PART TWO - Declined

The display board (in the cottage) told a simple but revealing story. In 1858 the then
Superintendent (Mr Newman) imported a lawnmower at his own expense, and
he offered it to the Botanic Society at cost price. The offer was declined!

[Linked Image]
Image: CyberJack 22/12/2015

The Society's response is historically significant, but not totally unexpected.
The invention of the lawnmower in 1830 and its production in 1832 was not an
'overnight success' at all. In Britain, it would take another two decades
(the 1850s) for widespread interest to be shown.

When the lawnmower arrived on our shores, it seemed obvious that the same
reluctance to embrace a 'new-fangled machine' would be greeted with suspicion.
After all, 'lawnmower' to most folks would have been a physical person ...
the humble scythesman.

The rest is history.
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Jack