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11 



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MAKING AND MAINTAINING GOLF UNKS-Continued. 



RENOVATING FAIR GREENS 



HE usual method is to give the Fair Greens a dressing of bone 

 meal or chemical fertilizer at the rate of 1000 pounds to the 

 acre; then run over it with a light cutting harrow; then sow 

 with a renovating grass seed mixture at the rate of 2 to 4 

 bushels per acre, according to the condition of the course. 

 This is then worked in with a smoothing harrow and after- 

 wards the course is thoroughly rolled. This can be done 

 at almost any time during the Fall. Of course the disad- 

 vantage of this is, that it interferes with the playing, and a lot 

 of it is liable to be disturbed by the players. 



Another method is to apply the grass seed and fertilizer 

 in the manner prescribed above, only defer doing it until 

 just before the ground freezes up, which in this latitude 

 is usually about the middle of December. In this way 

 the golfers have the benefit of the Fall season without being disturbed, and the 

 grass seed being put into the ground so late, it does not germinate until the fol- 

 lowing Spring, hence there is no danger of it being killed out during the Winter. 

 Grass seed until it germinates is absolutely frost proof. Being put in this way 

 in the late Fall it comes up with the advent of Spring. Some of the most 

 successful grass seeding we ever saw was done by this method. 



We would again strongly urge fertilization of your golf links. It is the key 

 to success. 



A HERESY. A widely circulated heresy regarding golf courses and 

 lawns in the United States is that the best results can only be 

 achieved by sowing " foreign " grass seeds. This is based very largely 

 on the reputation of tne links and lawns in the old country, ignoring 

 or forgetting the different climatic conditions prevailing there and here. 

 The fact that New York is in the same latitude as Madrid and Rome, 

 while London is as far north as the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, 

 and Edinburgh is about in the same latitude as the southern shore of Hudson 

 Bay, is too often overlooked. Then again the humidity there is much higher 

 than here, the annual precipitation much greater and the tempera- 

 tures, both of Summer and Winter, more favorable for the growth 

 of grass. The famous green of the " Emerald Isle " is not due to 

 the varieties of grasses grown there, but to the unusually favor- 

 able weather conditions generally prevailing. 



The Summer of 1911 was the hottest and driest which England 

 had for a half century, approximating the average Summer here and 

 the lawns, links and pastures suffered accordingly — fully as much, 

 if not more, than under similar conditions in the United States. 

 The writer made a tour of the British Isles that summer and found 

 the burned up condition of the lawns and parks in and around 

 London and elsewhere, worse than he had ever seen them in the 

 United States. 



The grasses of the known world have been tested in this country and those 

 which have been proved to be best adapted to our soil and climate are now used 

 here. Two of the leading grasses in the best mixtures for golf courses and 

 lawns are grown very largely in the United States because of their adapta- 

 bility to our climate, and practically the world supply of the seed is produced 

 here. 



It cannot be urged too often that good, clean, viable seed is a prime essential 

 in laying down golf courses and lawns. The cost of preparation, the disappoint- 

 ment and expense of failure, are potent arguments in favor of securing reliable, 

 tested seed and are a strong warning against cheap seeds which too often prove 

 to be the dearest. 



Too much stress cannot be laid on the necessity for a thorough preparation of 

 the soil before seeding. Many who recognize the necessity of plowing, harrowing 

 and manuring for vegetable, flower and fruit garden are apt to minimize the im- 

 portance of these for grasses. We wish to emphasize the necessity of thorough 

 plowing, pulverizing and enriching with manure if good turf is to be had. If 

 these are properly done there is a certainty of success. 



The question is often asked of us " What grass seed will grow on sand?" 

 We reply there is none; that only soil will support grasses. Even if the soil 

 be very sandy there must be sufficient organic matter or humus added to it to 

 maintain grass. Another question frequently put to us is, " What is the value 

 of soil analysis in determining the fitness of it for producing and maintaining 

 turf?" We cannot answer this better than by quoting Prof. G. E. Adams, 

 who lectured on " Fertilizer Problems of the Orchard and Garden " before the 

 Massachusetts Horticultural Society last Spring. In answer to a similar ques- 

 tion he said: " The value of soil analysis is very slight. No method of soil 

 analysis would tell you to-day the amount of plant food available to crops. The 

 purely chemical analysis to a practical man is of very little use." 



SEEDING. The majority of links and lawns are sown in the spring so 

 we would urge doing it just as soon as the ground can be cultivated, early 

 seeding brings the best results. 



In making the new golf courses, wherever possible we would advise 

 laying them down in the Fall. The advantages of doing it then are 

 that it relieves the spring rush, when very often the work cannot be 

 done at the most propitious time. If the seed is not sown early in 

 Spring hot weather sets in and works injury to the young grass. 

 When sown in the Fall, the best time being the latter part of Aug- 

 ust or the early part of September, the benefits of a warm soil 

 copious rainfall and lessening temperature are to be had. These 

 conditions insure a better germination, a higher percentage of 

 the survival of the grasses which start into growth, a stronger 

 and healthier growth; because of these conditions the crop 

 of weeds which always appears in freshly cultivated land will be 

 lighter. 



