Sandy, No one has ever told me why the grass was picked back, so I am open to other suggestions. However, I have heard it said that a lot of people thought that this would cut down on the number of critters up in your yard in the 'wilderness'--such as snakes. At the least, if your dog didn't see 'um coming, you might. Also, the push lawn mower was invented in the 1800's, but I've never heard of early use of it in rural areas of the South. Once you got yard growth under control, use of the hoe was one way was one way to keep things under control and mark off your yard as a well maintained domain. Tony Lanagan