July, 1919 
WISCONSIN HORTICULTURE 
147 
of the spots are covered with a fine 
mildew. Later in the day the bor- 
der of actively growing spots is 
smoky green in color where the 
grass leaves are dying. When the 
disease is abundant and a merging 
of the spots occurs, an entire put- 
ting green often will be completely 
brown and appear as if dead. Pe- 
culiarly enough, with the coming 
of cool weather in fall most of the 
infested spots recover, indicating 
that tlie grass has suffered no per- 
manent injury. However, occas- 
ional diseased spots are completely 
killed. Apparently the brown spots 
radiate in the form of a small cir- 
cle from one unit and continue this 
process, season after season, until 
large circles are formed. Occasion- 
ally a green spot is found in the 
center, but usually the whole patch 
is brown. 
Prevention is the practical way 
of decreasing the damage wrought 
by this turf disease, according to 
the United States Department of 
Agriculture. Preventive measures 
consist in providing thorough 
drainage, both of the surface and 
subsoil. Often in spite of these 
precautions the disease will appear 
in warm, wet weather when the ex- 
cess surface moisture can not be 
controlled. The growing of turf 
plants immune or highly resistant 
to the disease — Bermuda grass in 
the South and blue grass and white 
clover in the North — is the ideal 
method of prevention. 
The fescues and the bents, the 
peers of all fine turf grasses, are 
markedly susceptible to the 
“brown patch” disease, although 
resistant strains are available in 
both these groups of grasses. It 
is anticipated by specialists in the 
United States Department of Agri- 
culture that in the near future 
resistant strains of desirable 
grasses for putting green use will 
be available in amounts sufficient 
to satisfy all demands. 
When a person is sufficiently 
familiar with the time of appear- 
ance and development of the 
“brown patches” among grass 
plants to forecast the occurrence of 
the disease, lie can partially control 
and check its damage by persistent 
spraying with Bordeaux mixture, 
in amount just sufficient to moisten 
the leaves and crowns of the grass, 
without thoroughly wetting the 
ground. Frequent applications are 
necessary. The difficulty attend- 
ing the use of Bordeaux or any sim- 
ilar fungicide is that as soon as it 
has been removed from the plants 
by rain or by continued mowing 
the fungus breaks out in new 
places, undeterred by the fungi- 
cide which is on the surface of the 
soil or on the older stems and 
leaves. Although the expense of 
using Bordeaux mixture is rather 
heavy, it will pay the owner to test 
out this measure of eradication 
rather than to allow the disease to 
spread unchecked. 
As a rule, mixed grasses on put- 
ting greens or lawns are less in- 
jured than individual settings of 
pure-bred varieties. However, mix- 
tures will never result in the fine 
turf which comes from setting such 
grasses as velvet bent, carpet bent, 
or red fescue. Incidentally the 
high susceptibility of mouse-ear 
cbickweed, or “creeping Charlie” 
is a special reason for eradicating 
all patches of these plants from 
putting greens or high-quality 
lawns. 
The common lawn plants seem 
susceptible to the brown patch dis- 
ease in about this order: Mouse-ear 
chiekweed, red fescue, red top, vel- 
vet bent, carpet bent, rough- stalked 
meadow grass, speedwell and yar- 
row. Frequently, especially in the 
case of mouse-ear, chiekweed and 
speedwell, the disease does not 
spread beyond the boundaries of 
the plant attacked, but in other 
cases several species of plants may 
be involved in the same spot. 
At one of the leading golf courses 
in the District of Columbia, where 
the ‘ ‘ brown patch ' ’ disease was 
rampant in 1916, experiments were 
conducted in 1917 to determiine if 
the trouble could be prevented by 
the use of Bordeaux mixture. A 
fine putting green of mixed bent, 
measuring about 40 by 80 feet in 
size, was used. The disease ap- 
peared on June 13; two days later 
the green was watered with 300 
gallons of half-strength Bordeaux 
mixture, a small portion of turf 
being left untreated as a check. No 
injury whatever resulted to the 
grass from the use of the Bordeaux. 
The treated area seemed to improve 
very quickly and within a week few 7 
spots were visible. In contrast, the 
untreated portion continued to de- 
teriorate and on July 9 was in bad 
condition, wdiile the treated area 
showed no signs of the disease. 
About July 15 the disease again be- 
came rampant on the treated area, 
when it v 7 as watered a second time 
with Bordeaux as before. The 
results following the second appli- 
cation were by no means as marked 
as after the first treatment, but 
were decidedly beneficial. From 
this experiment, as well as from 
several similar ones, it seems pro- 
bable that the disease can be held 
in check by frequent light applica- 
tions of Bordeaux mixture. 
WANTED— WORK 
Married man able and willing to 
work wants work on fruit farm or 
market garden preferably where high- 
grade poultry is kept. 
City bred but three years experi- 
ence on market garden. Wife willing 
to help in house or act as housekeeper. 
Address C. Wisconsin Horticulture. 
