L^C(i\IMl.I I

is m e

o n l y w o r d t i i a t des-

cribes ill© ¡pelaiioiislkip between. m e n

ana.

w o m e n w l i o a r e engaged i n t h e g a m e of
(N. A. G. A. Convention Speaker)

F E B R U A R Y

r

This NEWSLETTER
is published
monthly by the Greenkeepers Club of
New England, and sent free to its members and their Green's Chairmen. Subscription price ten cents a copy, or a
dollar a year.
GUY C. WEST

Editor

3X2 Mt. Pleasant St., Fall River, Mass.

J A M E S McCORMACK . . Business Mgr.
450 "William St., Stoneham,

February, 1937
N. A. G. A.

Mass.

Vol. 9, No. 2
CONVENTION

I have been wondering if a different
write-up of our visit to the N. A. G. A.
Convention in Washington, D. C. from
the 1st to the 5th of this month wouldn't
be more interesting than the normal
write-up. At any rate I am going to try
a diary sort of first person singular
yarn that may be different.
Prank Wilson and I went down on the
Federal Express Sunday night, arriving
early Monday morning. This gave us
most of Monday for Washington sightseeing, and we used this time to good
advantage. Arriving back at the Wardman Park Hotel the last of the afternoon, we visited with many of the boys,
who by this time were checking in fast.
We were presented two tickets for the
Exhibitors' Banquet that evening, so we
attended this. The main objection to
this dinner seemed to be that many of
the exhibitors were still too busy setting
up their displays, and hence did not
attend the dinner.
In looking over the exhibit, I noticed
that it had been necessary to cut away
two walls at doors so that some of the
larger tractors could get thru. By Monday night, the exhibition was nearly set
up, and had over-flowed the main hall,
with a few spaces sold in the lobby.
During the evening, Prank and I ran
into Alex Bryce, who will be remembered by most of our club members as
a former member. Alex was more than
glad to see us, and we him, so we adjourned for an executive session and
"bulled" for a couple of hours. Alex
advised us to stay in New England, as
it is God's country, and greenkeeping
is much easier there.
We spent the next morning around

the exhibition and also greeting old
friends and meeting new ones. Ran into
Dr. De France of the R. I. Experiment
Station, so we had breakfast rather late
with him. I was talking with Sec. Brandon of the National Assoc. around noon,
so he invited me to the Press Conference Luncheon that noon. This broke
up rather hurriedly so that the first
afternoon educational program could
get under way.
Paul Lynch of Troy, N. Y. acted as
chairman of all educational programs.
The Tuesday afternoon program was:
"The Application of Science to
Greenkeeping," by Dr. M. A. McCall,
Assistant Chief, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.
"Golf Course Soils," by Dr. James
Tyson, Soils Section, Michigan State
College, East Lansing, Michigan.
"The Agricultural Extension Service and Its Relation to the Golf
Club," by Charles K. Hallowell, Philadelphia Extension
Representative,
Penn State College, Pa.
I have decided not to report the
various addresses of the conference, as
they will appear in Golfdom in full in
the next few months. In general, these
addresses were rather disappointing in
that many of the speakers read papers,
in too low voice for good hearing, and
also because in general, very few new
points were brought out.
On Wednesday morning, nearly two
hundred, including Frank and me, went
over to Arlington to see not only the
turf plots and experiments thereon, but
also some road material experiments
and also some dust explosion demonstrations. The work at the plots is rather
hit or miss these days, as money has
been tight there for years; however,
some rather conclusive weed control
experiments are underway, and the results are of interest. The work done
with the green dye is also of interest.
The Wednesday afternoon program
was about ready to start when we returned from the plots. As we walked
up to the hotel returning, we ran into
Bill Perkins of. Yale and Fred Emeneger
of Fairfield, Conn. They had just arrived by plane, and were full of ozone,
but strong boosters for plane over train!
Wednesday afternoon program was:
"Landscaping the
Clubhouse
Grounds," by Charles H. Connors,
Ornamental Horticulturist, New Jersey State Experiment Station, New
Brunswick, N. J.

"Maintaining Turf in the South,"
by J. K. Hanes, Yeaman's Hall Club,
Charleston, S. C.
"Soil Organisms in Relation to
Golf Turf," by Dr. N. R. Smith, Bureau of Plant Industry, U. S. Dept.
of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.
"Road
Surfaces
for
Club
Grounds," by Dr. C. N. Connor, Highway Engineer, Bureau of Public
Roads, Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.
As we ran into Prof. North, now with
the Green Section, Wednesday night, we
had dinner and a long chat with him.
He sends greetings to all his friends in
New England.

^ ^

On Thursday morning, Frank and I
did some more sight-seeing around
Washington, returning in time for the
afternoon conference. This afternoon's
program was of greater interest. The
paper by Prof. North was interesting,
and the Turf Watering Forum gave an
insight of what is being done in various
sections of the country.
The program was:
"Control of Japanese and Asiatic
Beetles in Turf," Prof. C. H. Hadley,
Bureau of Entomology, Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D. C.
"Growing Seed of Golf Course
Grasses," by H. F. A. North, U. S.
Golf Association Greens Section.
"Turf
Watering
Forum,"
by
Harold Clemens, Sunset Ridge Country Club, Northbrook, 111.; T. T. Taylor, Pomonock Country Club, Flushing, L. I., N. Y.; J. L. Haines, Denver
Country Club, Denver, Colo.; Frank
H. Wilson, Charles River Country
Club, Newton Centre, Mass.; Clarence
W. Hazlett, Bel-Air Country Club,
Bel-Air, Calif.; William Smith, Red
Run Golf Club, Royal Oak, Michigan;
Chester Mendenhall, Mission Hills
Country Club, Kansas City, Mo.; Mr.
Johnson of Los Angeles, Emil Picha,
Midland Hills, St. Paul, Minn.
The banquet and entertainment Friday night closed the program except for
the annual meeting of the Association
of Friday morning.
Among those seen at the show were
Mike O'Grady of New Bedford, Arthur
McLean of Brattleboro, Charlie Baskin
of Waterbury, Herb Moran of Sleepy
Hollow, formerly of New England, and
also from various clubs in Connecticut,
Burnham, Pearson, Hill, Skelly, Nocker,
Fancher. I also ran into an old friend

from Fall River, an ex-caddy here years
ago, now greenkeeper-pro at Brunswick,
Ga., Dan Sullivan.
I also enjoyed during the convention
several talks with various greenkeepers
throughout
the
country,
Anderson,
Brandon, MacGregor, Feser, Farnham,
Scott, Mendenhall, Taylor, Shacht, the
Ryan brothers, Burkhardt, Ermer, Fitts,
Quaill, Gormley, Welsh, etc., etc. The
meeting with and talking to the various
men in attendance at this convention
was to me the best part of the whole
affair.
In conclusion of this part of the report, I should like to express my thanks
to the various officers and committees
of the N. A. G. A. for their hospitality
to me while in attendance at their convention. A spirit of fine fellowship
characterized all their dealings with me
there.

THE E X H I B I T I O N
To get a fairly good picture of the
various exhibits, I made a tour of the
hall and contacted someone at each
booth, telling him that I was trying to
get material for a write-up for the
NEWSLETTER; hence I feel that I can
give you a picture of the most important parts of the Show.
Along one side of the hall, the first
booth was an exhibit of asbestos-cement
pipe for golf course irrigation systems
by Johns-Manville Co. Other exhibits
were shown by Standard Manufacturing
Co., John Bean Manufacturing Co., L.
R. Nelson Mfg. Co., International Harvester Co., Perfection Sprinkler Co.,
La Motte Chemical Products Co., and
the Skinner Irrigation Co.
F. H. Woodruff & Sons had an interesting exhibit of grass seeds, the most
interesting to many of us being the
exhibit of the B. P. I. No. 14276 velvet
bent seed grown this past season by
Jacob Menzi of Portsmouth, R. I. and
certified by the R. I. State College as
96.70% purity and 87% germination.
This company bought the entire crop of
71 pounds. Also on display was a new
development,—an all-metal, sealed, airtight can for lawn seed, with a sifter
top. According to this company, experiments have proven that seed, packed
by this firm in these cans, will not lose
germination over a reasonable length
of time. Respiration has been prevent-

ed thru the introduction of gases as the
seed is packed.
The larger machinery was shown thru
the center of the hall, with the Toro
Manufacturing Co. occupying one large
end. Toro showed most of their large
line of equipment.
Among items of
interest was a new 24 inch roller type
mower called the Fairlawn. As an extra
attachment to the SO inch mower a new
Buckhorn or dandelion hitter attachment was shown. Changes in Toro line
this year include larger rollers on the
Super fairway mowers, Duplex power
putting green mower changed somewhat
to make it handle easier; some innovations in painting to attempt to create
discussion among greenkeepers as to
color combinations for various localities; e. g., Florida tan very popular in
South, new shade of green tried also.
A new model putting green mower has
the castor wheels inside width of cut.
A new 20 inch tee and bank mower was
shown. Sickle bars are now made for
all models of Toro tractors; main feature is that if bar strikes obstruction,
bar will swing back to clear obstruction,
will then swing back to cutting position.
Sickle bar floats according to contour
of ground so that bumps of wheels do
not affect height of cut. Power take-oif
on front fits all Toro tractors, operated
by clutch, so that it may be left on all
the time and used as desired.
The Carpenter Tool Co. had one of
their grinders set up; also a new model
of grinder for bed knives.
The center section was occupied by
the Ideal Power Lawn Mower Co., and
by other companies whose products are
distributed by Ideal branches. These included the Buel Perforator, Root Manufacturing Co., and the W. W. Grinder
Corp. Ideal displayed their fairway
units in hook-up, and their power mowers. The Wichita Compost Grinder attracted much interest as also did the
Wichita Shaker Screen.
The Root
Spreader was shown, and also a roller
type screen. The item which probably
attracted the most attention in the
center section was the hook-up of the
new Junior Buel Perforator with a new
Ideal Power unit. The Perforator can
be mounted in the rear or in front of
this power unit. Mounting in the rear
gives the usual round and round job of
spiking, while with the Perforator
mounted in front, one is able to spike
up to close edges, otherwise difficult of
access. This new hook-up brings the

well known features of the Buel within
reach of those clubs who can not afford
the larger size Perforator.
The Worthington Mower Company
had a large showing of practically all of
their line of course equipment.
A
tractor was shown with Hardie Sprayer,
with power for sprayer taken thru a
special attachment from the tractor. All
this year's fairway mowers have a new
wheel, with a combination lug and
corrugation, rims are still demountable.
A new spring gives 50 pounds on rear
roller to prevent bobbing, with no extra
draft. Tractors have a new type seat,
plunger type, with new tool box under
seat. Tractors may be equipped with a
new type power take-off attachment to
operate Hardie sprayer or Detroit Harvester or Rotary brush; pulley may be
put on to be used for screen. Sickle
bar has been changed to operate over
a 12 inch curb, and up or down on a
slant. Hand putting green mower now
has easy finger control for adjustment
of bedknife and heighth of cut; mowers
are interchangeable for Overgreen use.
The Parkover was shown, a three unit
tractor combination with hydraulic hoist,
and sickle bar attachment, with rubber
tires on tractor and units as standard
equipment.
Along the other side of the hall were
exhibits by Milorganite, Dolge, Jacobson, Buckner, and O. M. Scott & Sons.
Mallinckrodt has a display of chemicals
including the new green dye "Auragreen". McLain Brothers had an exhibit of their Fungol, Veg-e-tonic,
barrel pump, spiker, etc., and the
Philadelphia Toro had a general line of
course supplies.
In the lobby, there were exhibits by
the Locke Steel Chain Co. of their
power mowers, Wood Ridge Mfg. Co.
of chemicals, Sherwin Williams Co. of
NAGA, Stumpp & Walter Co. of course
supplies and seed including a showing
of hulled Bermuda grass seed, which
will germinate in 8 days against the 2123 days for the unhulled.
This in general will give you something of the picture, with the exhibitors
and some of the exhibits.
Several
Washington distributors for firms exhibiting were on hand to help out with
their respective lines.

Daff: "Ever go to law"?
Dill: "Only once. A friend of mine
sued for an overcoat and lost his suit."

THE SIGN

OF GOOD

SEEDS

Blue Grasses, Colonial Bent, Seaside Bent, Velvet—B. P. I.
14276 and Highland, New Crop Chewings Fescue, Fine
Leaved Fescue, Red Top and all Fine Grasses.
CLEAN

WEED-FREE

GRASS

SEED

HIGH

VIABILITY

DIVISION

F. II. Woodruff & Sons
M I L F O R D , CONN.

FEBRUARY

MEETING

The February meeting was held at
the Waltham Field Station, Waltham,
Mass. on Feb. 8th. Representatives
from the Perfection Sprinkler Company,
Skinner Irrigation Company, and the
Buckner Manufacturing Company spoke
on various phases of Fairway Irrigation.
A discussion period followed. A talking
picture of experimental work done at
Rutgers Agri. Exp. Station showing the
need of various rare elements in plant
growth was shown, and was of much
interest.
At the business meeting, progress of
the bill for experimental work at the
Station was reported by Frank Wilson.
The Washington Convention was also
discussed briefly, and a report given by
Homer Darling on the progress of plans
for the Amherst Conference.

Our worthy president, Robert A .
Mitchell, was married on January 29th
to Mrs. Mary I. Hull of Beverly. To
him and to the new boss, our congratulations and best wishes!
The

advertisers

pay

f o r your

NEW ENGLAND G R O W N
Winter-hardy,

Acclimated

BENT

SEED
for

New England Golf Courses
Direct

from the farms o f

A. N. P E C K H A M
KINGSTON,

NEWSLETTER;

deal

with

R . I.

them.

NEW

N. A . G. A .

OFFICERS

Officers for 1937 of the National Association are as follows:
President

John Quaill
426 Highland Ave.
Westview, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Vice

President—-

Leo Peser
Woodhill Country Club
Wayzata, Minn.
Secretary-Treasurer—

A. L. Brandon
St. Charles Country Club
St. Charles, 111.
Directors

(Three elected for two year terms)
J. A. Gormley
17 Continental Ave.
Cohoes, N. Y.
Don Boyd
Portage Country Club
Akron, Ohio
Chester Mendenhall
Mission Hills Country Club
Kansas City, Mo.
Directors

held

over—

Joseph Ryan
Rolling Green Golf Club
Media, Pa.
Peter Stewart
637 Glenview Ave.
Highland Park, 111.
Frank Ermer
Box 2257,
Brooklyn Station
Cleveland, Ohio
PRO

AND

CON

N.

A.

G.

A.

AFFILIATION

(In which Charles W. Parker gives us
some thoughts, and President Quaill
of the N. A. G. A. gives us an
answer.)
Periodically, for some ten or twelve
years the question has come before the
members of the Greenkeepers Club of
New England of affiliating with the
National Association of Greenkeepers
of America. It seems hardly necessary
to review the several abortive attempts
of the past to enroll or even to kindle
a spark of interest in such an affiliation
among the members of the Greenkeepers
Club of New England as a group or
individually. It is enough to say that so
far, the Greenkeepers of Maine, New

Hampshire,
Vermont,
Massachusetts,
Rhode Island and Connecticut seem to
prefer to leave the National Association
sedulously alone.
At our January meeting, following
the reading of a cordial letter of invitation from the President of the N.A.G.A.,
it was voted to send Mr. Guy West and
Mr. Frank Wilson to the N.A.G.A. Convention to be held in February in Washington, D. C. These two are to serve
as a contact and observation committee,
but have no authority to commit. the
Greenkeepers Club of New England to
any definite course of action, and are
to report their findings to the Club at a
future meeting.
All of which leads up to the expression of an opinion — entirely personal
— o n the value, the fundamental demonstrable worth of a national organization in such a specialized, limited, field
as is covered by the term Greenkeeper
and Golf Course Superintendent.
I make no effort to conceal the fact
that I am prejudiced against the idea
and it is hoped that this freely expressed
opinion will serve to promote untrammeled discussion which in turn will
result in definite action either pro or
con.
Let us examine the source material
from which a national organization may
be built, keeping two points in mind.
Material with which to build, and can
the resultant building produce a structure of sufficient inherent strength to
insure stability and permanent constructive activity.
No matter by what name or title we
travel, as long as our main interest is
in the production and maintenance of
fine turf for golf courses and related
sports use, we will always be individualists.
Individualists because while our
work is of the one pattern—the production and maintenance of fine turf—
no two courses conform to any one set
of standards and methods for securing
the optimum results, and since our
whole activity is so intimately interwoven in the problems of one separate
and individual golf course we cannot
help but be single separate individuals
in thought, speech and action.
Again; while there are many definite
areas on concentration of golf activity
throughout the Northern
continent,
there are likewise an equal number of
golf courses scattered throughout the
United States and Canada in lesser concentration, and even as lone units in
(Continued on page 8)

Greens

and

Fairways

of

the

AUGUSTA NATIONAL
Built and Maintained

with

FLORIDA HUMUS—
Beautiful greens—beautiful fairways—due in no small part to the
consistent use of Florida Humus—the new organic matter, rich in
nitrogen, which does not sour the soil. Says B. J. A. Berchmans,
Superintendent of the Augusta National:
"We used 580 tons of Florida Humus in the original construction
of greens and fairways. We used 70 tons in 1934 and plan to
use more than 100 tons this year. The results have been entirely
satisfactory to me and to the members and officers of the club."
ANALYSIS—Organic Matter, 91.67%, Nitrogen,
Holding Capacity 530.64%, Acidity, pH, 6.0.

3.52%,

Water

Write today for full information and free booklet.

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NITROGEN
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real

tity capable of demonstrating beyond
question that the greenkeepers are entitled to a higher plane in the economic
world than they now enjoy.
Is this possible, and if so, how?
For me to state my honest opinion of
a very serious doubt of the possibility
of such an achievement without further
exposition will beget only the disgruntled counter question, "Why isn't
it possible?" I will advance for arguments sake but a few controversial
points. Standards and Ethics! What are
they? Where do we find them? Have
they ever been advanced and promulgated in any organization of greenkeepers? Have they ever been lived up to
and enforced rigorously anywhere in
the so-called profession of greenkeeping? If all the greenkeepers in the
United States and Canada accept a
national organization without qualification or reservation, can the cost to the
individual be kept at a reasonable figure,
and have a definite, cohesive, articulate
entity? Can this be produced through
part time effort of member officers?
Does the "house organ" type of publication offer sufficient interest to act as
the adherent which will produce the
cohesiveness which must be obtained?
Does the sponsoring of an annual educational conference and convention constitute a complete fulfillment of obligation to members as regards articulate
public relations promotion?
The blanket answer to the above
must be NO if observation of active
nation-wide professional, service and
fraternal organizations is any criterion.
To my eyes, admittedly prejudiced,
I can see little but a repetition of the
past ten or twelve years for a national
organization unless it revamps its basic
principles and assumes an almost entirely new line of thought and action, and
There is the basic material for a even then, will not the question of innational organization. A limited num- dividual cost because of a limited number of men with a common interest in ber of qualified members be the insurkind of work but otherwise as divergent mountable obstacle?
in thought and action as is their distriIt is not for me to suggest ways and
bution throughout the United States and means. I t is not for me to answer my
Canada.
own objections. There are, there must
How then can these men be welded be many answers, and I hope that many
into a definite, cohesive, articulate en- answers and many arguments, pro and
tity, capable of demonstrating beyond contra, will be forthcoming without resquestion the right of the greenkeepers ervation. All that I do ask, and I ask
to a higher plane in the economic world this with all sincerity, do not discharge
these opinions as simply another exthan they now enjoy?
Stripped of fancy wording and still hibition of smug New England selfmore fanciful promises, the purpose of sufficiency.
Do not do that, please!
a national organization must be to de—Charles W. Parker.
velop a definite, cohesive, articulate en-

(Continued from page 6)
areas equal in size if not greater than
those areas of concentration. These
men will be even more "lone wolves"
in their speech, thought and actions,
but obviously have just as many rights
and privileges, one greenkeeper to another, as the individuals of the concentrated areas, but in general they have
been dismissed as men of lesser importance in the golf maintenance world. As
a matter of fact, these greenkeepers of
the hinterlands probably are, within
their several and separate golf worlds,
enjoying many of the benefits which
their brothers of the metropolitan areas
feel can be brought about only by concerted work through nationalization.
Furthermore; since grass wants to grow
and grow well in spite of all obstacles
erected against it by man through ignorance, abuse and over-solicitousness,
there is still another classification of
greenkeeper who is producing satisfactory results—within his little golf
world—solely through the benign beneficence of Providence. This man will be
the greatest individualist of us all, and
instead of being the one to be most
immediately and greatly benefited by
national organization will be the one to
hold out against it to the bitter end.
Finally, since type of work and classification of individuals in the social order
according to their work indelibly stamps
all but the exception, the greenkeeper
is definitely pegged in the social order,
and because he is working intimately
with nature he will always be humble.
True, exceptions to the above may be
noted, but in the main—how have the
vast majority of exceptions stood the
test of time? A few have graduated to
fields of endeavor, less limited in scope,
and the remainder have come back to
earth like the proverbial rocket stick.

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To

The

Greenkeepers
New

Club

of

England

Gentlemen:
In behalf of The National Association
of Greenkeepers of America, I wish to
thank you for your courtesy in responding to the invitation of our Past-President, Mr. Anderson, by sending your
representatives to our Washington Convention. I t was a pleasure and an honor
to have Mr. West and Mr. Wilson with
us, and I sincerely hope that they enjoyed meeting our fellows as much as
we enjoyed meeting them.
Your Committee, through Mr. West,
has presented an opinion to our Secretary and I have been instructed to
draft a reply for your kind consideration.
Your Committee points out the fact
that greenkeepers are individualists, and
as such are inclined to hold out against
National organization until the bitter
end. We grant that greenkeepers are
individualists, and as the profession is
one that embodies individual artistic
conceptions, we believe and hope the
greenkeepers will continue to be individualists. There can be no definite
uniform standard set for art; without
individualism there could be no outstanding examples of art.
On the other hand we feel that greenkeeping as an art and science is very
youthful when compared with other arts
and sciences such as architecture, medicine or music. We feel that people engaged in professions of arts and sciences as exemplified above have added
materially to the progress of their art
and science thru association and organization to further such art and science.
The American Medical Society is merely
one illustration of such organization.
As a very youthful art and science,
greenkeeping can well look toward the
older organizations for example and
guidance.
Let us dwell on organizations in our
own profession to illustrate our point.
Your Club is a very good example.
Greenkeeping has reached an excellent
status in New England. We feel that
your organization played a very important part in attaining that status. Yet we
recognize the members of your club as
individualists.
Your committee states "Since type of
work and classification of individuals
in the social order according to their

work indelibly stamps all but the exception, the greenkeeper is definitely
pegged in the social order, and because
he is working intimately with nature he
will always be humble."
We agree that working with nature
forces us to realize our own humble
status. We also feel, however, that work
done by humble men may give great
pleasure to others. Lincoln was humble,
yet strove to perpetuate a great organization. The men in charge of research
work in the U. S. G. A. Green Section
are humble, but the working of that organization has helped us to progress,
and thereby give more to those whom
we serve.
Your committee desires to know how j^tr^'
we can weld the men of our profession {
into an entity capable of demonstrating *
that greenkeepers are entitled to a
higher plane in the economic world.
There is no force that can»be employed
to bring about this desirable end; we
must rely upon the individualist to see
the benefits of organization. Hundreds
of individualists have seen and noted
these benefits. Your individualists in
New England can not be forced into
your Club. Those of you who are members went into your organization of
their own free will. That they have benefited is obvious for your organization
continues to prosper. The welding process must be carried on thru the desire
of individuals to become part of a great
movement toward recognition thru progress.
Your committee report brings up the
question of standards and ethics. As an
officer in the National, I can assure you
that our official family considers the
matter of standards and ethics of essential importance in any fraternal organization. Insofar as our association is
essentially fraternal, those who join our
movement must be fraternally minded.
We grant that insofar as men of our
*
profession are humbled by their constant contact with nature, that very
characteristic is a guiding light in our
organization. True, there are exceptions, and unfortunately it is the exception that is too often considered the
rule. We can ,never build a successful
organization of exceptions, and it would
be folly to attempt it.
It is unfortunate that men of our profession grow into the work rather than
pass thru an academic training period
which calls for a definite oath prior to
passing into the profession. When the
(Continued on page 13)

O MATTER whether it's inches or dollars;
hours or horsepower—36 is to 30 as 120 is
N
to 100. In other words there is a difference of
20%.
That—is the bonus offered by the Giant 36inch Pennysylvania DeLuxe Fairway Mower,
compared with the conventional 30-inch unit.

PENNA. J R .
(Ball Bearing)
Five heavy c r u c i b l e
steel blades, actually
self-sharpening. Selfaligning ball bearings.
3 cut gears o n both
sides give an even pull.
15-, 17-, 19- & 2 1-inch
sizes. Staytite Handle.

Another big saving is brought about by the
fact that FIVE Giant Fairways will cut a
swath of approximately the same width as
SEVEN ordinary mowers. This means a saving in the original equipment investment and
the maintenance of five instead of seven
machines. Ease of handling and other advantages too numerous to mention here are
included in our literature. Better write for it
today.

LAWN MOWER WORKS

PRIMOS

_

PENNA.

GOLF

SECTION

RECREATION

PROGRAMME

CONFERENCE

—

1937

F R I D A Y , M A R C H 12
Second Floor, Memorial

10.30

1.15
1.45

•—10 M i n u t e

2.45
4.00

9.20

Intermission—

The Behavior of Fertilizers in Soils.
George B. McClure, Soil Technologist, Ohio State University.
TOUR OF E X H I B I T S I N CAGE.
EVENING

8.00
8.20
8.40
9.00

Hall

Graduation Exercises 1937 Winter School for Greenkeepers.
What This School Has Done for Me. Arthur Anderson '27.
Why I Am Taking the Advanced Course. Robert Williams '36.
Two short papers by members of the class of 1937.
Charge to Graduates, by Robert A. Mitchell.
President Greenkeepers Club of New England.
Address and Presentation of Certificates by Roland H. Verbeck,
Director of Short Courses, M.S.C.
A discussion of the Hawthorne Valley system of fairway watering.
L. S. Dickinson, M.S.C.
Address by Mr. Leslie Cottrell, Pres. P.G.A. of New England.
Address by Mr. Thomas Walsh, Sec. P.G.A.

PROGRAMME

Each speaker will take 15 minutes only and 5 minutes will be
allowed for discussion.
Water and the Physical Condition of the Soil. J. N. Everson, M.S.C.
The Action of Lead and Mercury in Soils. Dr. W. S. Eisenbenger, M.S.C.
Archery Golf. Mr. Baker of Auburndale, Mass.
Practical Experience with Rhizoctonia Solani.
C. K. Bradley, Patterson, N. J.
More About Fertilizers in Soils. G. B. McClure, Columbus, Ohio.
Golf Course Construction and the Greenkeeper. Robert Trent Jones, N.Y.C.
SATURDAY, M A R C H 13
Second Floor, Memorial

10.00
11.00
1.30
4.00

Lord

6.30
8.30

Hall

The Mechanics of Water Distribution on Golfing Areas.
James B. Gill, Elizabeth, N. J.
Golf' Course Design and Construction. Illustrated.
Robert Trent Jones. Golf Architect. New York.
An interesting programme has been arranged and sponsored by THE
G R E E N K E E P E R S CLUB OF N E W E N G L A N D with the greenkeeper clubs
of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Northeastern New York cooperating.
VISIT TO E X H I B I T I O N HALL.
Jeffery

Inn

Second Annual Golf Section Dinner and Entertainment.
Plenty of fun. Director Fred J. Sievers, Toastmaster. Short talks.
Entertainment.
Motion Pictures at Amherst Theatre. Fine bill assured with special pictures
for this Section.
Price, including motion pictures, $1.50 per person.
Tickets may be secured at the registration booth in Exhibition Hall, or in
advance from L. S. Dickinson, M.S.C., Amherst. Make checks payable to
Treasurer of Entertainment Committee.
SUNDAY, M A R C H 14
Room

10.00
11.00

20—Stockbridge

Hall

Annual Meeting of the M.S.C.G.A.—The alumni of the Winter School for.
Greenkeepers.
/
A Revival of the "Question Box" and informal d i s c u s s i o n . , . , v

Athletic Field

2.00

(Weather

Permitting)

Spectators take places outside of fence at South and Southwest sides of
the field.
Challenge Match. Archers vs. Golfers.
Six contestants on each side.
PARK

SECTION

F R I D A Y , MARCH 12
1.30
2.15
3.00

Annual Meeting—New England Park Association.
James Dillon, Park Department, Hartford, Connecticut, President.
New Ideas in Small Buildings, Parking Areas and Parking.
Captain Henry R. Hayes. Metropolitan District Commission. Boston.
Hard Surfaced Tennis Courts.
(Continued from page 10)

time arrives where men will pass thru
such academic training prior to becoming greenkeepers, the matter of ethics
will be solidified in the form desired by
the National and the New England Club.
A truly National Association must dedicate itself to bringing about such a condition rather than boast a standard
which cannot exist under present circumstances. All greenkeepers have read
The Ten Commandments. Until we are
able to set forth a code applicable to
our profession, let us accept that age-old
standard of ethics, and devote ourselves
to bringing about a code which cannot
be greater, but which might be more
specific for our profession. That there
will be exceptions to any code we do
not doubt, but we can at least strive to
correct the mental attitude of the unfortunate exception.
Regarding the efficiency of the house
organ type of publication and the annual educational conference in bringing
about a complete fulfilment of obligation to members, let me point out that
these are but means toward an end, and
as such certainly could not be considered the object of our Association.
I hope that I have answered the questions that your Committee has put to
us. We appreciate the sincere attitude
of your members in attempting to get
at the facts, and we hope that you will
consider us equally sincere in our reply.
Going beyond the questions asked by
your committee, allow me to state that
the conscientious member of our organization considers the organization greater than the individual. No one man is
big enough to dictate to the Association.
We have endeavored to keep the Association democratic, and will continue to
do so.

As President of the National Association, I am but a servant of the membership. No officer or Board member
is other than a servant of the same
membership. We are sincerely trying
to serve the greenkeeping profession to
the best of our ability. We welcome
those who have not joined us because
we feel that they will be of great assistance in bringing about the proper
recognition of our profession.
I hope that you will appreciate our
problems. I f you will look at them from
a national rather than a sectional point
of view, you will see that they are more
difficult to solve. Yet that same difficulty
is incurred because we of the profession
want to help our fellow men to whom
you refer to as "lone wolves." We have
taken in many men from the western,
lightly populated areas that otherwise
would be "lone wolves." They have
profited thru our organization, and they
turn out to be some of our most sincere
members.
This letter is meant to convey the
feeling of our officers and directors to
your Club. I t may not be as complete
as we desire to make it, but please be
assured that it is not final. We are open
to additional contact, and will try to be
frank and sincere with you as we know
you will be with us.
Wishing the Greenkeepers Club of
New England long life and prosperity,
I am
Yours very truly,
J O H N QUAILL,
President
National Association of Greenkeepers of America.

CORRECTING
TIES

ON

TOPSOIL

THE

DIFFICUL-

PUTTING

by Everett

J.

GREEN

Pyle

Much of the trouble experienced by
the greenkeeper in caring for putting
greens can be traced directly to unsuitable topsoil. In his efforts to maintain a true putting surface under such
conditions, he has tried various methods
to correct the difficulties. Frequent top
dressings with good compost, sometimes
preceded by spiking or discing, has
been the procedure on many golf
courses. More recently, some greenkeepers have laboriously gone over the
greens with a tubular fork which cuts
out small plugs, leaving thousands of
holes to be filled with good compost.
Neither method can do a really satisfactory job. There are greenkeepers
who have "taken the bull by the horns,"
i.e., stripped the turf from the green
and relayed it after correcting the poor
condition quality of the topsoil. This is
the only efficient, thorough and sensible
way to solve the problem.
Removing turf from a putting green
is not difficult, nor does it require a
great deal of time. Either a tractordrawn sod cutter or a hand operated
machine, if the green is constructed in
such a way as to prohibit the use of a
tractor, will do the job quickly and
neatly. Turf cut with such equipment
can be relayed with no waste.
When the turf has been stripped, the
topsoil is exposed to the mercy of the
greenkeeper. He can loosen the tightly
compacted soil and cultivate it to his
heart's content, which , is probably just
what he has been itching to do all along.
Here is an excellent opportunity to mix
in lime, fertilizer, humus, sand and
charcoal; to install underdrainage if
needed, to eliminate steep grades and
artificial appearing contours, which
have made mowing and watering difficult. In short, here is for the greenkeeper the same opportunity given to
the automobile mechanic, when he is
permitted to take down a faulty motor
and give it a complete overhauling.
A machine such as the Rototiller is
necessary to do a thorough job of cultivating or mixing the soil. This machine
is operated by a gasoline motor, is easily
handled, and does the work without disturbing the contours of the green, which
permits the addition of sand, humus or
other materials evenly, in layers of the
proper depth, before the final mixing.

It may be possible to rent one of these
machines for a day if only one or two
greens are to be done. However, if
several greens are to be reconditioned,
there may be economy in purchasing
one for the club. Any greenkeeper can
find plenty of additional work for it in
preparing areas for seeding or in the
compost nursery. Spading or forking to
loosen the topsoil or to work-in materials is costly and very unsatisfactory.
Relaying the turf over the new surface is really the most difficult part of
the operation. The job must be done
carefully or the putting green will be
bumpy and will require much additional
work lifting low places and top dressing. There is, however, no reason why
relaying putting green turf should call
for more skill than the application of
fertilizers and chemicals to the same
turf.
Poor topsoil, and particularly faultytextured topsoil, usually produces thin,
unhealthy turf.
This condition encourages weeds.
If there is a good
supply of weed-free turf in the nursery,
some of the more weedy patches of the
old turf may be replaced with the
cleaner material. However, when topsoil
difficulties are corrected as here suggested, there is certain to be an improvement in the general health and
vigor of the old turf which will enable
it to compete favorably with weed
growth.
Too many greenkeepers are merely
pill doctors when it comes to prescribing treatment for sick turf, when the
cause of unhealthy putting green lies
definitely in the topsoil upon which it
is growing, the only logical cure is to
operate. The greenkeeper who has the
courage to propose and to execute this
kind of treatment when he knows it is
necessary, will be more appreciated,
and will get more satisfaction from his
work than any pill-dispensing turf
doctor.

The youngest member of the Mitchell
family, Henry, is now greenkeeper at
the Walpole . Country Club, Walpole,
Mass. This makes four sons as greenkeepers, with father, Robert, at Kernwood.
Frank Wilson was so anxious to get
back from the Washington Convention,
to attend to Senate bill No. 33, that he
came back by plane.

Worthington
Sickle
B a r Tractor.
T h i s t r a c t o r is useful f o r a l l purposes.
B y pushing t h e lever, t h e
sickle
b a r is lowered
ready f o r
c u t t i n g — a slight pull a n d i t
raised,
readying
t h e tractor for
pulling
gang
mowers
a n d other
jobs.

Worthington Sickle B a r T r a c t o r
Does away with the need of having
separate mowing equipment for
your long grass, hay and weeds
The same tractor that draws
your gang mowers can now do
the other long cutting. Think
what that means in time and
equipment savings. It releases
several men for other work and
cuts down cutting costs.
Worthington has a new monthly

time payment plan now available.
Any club can now afford the
same type of equipment used at
Baltusrol Country Club, Oakmont Country Club, Royal Montreal Country Club and many
other
British
and American
championship courses.

S e n d t o d a y f o r l i t e r a t u r e s h o w i n g h o w e a s y it
is t o c u t c o s t s , b e a u t i f y y o u r c o u r s e , a n d p a y I
for y o u r e q u i p m e n t in t i m e a n d labor savings.

Please

I i i orK i n g t o n
M .•wer
\pnpany.
M a i n Office: S t r o u d s b u r g , P a .
Sales Agencies in A l l Principal
Cities

mation

Name

Address

City

send,

without

concerning

obligation,

Worthington

complete

infor-

Equipment.

LET THE

TQRO COMPOST

G R I N D E R Ä N D SCREENER

P R E P A R E Y O U R COMPOST AS IT N O W DOES FOR
M A N Y OF O U R N E W E N G L A N D COURSES

W H Y THE T O R O COMPOST GRINDER. A N D SCREENER?
Grinds and screens in one operation.
Mixes fertilizer and compost.
Screened material ready for instant use.
Handles 6 to 8 yards per hour.
Operated by tractor with belt pulley, or any type of
motor, 4 h.p. or over. Also furnished with sturdy TORO
Motor.
9' long, 4' wide, 6'" high, mounted on truck.
Standard Mesh Screen; other sizes optional.
Average cost of replacement parts is less than $3.00 a
machine per year.
All T O R O tractors can now be furnished with belt pulley
to operate TORO compost machine.
Price and further details on application.
Prepare Your Compost The T O R O W a y

N e w

E n g l a n d
1121-1131

T o r o

Washington

Co«

Street

West Newton, Mass.
Phones—WESt

Newton

1658,

NEWton

North

7900