ROLLER, GARDEN. 



428 



ROLLER, GARDEN. 



made with balance handles that is to say, 

 there is a weight attached to the lower part 

 of the framework and placed within the 

 roller and this weight being much greater 

 than that of the handle and framework 



CONSTRUCTION OF GARDEN ROLLER. 



attached to it taken together, always seeks 

 the lowest point, and thus keeps the handle 

 upright, a great advantage, both in placing 

 the handle out of the way when the roller 

 is stationary on the lawn or elsewhere, and 

 in keeping it in this position when out of 

 use and put away in the tool -house or 

 wherever it may be kept. The principle 

 of the construction of the garden roller will 

 be understood from Fig. I, in which the 

 framework that connects the handle with 

 the axle on which the roller revolves, and 

 the balance weight depending from the 

 axle within the roller, are clearly shown. 

 The chief objection to the ordinary roller 

 is that the edges of the cylinder are sharp', 

 and therefore are apt to cut into grass or 

 gravel when greater weight is thrown or 

 pressure exerted in the direction of the 



edge, as will always happen in turning the 

 roller, and another is the projection of the 

 axle and frame to an undue extent, although 

 the width of the frame in its greatest part 

 must be greater than that of the cylinder in 

 order to clear it. These faults have been 

 reduced to a minimum in the double 

 cylinder rollers, which are generally made 

 with rounded edges, and thus turn more 

 easily and without injuring either grass or 

 gravel by cutting into them. The improve- 

 ment in this necessary direction is carried 

 to the greatest extent in the patent rollers 

 manufactured by Messrs. T. Green and 

 Son, Leeds and London, one of which, a 

 double-cylinder roller, is represented in 

 Fig. 2. In this, the edges are rounded to 

 a very great extent, and the plates which 

 afford a bearing for the axle are deeply 

 recessed, so as to admit of the bending of 

 the frame over and round the edge of the 

 cylinder and its recession within it, so that 

 the outermost point of the axle does not 

 protrude beyond the edges. In the rollers 

 th?.t are ballasted with water, and in some 

 cases with sand, the interior is closed at a 



FIG. 2. GREEN S PATENT GARDEN ROLLER 



little distance within the edges on each 

 side with plates, forming a hollow drum. 

 Bosses with projecting pins are fastened to 

 these plates to form the axle, and on these 

 the frame and its balance weight swing. 

 There is an aperture in the roller which 

 can be opened or closed at pleasure, 



