The Edging Goat

It's been more spring like here today, and my gaze has drifted along the wild and woolly edges of my lawn. How I long for a little hungry goat to neatly trim those unruly borders. Having observed how efficiently and quietly a goat consumes grass, I thought: why not create a mechanical version of a goat's head?

This is the essence of the Edging Goat. The mechanical head has a set of teeth that mimic the eating habits of a real goat, and are housed in a replica head to add to the effect. The head is pushed along on a wheel located at the end of a long handle, so that the operator can stroll about with a comfortable upright posture. The teeth alternatively pull, grind and munch the grass, which is drawn up via an Archimedean worm inside an oesophagus and into a stomach, that hangs from the supporting handle. The power supply is a tiny, but powerful, low maintenance steam engine housed in the goat's head.

Interchangeable heads and teeth allow the Edging Goat to take on other tasks, such as the Trenching Mole, or the Gutter Maggot.