BOWLS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume L, Issue 175, 26 October 1917, Page 3

BOWLS

I The Dominion executive and clubs af- | filiated to the Dunedin Centre have started in earnest in the matter of raising funds so that the forthcoming Patriotic Tournament, to be held in Dunedin early in January, shall re6iilt in £IOOO for the Patriotic Fund. Some clubs are holding art unions and others concerts and special collections. A motion that the effort should be furthered by the other centres was lost, Dunedin deciding to raise the sum itself. Worms on bowling greens are a source of great annoyance to green superintendents and green-keeperfi. Several of the Christchurch greens have been much troubled in the past by this pest, the Edgeware and Opawa greens especially so, but the work done by the green-keepers to provide clean greens has been highly successful, remarks the Press. By some it is argued that worms do nothing but good ; others hold a very contrary opinion. Mr P. W. Lees, an expert, writing in an English paper, says:—"To keep a bowling green in good playing condition, the. grass ,' must be kept in as clean and healthy a condition as possible, and the surface must be firm and true.. It is practically impossible to achieve this result on greens infested with worms. The very action of the worms continually throwing casts keeps the surface soft, and the daily brushing and rolling which is required to make a green at all playable tends to destroy the finer grasses, and in the course of time they disappear, and give place to coarse tufts and bare places. We all know the discomfort of playing on 'wormy greens,' and it is generally understood that the worms must be removed if good greens.are required. The question arises: How- are we to Get rid of the pest without' injuring the grass? Some people say it ca.nnot be done. My answer is: Yes, it can be. done. My efforts have been crowned with success. I treated some of my greens some years ago, and today they are perfectly clear of worms." Mr Lees states that he has used a pre-, scription known as Carter's worm killer. The advantages derived from clearing the green of worms are:—The I "reens play true. The turf becomes clean and healthy. The turf improves. The surface becomes true and firm. The labour is considerably reduced. The worm caste make accurate bowling impossible. The continued movements of the worms makes the surface soft and ' spongy, which no amount of rolling will remedy. In conection with the question discussed in the foregoing paragraph, it is of interest to mention the method adopted in Nelson by Mr W. Tombhn, for many years caretaker of the Maitai and Nelson greens. He used lime water on the Maitai green and brought the worms to the surface in thousands, a few moments' exposure to the sun killing them. The lime was placed m the tank on the windmill, and the green hosed in the ordinary way. Of the success of this method there can be no doubt, and it can confidently be recommended.