FOLEST AND STREAM 
Rational pastimes. 
How to Make a Cbiokkt Ground.— The 
following information, from James Lilly- 
white’s Cricketer' a Manual , is so practical and 
valuable, that we republish it for the benefit 
of those who may wish to prepare a field for 
athletic pastimes : 
“Select a field or piece of ground as nearly 
level as possible, although where the situation 
is not dry, a slight fall from the centre will 
be useful ; but this must not exceed one inch 
to the yard. As a rule it may be stated that 
a piece forty yards square will satisfy the re- 
quirements of any ordinary club. The object 
is to render this piece as much impervious to 
rain, or to enable the rain to percolate as 
quickly as possible ; and here comes the most 
important question of all— the nature of the 
eubsoil. As on this depends so much of the 
expense to be incurred, loo much attention 
cannot be given to it. The chief point is whe- 
ther the subsoil is dry ; whether it is likely to 
hold the water in wet weather ; whether it is 
clay, sand, gravel, or peat. A dry level is a 
natural aid that will tend to make the forma- 
tion of a cricket ground a very economical 
proceeding, as the expense of drainage is nec- 
essarily avoided ur much lessened. But there 
are few dry levels, and hence consideration 
must be given to the character of spongy sub- 
stances. The first principle is to underdrain 
with three-inch tiles, the depth nud distance 
apart of the tiles to be determined according 
to the light or heavy nature of the subsoil. If 
it be clay or peat— especially the latter— it may 
be found necessary to remove six or nine 
iuches of it, and replace with good loaming 
mould. This mould should be well trodden 
down, and especial care should be given to 
levelling it, and to the removal of any stones 
before the turf is placed on it, as on this 
mainly depends the evenness of the work when 
finished. The drains must be near together, 
on account of the water-holdiDg nature of the 
ground, and they must be deep enough to take 
away the water at a sufficient depth to pre- 
vent the earth from sucking it to the surface. 
Drains placed near the surface are of no real 
use ; the tiles should be at a depth not less 
than three feet. 
Great care should be taken, too, in laying 
the turf. Each sod should be about three feet 
long by one foot wide, and in thickness should 
not exceed inch, as from the cutting 
through the roots a new life and vigor are 
given ; and it is even a benefit to old grounds 
merely to take off the turf, prick up the sur- 
face, level, and relay the same turf. The 
sods should be placed veiy tightly together, 
and made as level as possible as each is laid, 
as this saves much after trouble, and the 
ground is fit to play on at an early 
date. The best turf for cricket grounds 
is obtained from the large open downs, where 
it is well fed off by sheep ; but this, too, will 
require to be well tended, to clear it from 
weeds, before it becomes thoroughly fit. 
Should your ground be finished in time, it 
shouldbe given a top dressing. The best 
time of the year to commence making new 
grounds, or redress old, is about the middle 
of October ; aud when necessary to intro- 
duce seeds, it should have a good dressing of 
well-sifted loamy mould. Any species of 
sand should be avoided, as tending to make 
the surface gritty and loose. 
The following hints for making a close, 
velvety turf are from the pen of M. H. Sutton : 
In the first place, careful preparation of 
the ground pro-posed to be laid down to turf 
is necessary. This should be commenced in 
the winter by draining, if found requisite, aDd 
digging to the depth of six to twelve inches, 
according to the nature of the soil. When 
this has been done, the land should be leveled 
and made firm with a spade, and subse- 
quently raked, to remove stones, etc. Should 
the natural soil be too stony, it will be ad- 
visable to procure a supply of good mould, 
and spread this over the laud to the depth 
of two or three inches. If the soil is poor, 
6ome well-rotted stable-dung will be verv 
beneficial. Where this cannot be obtained, 
we would advise as the best dressing ol arti- 
ficial manure 2 cwt. of superphosphate of 
lime and 1 cwt. of Peruvian guano per acre. 
In March, after the ground has been made 
thoroughly fine and dean, a heavy iron roller 
should be used to make it perfectly level ; and 
as the subsequent appearance of the ground 
depends, in a great measure, on this part of 
the preparation, we cannot too stroDgly urge 
the importance of its being well done. The 
ground should then be evenly raked, und the 
seed sown. April and September are the 
best mooths for sowing. As to the sorts of 
seed suitable for cricket grounds, etc., we 
can, after a long course of personal obser- 
vation of the numerous kinds which have 
come under our notice, confidently recom* 
mend the following varieties as most certain 
to produce a close, velvety turf: 
Cynosur us cristatua, Crested Dogstail ; Fex- 
tuca ovina. Sheeps’ Fescue ; Fcituca tenui- 
folia, Fine-leaved Fescue ; Lolium perenne 
Buttoni , Sutton's Dwarf Perennial Iiye Grass; 
Poa pratenxix, Smooth-stalked Meadow Grass ; 
Poa sempervirena, Evergreen ditto ; Poa nc- 
moralis , VVoodside Meadow Grass ; Medimgo 
lupuUna, Yellow Trefoil ; Lotus corniculatua, 
Birdsfoot Trefoil ; Trifolium repens perenne. 
Perennial White Clover; Tri folium minus, 
Yellow Suckling. 
These should be mixed in their proper pro- 
portions, and sown at the rate of three 
bushels or sixty pounds per acre (English), 
or one gallon to six rods or perches. 
After tho sowing lias becu accomplished, 
the ground should be again rolled, and as 
soon as the young plants have attained the 
height of two or three inches, the wbrlc plot 
should be carefully gone over with a sharp 
scythe. Frequent mowing and rolling urc in 
despensable to maintain the turf in order. 
By adopting these means, a close green sward 
will be obtained in nearly as abort time as a 
ground produced by turves, while it will be 
far more permanent, and at much Its.*, expense. 
It will sometimes happen that annual 
weeds indigenous to the soil come up ; these 
can be easily checked, if not destroyed, by 
mowmg thorn off as soon as they make their 
appearance. Plantain, dandelions, aud 
daisies, too, will often appear, and these 
must be cut up each one singly about an 
inch below the surface (not deeper), and 
about a teaspoonful of salt dropped over the 
cut part. Birds are very fond of grass seeds, 
and care should be taken to keep them off 
until the seeds are well up. 
Moss is generally a sign of poorness in the 
sod, or a want of drainaee: to effect its re- 
moval we advise, after raking off as much 
moss as possible, a top-dressing of quicklime 
mixed with rich compost, applied in the 
winter, and a sowing of more seed in the 
spring, or a top-dressing of soot will, by en- 
couraging the growth of grass, destroy the moss. 
This should be applied in the spring at the 
rate of about sixteen bushels per acre. It 
often happens that, owing to frequent play- 
ing, cricket grounds get bare and destitute of 
grass. To improve them there has been 
specially prepared a mixture of fine grasses 
and clovers, which will quickly form a thick, 
close turf. In such cases play should be dis- 
continued on the bare places by the end of 
August, and immediately after a shower the 
ground should be lightly harrowed and seed 
sown thickly at the rate of fifteen to twenty 
pounds per acre. After sowing give a good 
rolling, and mow and roll as frequently as 
posssible during the autumn and spring. A 
light dressing of well-rotted stable manure 
during the winter or early spring months will 
greatly encourage the growth of the grass, 
and help to produce a close-growing turf ; 
or if this is not procurable, either 1$ cwt. of 
superphosphate or f cwt. of guano might be 
applied per acre.” 
Tite Amateur Athletics. — A convention 
of delegates of amateur athletic clubs was held 
at the Knickerbocker College, Sixth ave., last 
Wednesday. The following clubs were repre- 
sented : American Athletic, Amateur Athletic, 
Fanwood Athletic, Friendship Boat Club, 
Greenpoint Athletic, Harlem Athletic, Engle 
wood Athletic, Manhattan Athletic, Nautilus 
Boat Club, Orion Athletic, Plainfield Athletic, 
Scottish- American Athletic, Yonkers Athletic 
and Shorthills Athletic. The following defini- 
tion of an amateur was adopted : “ One who 
has never taken part in an open competition 
or for any stake, public money or entrance 
fee, or competed with or against a professional 
athlete for any prize ; who has never taught, 
pursued, or assisted in the pursuit of athletic 
exercises as a means of pecuniary benefit.” 
The meeting adjourned to meet again upon 
the following Wednesday. 
Harvard’s Athletios.— The first meeting 
of the Harvard Athletic Association, for the 
present year, was held last Saturday in the col- 
lege gymnasium. The sparring match between 
V. Stow and W. Seymour was decided in 
favor of the latter, aud the silver cup of the 
association awarded to him. Vaulting with 
ODe hand was won by F. B. Keene, who 
cleared 5 feet inches. In light-weight 
wrestling, W. A. Gaston threw C. Stetson. 
The contest between the former and A. II, 
Rogers was declared a draw, and postponed to 
the 15lh. Next came a broad-sword exercise 
match by A. Matthews aud P. J. Barlow, the 
latter winning. The programme was to have 
closed with a middle-weight, but no one ap- 
peared against J. A. Wetberbee, and he was 
declared victor and presented with a silver 
cup. The sports will be continued on the 
16th and 23d. 
The Crimson, which has opened a sport- 
ing column, urges the Athletic Association to 
institute challenge cups for encouraging 
efforts in pedestrianism. 
—Tho base ball season was opened at 
Prospect Park, Brooklyn, last Saturday, by a 
game in which members of Chicago, Colum- 
bus, Canada and other leading professional 
cubs took part. Bond, of the Bostons, pitched 
on the side that scored 1, and CorcoraD, of 
the Buffaloes, on the side that scored 8. 
Pedestrianism.— The task of walking 89 
miles in 2li hours, with 10 minutes to spare, 
was accomplished by .Miss Von Hellern, at 
Cincinnati, last Saturday. Physicians pres- 
ent condemned the performance as too severe 
and very injurious to the pedostrienne's 
health. 
#- — - 
The London Six-days’ alk. This walk, 
at Agricultural Hall, London, beginning next 
Monday, will be contested by a number of 
noted pedestrians, among them Westou, 
O’Leary, Vuughan, who has a r cord of a 
greater number of miles mlhree days than | 
either of the former, and Smyth, who has j 
just walked 2,000 miles in 1,000 hours at Dub- 
lin. 
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purposes. Their TIMING 
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scientific requirements. TIF- 
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Fobs a 
