1952-53

686
RECREATION GROUNDS
MAINTENANCE
Recreation Grounds will not take care of themselves.
KICK-ABOUT-GOAD, AREA
One usually finds that when practising, or immediately before
a match, a particular goalmouth area is used, probably that nearest
the pavilion, with the result that in a very short time the turf
becomes in a worn and " hide-bound " condition, holding water,
and therefore liable to churn up easily.
To prevent this an area of the Recreation Ground should
be specially allotted
as a Kick-
about-goal Area, with the
necessary goal posts erected.
If care is taken that this particular
area is used for practice, it will greatly reduce the wear and tear
associated with the goalmouth areas on the match grounds.
ALL RECREATION GROUNDS MUST BE RESTED
To
use continually any particular section of a recreation ground
from week to week will only produce disastrous results. It does
not matter in how good condition the turf may be, or how well
established, it is asking too much of nature.
It is usually a Football
I
Ground that is used too much during
the winter months, when plant life is dormant ; the result is that
one finds at the end of a football season the ground has been " worn
to death," and that very considerable repair work is necessary in
the way of re-sowing and top-dressing. If this goes on from year
to year, deterioration will rapidly take place, and the reinforcing
cannot overcome the wear and tear.
To give the ground a chance of holding its own, no more than
two, or possibly three, matches ought to be played
in
,
the week,
and then the condition at the end of the season
will
depend much
on weather conditions. Playing on a sodden ground or one in process
of thawing is most harmful. If .it is essential that Football, or
Hockey must be played day in and day out, then the only alternative
is to have what is known as a Dry Playground.
It is unreasonable to expect turf to stand up to excessive usage
of this kind. It also greatly increases maintenance costs.
GRASSES USED FOR AND FOUND ON SPORTS
GROUNDS
It will readily be appreciated that while the greenkeeper or
groundsman has to contend with certain unalterable factors, like
climate and the general soil characteristics, others, like fertiliser and
mechanical treatments, can to a large extent be governed to suit
particular requirements. The grasses constituting the turf can also,
and must necessarily, be controlled at the beginning in the case of
a newly-sown sward, especially in respect of the selection of the
seeds mixture, but management, especially height of cut, will to a
very large extent determine the species dominant in the turf. Their
persistence depends on this factor probably more than
on any other,