NO CAUSE FOR CONCERN

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 114, 10 November 1934, Page 6

NO CAUSE FOR CONCERN

HUTT RECREATION GROUND

— i' REPLY TO CRITICISM

Criticism of t the ifutt Recreation around in a letter publishcd|,in "The Post" yesterday was repllcd;,to today by -the Mayor, of tower Ilutt (Mr. J. W. Andrews), who said there was" absolutely, no cause for any concern, about the condition/of tho ground, and that thbsq 'in control were- satisfied that the original decision was the correct one. Sealing, with-tho question of suitable grasses, Mr. -Andrews said: "For a, ground' used for both cricket and football durability and rapid recovery are "tho great necessities, and the con--1 ditions ■ call for rapid recuperative power. They must bo strong-growing grasses, not too coarso, which arcdikely to grow throughout the winter, stand up to tho gruelling of football, and still provide a fast' turf for cricket. As no other accommodation was availablo it was necessary to produce a playing surface in a few weeks. If your correspondent had been acquainted with conditions in, the Hutt district he would have known full well that it was utterly impossible to think of clos-. ing that large area for" a complete season. "Your correspondent apparently is of the opinion tiat only ryegrass was sown. This is entirely fallacious. It is also not generally known that, there are several Varieties of 'ryograss, some of which would be distinctly harmful in a sports ground. .The variety used was Lolium perenne, of which there'are many types.' The typo selected was a dwarf branching type, This grass fulfils tho necessary requirements, and is considered eminently suitable for sports grounds. The othdr grass sow.ti with it was Chested- Dogstail, which even your correspondent recommends. TJio advisability of adding Chewings Fescue was cdnsidered, but owing to the, lateness of the sowing and the sloav power of development of this species it was deemed inadvisable _to include it in tho main sowing. A small trial patch was sown,' however, and it proved a complete failure owing to the dryncss of the season/and the portion originally sown with Chewings had to be rcsown,' with ,tho Crested' Dogstail md ryegrass mixture. "As- originally intended, Chewings was added during-the spring top-dress-ing, but it is tho definite "policy of the superintendent of reserves to prevent this species from gaining control, as it is the considered opinion of experts that Chewings Fescue is not 'the most suitable grass for dual-purpose' sports, grounds. "It is exactly twelve months since tho seed was sown, and the ground has been used continuously, for cricket, football, or hockey sinco February 3. In view of this fact- surely it is unreasonable for your correspondent to sxpect a turf which would compare with a-turf of many years' standing. I would suggest that he should inspect Trafalgar Park, which was sown with exactly the same grasses three years ngo, and which is referred to by the Hutt Valley Cricket Association and the Hockey Association as one of tho best grounds in the Wellington district. "If he is still concerned, I would welcome a personal interview, when I would be pleased to^show him tho report of 'the superintendent, which is far too lengthy to bo included in a Press interview, and also some findings by tho leading reserves supervisors in til the important cities of Now Zealand, on result's achieved from various types of grasses for sports areas."