The long handled lawn shears will help greatly in 

 keeping a tidy appearance 



in the July, 1908, number of The Garden 

 Magazine applies with equal force to 

 the tools that are here described. The 

 better wearing qualities, the greater ease 

 with which most of them work, and the 

 added satisfaction attending their use, will 

 more than repay the difference in price 

 between a poor tool and a good one. And 

 the purchase of a special tool will often 

 prove to be a piece of practical wisdom and 

 economy on the part of the amateur busy in 

 other spheres, even when the apparent need 

 of such an addition to the equipment hardly 

 seems to warrant the outlay. 



GRASS CUTTERS AND TRIMMERS 



There is but one tool that will keep the 

 surface of a lawn in perfect condition, and 

 that is the modern lawn mower. The use 

 of this tool is universal and it gives an 

 evenness of surface that can be obtained in 

 no other way. When the plot is small, 

 the grass can be kept cut with a sickle, but 

 a lawn mower will do the work much quicker 

 and better. Lawn mowers can be bought in 

 all sizes from the large steam or horse mower 

 used on large estates to the small mower 

 with blades ten inches long. While it is 

 possible to get a machine that is too large 

 for one man, the most common mistake is 

 to buy one too small. Where the lawn is 

 fairly large, 17-inch blades are small enough, 

 but the 19-inch knife has proved to be the 

 best size for all around use. The five inches 

 difference between the width of the cut of a 

 19-inch blade and that of a 14-inch (the size 



Only on very small grass plots is it wise to rely on 

 the sickle. But it is needed for trimming 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



commonly bought) means that with the 

 larger the work can be completed in about 

 three-quarters of the time required by the 

 smaller size. Get a five-bladed machine, if 

 you want the best, but if the difference in 

 price is an object, buy the one with four 

 blades. 



All except the cheapest makes are so con- 

 structed that grass catchers can be attached 

 to them, although the better way is to mow 

 the lawn often enough so that the clippings 

 can be allowed to lie where they fall. They 

 soon shrivel, dry out and settle down between 

 the grass blades, in no wise detracting from 

 the neat appearance of the lawn and acting 

 as a mulch in the very hot weather; and 

 there is the fact that nothing is being taken 

 away frdhi the soil. If absence or continued 

 rain should prevent cutting and the grass 

 should make too much growth to allow the 

 cuttings to remain on the lawn, the grass 

 catcher will save the labor and time necessary 

 for raking up the cuttings. 



The lawn mower will not cut grass grow- 

 ing close against copings, posts, flower beds, 

 etc., and other tools must be used for that 

 purpose, although where the edges of flower 

 beds are but slightly lower than the abutting 

 sod, the grass may be cut by running one 

 wheel of the mower in the bed close to the 

 edge of the sod. This often cuts the grass 

 so short, however, that it dies, making an 

 edge of dead grass or bare soil. 



The oldest implement used for cutting 

 grass and grain is the reaping hook, known 

 as the sickle or grass hook. While yet 

 used to a small extent for cutting grass, its 

 principal use now is for trimming edges and 

 cutting the grass in odd corners. Of the 

 two patterns the one most extensively used 

 is commonly called the English, the curve 

 of the blade varying slightly according to 

 the notion of the maker. The American or 

 scythe pattern may be had with a fixed or 

 adjustable blade. When set straight with 

 the handle it may be used as a slashing knife. 

 A thumb-nut clamps the blade in position 

 and corrugations prevent it from slipping. 



There are two distinct forms of con- 

 struction of the English pattern. In one 

 the blade is made of a thin piece of steel, 

 stiffened by welding or riveting a narrow 

 strip of steel down the back and top of the 

 blade. The welded reinforcement is nat- 

 urally the better. The blade can be kept 

 sharp with the ordinary scythe stone and 

 will be found sufficiently strong for ordinary 

 work. The second form is made of steel 

 heavy enough to stand use without reinforce- 

 ment, and must be ground occasionally to 

 keep sharp. 



The small grass shears (costing about 

 twenty-five cents) commonly used for trim- 

 ming the grass, work stiff and are hard to use 

 because the blade is too short. Better get a 

 first-class tool with a blade six to eight 

 inches long. These shears are designed 

 for trimming the edges and for clearing out 

 corners where the regular cutting tool will 

 not reach. Yet some people try to mow the 

 lawn with the shears! Border and lawn 

 shears of improved forms are not so well- 

 known, but are used for practically the 



June, 1909 



Trimming and edging tools work where the lawn 

 mower cannot enter 



same purposes and are vastly superior, the 

 long handles allowing the operator to stand 

 erect. The border shears with one wheel 

 (also furnished without a wheel) quickly 

 shears off the grass overhanging paths or 

 flower beds and can also be used to trim 

 around posts, etc. This is a labor-saving 

 tool and is much used in parks. 



The two-wheeled or lawn shear (to the 

 right of the illustration) is for flat work under 

 bushes, fences, around posts, etc. It is 

 also furnished without wheels, but the 

 wheels are of some service as the blades 

 operate parallel with the ground and the 

 wheels raise them slightly. Both shears 

 are supplied with eight 8 or 10 inch blades, 

 the larger being the more rapid-working. 



The grass trimmer and edger shown in the 

 illustration in the upper right hand corner .of 

 this page are handy tools. The one works on 

 the same principle as the lawn mower. The 

 blades are six inches long and the wheel, 

 being on one side only, permits their use 

 very close to posts and curbings, along 

 the edges of flower beds and borders 

 and along walks and drives. There is also 

 a disk and scraper attachment (which 

 is bolted to the trimmer and can be easily 

 removed) which converts it into an edger. 

 It is only necessary to turn the machine 

 upside down to bring the edger into use. 

 For ease of operation, quickness and thor- 

 oughness of work this tool excels all others 

 heretofore used for the purpose, and its 

 cost is not so great as the combined cost of 

 the two shears just described. 



The edging attachment tor the wheel hoe is one 

 more advantage of that tool 



