Royal Ascot 



'«-' 



sioned by the growing fervour of the sun during April 

 and May. 



To maintain the Course in the best possible condition 

 and to have it ready in time for the meeting requires much 

 anxious thought, and entails great responsibility and solici- 

 tude, and every little detail has to be given the greatest 

 attention to make it as near perfect as possible. 



Almost every conceivable experiment has been tried to 

 effect a permanent change in the nature of the ground. 

 The management have naturally resorted to manures of 

 various sorts with cheerful expectations, and their hopes 

 have been so far fulfilled that they persevere, year by year, 

 in the employment of these stimuli to fertility. Large quan- 

 tities of manures — artificial, farmyard, and London — are dis- 

 tributed every season over the course, and seeds of the 

 deepest rooted and most hardy grasses are freely sown. 

 Bassett's slag is also abundantly employed. Irrigation of 

 the Course has been partially tried, subject to careful obser- 

 vation, but up to the present the experiment has not been 

 very successful. This is probably due to the supply of rain 

 water being so Hmited. Moreover, it has been found that 

 the free application of water, under the influence of cold 

 spring mornings and a hot sun, was attended with injurious 

 consequences to the turf 



The effect of permitting sheep to run has been frequently 

 tested, and invariably with the most disappointing results. 

 In truth, the influence of the sheep w^as actually noxious, 

 and the condition of the ground was impaired by their 

 presence, so small is the vitality of the grass on the Heath. 



Despite the most untiring attention to every method of 

 artificial assistance, it has been amply proved that the 



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