The lawnmower was invented in the 1830s in Englnad, to replace the scythe in preparing cricket pitches and tennis courts. From this it evolved into the number one lawn care tool.

If you don't replace your grass with astroturf (and to me that makes a lot of sense, but I know I'm in the minority here) you will always have to spend some time of your week mowing your lawn. Grass looks great when its from 3 to 4 inches long, but after that it does begin to look unkempt. Your home is your most important investment and it reflects your personality...and your lawn is the first part of your home that anyone ever sees.

There are many kinds of lawnmowers on the market, from the most rudimentary push-mowers to the most sophisticated remote-control models, the result of over a hundred years of lawnmower evolution.

Lawnmowers have been in existence since the 1830s, when a freelance engineer in Gloucestershire, England by the name of Edwin Beard Budding took out a patent on the mechanism, and it went in to mass production in the 1850s. The first lawnmowers were hand-powered. The first steam-powered lawnmower came out in 1893, and in the 1930s the gasoline-engine powered lawnmower came out on the market, and took it over.

But gasoline-powered engines are loud, and they need quite a bit of strength and technique to start. And...they take gasoline! There are a couple of solutions.

For the smallest lawns, push-mowers work a treat. It's all muscle-power, so you get a lot of exercise out of it.

For the slightly larger lawn, the electric mower works great. It's necessary for them to be plugged in to an electric outlet, and you'll be trailing a power cord behind you. It is imperative, therefore, that you use care with these types of mowers so that you don't run over the cord and accidently cut it.

Cordless electric lawnmowers do exist. Black & Decker makes a few models, as does Makita.

And just as you can now get remote-controlled mops and vacuum cleaners, you'll soon be able to get a remote-controlled lawnmower. Evatech is one company that has developed such a device. It will take all the exercise out of mowing your lawn, but it will still be a lot of fun as you'll operate it via hand controls.


The Advantages Of Electric Lawnmowers

1. The noise. Quite simply, gasoline engines are noisy and you should wear ear protectors with even the smallest of them. And quite apart from your own ears, the noise can irritate your neighbors if you choose an inopportune to operate it.

2. The pollution. A gasoline engine emits from 2-3 times more pollution than a car engine does!

So the electric lawnmower is the mower of the future.