Sir, The demand to have verges cut more frequently, because little dogs get lost or walkers cannot find dog poo, is bizarre.

Until mechanical means arrived, essentially post 1945, verges were cut by scythe and sickle. The scyther would work to a routine; this verge in May, that in June, another in July, the rest in August. As a result verges had different displays of wild flowers. Present practice, where a man with a mower can cut in a day all that took weeks, has totally changed the wildflower composition of verges, greatly for the worse.

David A Jones
Gagle Brook House
Chesterton