Some lawnmowers of the past

In our modern era the lawnmower is a breeze to use. The hover mower glides across the grass with ease and the roller rotary mower is so light its easy to push and there are still petrol and diesel options. However, if you need some Briggs and Stratton Parts then look no further than http://www.briggsbits.co.uk/ to help you out. In fact, you don’t even need to be there as there are some that use robotic technology to cut the grass quietly at night but it’s not to everyone’s liking. Spare a thought for our ancestors and what they had to put up with these early lawnmowers.

The scythe was the only way to cut the grass so you could safely say that the first lawnmoer was technically a human being. The scythe is a tricky garden implement to use but when you get the hang of it it’s pretty quick. Lines of workers would soon make short work of a field. It has a curved blade and a long handle that you swish.

The first rotary mower was a godsend. It could be pulled or pushed across a field and gave an even cut. It meant that the work of 6 people was reduced to one and took half the time.

The oddest past mower is that of the steam powered one in 1893. This revolutionised the mowing world as it brought mechinsation to the implement.

Summary

This article traces the history of the lawnmower, from the scythe as the earliest way to cut grass, through the first rotary mower that could be pulled or pushed and cut the workforce needed by five sixths, to a steam-powered mower introduced in 1893 that brought mechanisation to the task.

Questions this article raises

• How much labour did the first rotary mower save compared with a scythe?
• Why was the 1893 steam-powered mower considered revolutionary?
• What skills were needed to use a scythe effectively?