MANAGEMENT OF LAWNS. 153 



casts abound mnch, for they are exceedingly dirty, and stick 

 to the shoes worse than mud. In mowing the operator must 

 not only look to the quality of his scythe and its keen edge, 

 but he must especially see to the setting of the blade : it 

 ought to be so put to the handle that he could, if necessary, 

 rub the back all along the sweep he takes, and the sharp edge 

 be half an inch from the ground the whole sweep, the point 

 being well up — for if that be too near the ground it will now 

 and then, by almost the turn of a straw, stick into it, and at 

 any rate show its marks all the way the man mows. We need 

 hardly say that mowing for lawn work is almost as clean and 

 as exact a job as shaving a beard ; there must not be a shade of 

 difference in the length of the grass, the edge must not go 

 nearer to the ground in one place than another, for it will 

 show in different shades, if it be not conspicuous enough to 

 make the false cuts apparent. 



Mowing Machines. — Of late years, an ingenious mowing 

 machine has been patented, and having worked it ourselves, 

 we can speak favourably of it iu use under some circumstances, 

 but there are two or three conditions that must be observed : 

 first, the surface of the ground must be very even; we do not 

 mean that it may not undulate, or that up or down hill makes 

 any great difference, but the operation is performed by revolv- 

 ing knives in a half cylinder, the edge of which is presented 

 to the grass at a given height by means of a roller which goes 

 on the ground and rolls at the same time, another roller being 

 placed some distance before.* It only remains to be mentioned, 

 that for very light work, one man can push the machine before 

 him, and that for up-hill work, or rather heavy jobs, one 

 should pull in front, and the other guide, as in the case of 

 ploughing. The grass is shaved off evenly as far as the 

 roUers and cutters reach, and by continuing this, the opera- 

 tion can be carried on over a great extent of laT^Ti ; but we 

 have heard it objected, that when people turn round and cut 

 their way back, it makes the lawn look all striped, every 

 straight cut being distinctly exposed by the back cut laying 

 the grass one way, and the forward cut the other. This 

 trumpery objection is one of the gardener's own coining ; for 

 instance, what business has he to cut both ways ? why not 

 roll the machine back without cutting 1 We have worked the 



* Mr. Bayd has in his patent removed all objections. 



