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hay and bedding for stable use. " Bahama grass" is sometimes dis- 

 placed by Paspalum compressum Nees. This is the grass which, 

 in the neighbourhood of the capital of Trinidad (Port-of-Spain), 

 forms the major portion of the Turf of pastures and gardens. Paspa- 

 lum pusillum, Vent., P. distichim, L. and P. conjugatum Berg, are 

 grasses Avhich also find a place, and together, they are strong enough 

 in our soils to oust the " Bahama grass." In spots however, where 

 there is a good supply of nitrogenous material, the Bahama grass can 

 hold its own against all comers, and in such places it stands pre- 

 eminent as the most suitable lawn grass, not alone for the even turf 

 that it gives, but also for the ease with which it can be planted and 

 kept in order when fairly established. Paspalum compressum Nees is 

 a grass which makes a very low and even sward, and when well 

 grown is preferred by some to Bahama grass. In Trinidad, especially 

 in the neighbourhood of Port-of-Spain, all lawns suffer terribly from 

 the ravages of the mole cricket — Scapteriscus didactylus — and I have 

 been frequently asked to suggest a means by which this insect can be 

 destroyed. This, however, is a question which has exercised the 

 ingenuity of many, but so far as I can learn, with little or no success. 

 Soap water and other liquids will cause the insects to emerge from 

 their haunts in the lawns if poured into their burrows, and they 

 can then be readily captured, but it would evidently be absurd to 

 attempt to treat a savannah like the " Queen's Park," having an extent 

 of 200 acres with soap water, and while such an area remains infested 

 it is useless to expect that they can be prevented from attacking our 

 carefully tended tennis lawns and cricket grounds. Many of our lawns 

 are well kept, in all that- relates to preparation for use, but it is in 

 maintenance that less is done than might be done, and in a measure 

 this appears to be unavoidable. In the tropics. Tennis, in many places 

 is played all the year round, and therefore the grounds are in con- 

 tinuous use ; and to be used, have to be mown. Now it seems hardly 

 credible that any plant can stand having its head cut off once or 

 twice a week throughout the year ; and yet this is what is expected 

 ot the grass plant on Lawn Tennis Courts. Weakened by the 

 continual cutting, trampled by the feet of athletic men and buxum 

 lasses, squeezed and bruised by the heavy roller, it can hardly be 

 expected to flourish or to thrive and form as it is required to do, 

 the one inch of green carpet, which is the player's desideratum. It is 

 not always the keeping of the lawn, but the continuous use of it, 

 which is the cause of the untidy and patchy appearance which many 

 of them present, even when not attacked by the " mole cricket." 



