Another little discovery of science that may help to restore
Prosperity to our decaying farms has been seized upon by keepers of golf-greens. It is incidental to the new method of treating fodder grasses. That method, discussed every- where among agriculturists during the last six months and more, enables a farmer to use his meadows as a source of good fodder for some eight months in the year. If he feeds them scientifically and uses nitrogenous manures to secure such growth he will make his pastures in late autumn, and even on the threshold of winter, a source of food comparable with the best—and most expensive—linseed cake. Here is a real source of new wealth : but the keeper of golf-greens has been quicker off the mark than the farmer. He has accepted the scientific assertion that the finest grasses grow best in a rather acid soil. By frequent use of small amounts of sulphate of ammonia some of our best golf specialists have utterly destroyed every weed, notably the daisy and plaintain, and encouraged sweet grasses of a fine texture. The science of green and lawn and pitch making is being advanced more rapidly than the scientific use of meadows. It is a pity, as a Frenchman said to me once—in reference to our hedgerows : "Everything in England is for beauty ; nothing for use." He spoke by way of admiration.
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