Main Office: Stroudsburg, Pa. Easy FRANK H. W I L S O N , Greenkeeper. JR. Men Who Really Know Machinery - - - BUY TORO Go around to a n y section and ask the most p r o m i n e n t just what m a c h i n e r y to buy. T h e y will a n s w e r " T O R O " . There is a r e a s o n for this, b e c a u s e has been associated with progress in dealing with for fifteen years if it's q u a l i t y of c o n s t r u c t i o n — e a s e of o p e r a t i o n surely be the lowest follow TORO and name courtesy users. high speed m o w i n g — l o n g life equipment and not the in h i g h q u a l i t y c o n s t r u c t i o n Greenkeepers the initial judgment investment of low upkeep expense localized service and parts you experienced are looking men, and for, your TORO. Write for 1934 catalogue. New England Toro Co. 1121 Washington Street W e s t N e w t o n , Mass. then station you will selection will