APPENDIX. 423 



As the neatness of a well kept lawn depends mainly upon the man- 

 ner in which it is mown, and as this again can only be well done where 

 there are no inequalities in the ground, it follows that the surface 

 should be kept as smooth as possible. Before sowing a lawn, too 

 much pains cannot be taken to render its surface smooth and even. 

 After this, in the spring, before the grass starts, it should be examined, 

 and all little holes and irregularities filled up, and the same should be 

 looked over at any annual top-dressing that may take place. The 



When a lawn is in perfect condition, smooth, free from stones and inequali- 

 ties, and is cut, as it ought to be, once a week, it is quite surprising how much 

 gratification we derive from what used to be performed with great labor, and 

 often with a very unsatisfactory result. There are very few places in the 

 country where we can have complete lawns by the scythe, because, as the 

 work must be performed early in the morning and late in the afternoon 

 when the dew is on, it follows that a very large force, much larger than is 

 usually kept even in our best places, must be required, to accomplish 

 mtieh in so short a, time. In England, this is more easily done, because 

 they turn ou to the lawn at daylight, ten to thirty men, from all parts of 

 the place, who separate after 8, or 9, A. M., to their respective and regular 

 duties to the garden, to the farm, to the forest. We cannot afford to do 

 this, and as our sun is much hotter, and our dew much less time in dura- 

 tion than in England, it follows, that any improvement, which will allow us 

 to cut our lawns throughout the heat of the day, is very desirable. This 

 the mowing machine does, performing its work better when the dew is 

 off, than on, and allowing us to mow, roll, and gather up, at the same time, and 

 by the same means. All that remains subsequently to do, is to clip with scythe 

 or sickle around the edges and verges, as well as near trees, or masses of shrubs, 

 very close to which the machine should not be allowed to pass. We have found 

 more satisfaction in the use of this machine, than in any other thing we have 

 done since we lived in the country, and have now got our lawn into such a 

 responsive and genial condition, that (except during May and June, when the 

 growth of grass is more rampant, and has to be gathered), we have removed 

 our box for catching the grass as it falls from the rollers, and permit it 

 to fly in a little shower all over the lawn, as the cutting progresses. In 

 this way, the lawn-top dresses itself, by returning all that it produces. 

 By cutting and rolling once a week, this weekly cutting amounts to 

 little more than snipping off the points of shoots half to three-quarters of 

 an inch long, which have projected above the cutting-grade of the machine, 

 and which are scattered in this sort of grassy shower on the lawn, decaying 

 or disappearing in course of two to three hours, while all below the grade 

 becomes pressed and matted by the roller into a fine and verdant so<f 

 H. W. S. 



