Turf for Golf Courses - Msu

212 TURF FOR GOLF COURSES
necticut, under the auspices of the Connecticut
Experiment Station. This work was carried on from
1885 until the time of Olcott's death in 1910. The
appearance of this notable grass turf-garden is shown
on Plate XIX. Olcott's method was the simple
one of continued search for plants that approached
his ideal of perfection. In the course of his labors
he visited hundreds of localities in America and
Europe, as well as Hawaii, New Zealand, and Aus-
tralia. Whenever or wherever he found a piece of
turf that appealed to his taste, he carried it to his
home where it was patiently propagated until enough
was secured to plant a plot large enough to judge of
its merits in comparison with others. In some plots
grasses were grown from seed, but Olcott found that
most of these showed much variation between indi-
vidual plants, even when grown from a supposedly
pure strain, so that eventually he propagated all his
turf grasses by division, never allowing them to pro-
duce seed. During the life of its creator, the Olcott
turf grass garden was one of wonderful interest. It
contained nearly 500 strains of grasses, the .choice
out of the thousands that had been tested. The
plots of turf were mostly about four feet square, but
a few' much larger, every plot being grown by the