Making a Lawn 



Mowing and Rolling. 



For the perfection of a lawn, mowing with a good 

 machine is absolutely necessary, and should be done 

 frequently. I use the epithet " good machine " advisedly, 

 for it is patent to all whose experience is in any way 

 extended that a bad machine will tear up a lawn and 

 quickly destroy its beauty and its utility. It is not so 

 often the fault of the manufacturer that a machine becomes 

 bad, as it is the fault of the owner in not keeping it in a 

 proper condition. If a machine is put away when wet, 

 is seldom oiled, is not properly set, and is run over 

 stones, sticks, and all sorts of rubbish, it is not at all 

 likely that it will bear the strain, and under such con- 

 ditions the strongest machine will quickly be broken up. 

 To cut the grass fairly low down without danger of biting 

 and pulling it up by the roots, its knives should be made 

 to pass so closely to the shoe-plate that they will cut 

 paper at any point, and until the proper method of setting 

 it higher and lower, according to the exigencies of the 

 moment, be thoroughly understood, it will be impossible 

 to have any guarantee that it will work satisfactorily. 

 Sticks and stones should be swept off the grass before 

 the mower is put upon it ; and when being put away at 

 night the machine should be cleaned and oiled, so that 

 it may not rust. During the winter season when the 

 machine is not in use it should be taken apart, each piece 

 well oiled, and stored away separately, taking particular 

 care not to lose the bolts and screws. 



Mowing should be started early in the year, and kept 

 on well into the autumn. Avoid also cutting the grass 

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