I was told it was to keep the house from burning during a woods fire. The woods were burned regularly so cattle could graze. Nora in Fla ----- Original Message ----- From: Karen Edson <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2000 9:49 AM Subject: Re: No grass in the yard > My Mother ,from James community Shelby County , told me the reason was to > keep the weeds under control .After that was accomplished the whole yard was > cleaned with a > "brush broom " Small limbs were cut from trees in the fall after the leaves > had fallen ,then they were bunched & tied together to make a "brush broom > "This was their > rake to clean the yard . My Mom said it was the children's responsibility to > keep the yard clean (In their family ) > > Karen Nobles Edson > > -----Original Message----- > From: J. A. Lanagan <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] <[email protected]> > Date: Wednesday, January 26, 2000 8:13 AM > Subject: No grass in the yard > > > >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 > > > > > >