Worried that they hadn't heard anything for days from the widow in the apartment next door, the mother said to her son, "Tony, would you go next door and see how old Mrs. Pierpoint is?"
A few minutes later, Tony returned.
"Well, is she all right?" asked the mother.
"She's fine, but she's rather annoyed with you," remarked Tony.
"At me?" the mother exclaimed. "Whatever for?"
Tony replied, "Mrs. Pierpoint said it's none of your business how old she is."
U.S. mowing machine patentIn 1812, the first U.S. patent for a horse-drawn mowing machine was given to Peter Gaillard of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It was granted before patents were numbered, and lost in the Patent Office fire (1836). Except for its entry in a summary list of patent dates, it remains unknown and likely unsuccessful. Other U.S. patents listed as for "cutting grain and grass" or "reaping grain" are listed for 17 May 1803, 28 Dec 1805 and 26 Feb 1811. Another patent for "mowing grass" was issued to Peter Baker on 19 Feb 1814. The next was to Jeremiah Bailey (13 Feb 1822), a rotary mowing machine which received much attention, both in the U.S. and in the British Mechanic's Magazine.«* |
