I was told this was to protect the house from woods fire. They burned the woods regularly for animals to graze. Nora in Fla ----- Original Message ----- From: J. A. Lanagan <lanagan@by-rite.net> To: <TXSHELBY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, January 26, 2000 7:59 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 > >