LAW OF THE FARM. 291 



escape of a tame ox; the killing of sheep is not the ordinary propensity of a 

 dog ; but when an ox becomes vicious and liable to gore people, or a dog takes 

 a notion to kill sheep, it is an exception to the general rule, and all mankind 

 are not presumed to know of this vicious propensity. Hence in order to ren- 

 der the owner liable for such mischief done, it is necessary to bring home to 

 him knowledge of the vicious tendency, before the law makes him liable. 



When the knowledge is brought home to him of this bad character, he is then 

 presumed to know the ordinary consequences of the escape of such animal, 

 and is responsible for the injury done. If you have knowledge that the boiler 

 which you attach to your threshing machine is defective, and liable to explode 

 and do injury, you use it at your peril. 



A thousand questions will suggest themselves to the mind, in connection 

 with this subject. The difficulty arises, not in understanding the law so much 

 as in knowing how to apply it to a given state of facts. The great kaleido- 

 scope of judicial proceedings never presents two cases whose facts are precisely 

 alike. It is one thing to know the law, and quite another thing to know how 

 to apply it to the case in hand. 



LECTUKE NUMBER FOUR. 



PARMEES' RELATION TO LAW. 



What I have been saying respecting injuries done by cattle and other things 

 kept and used by farmers, for which the owner or keeper is responsible, comes 

 under the head of what the law denominates negligence. In general, any per- 

 son who has caused an injury or loss to another by his negligence, whether he 

 be a farmer, doctor, or lawyer, is responsible for the loss or injury. If your 

 lawyer manages your business so negligently that you sustain loss or injury 

 thereby, he is liable to you for the damages. So if a doctor, by his negligence 

 in setting a broken limb, or in treating your disease, injures you, he must in 

 like manner respond. 



There is no class of people more negligent, in the ordinary sense of the 

 term, than farmers. Indeed, I have sometimes thought that, as the country 

 improves and they grow forehanded, they become lazy and inattentive to some 

 of the ordinary responsibilities of life. This is manifested in dilapidated 

 fences, whereby his stock is liable to escape and run at large. His farming 

 implements are frequently exposed to the wear and tear of the elements. The 

 progress of invention enables him to lead a comparatively easy life. Very few 

 farmers work as hard or as many hours as an ordinary mechanic. The farm- 

 ing community is too prosperous, under the present state of affairs, to devote 

 much time to small matters which once occupied the attention of the pioneer. 

 His front gate or fence and his " door-yard " frequently show a reckless neg- 

 lect. He seems, in many cases, to have no idea of how much a beautiful lawn 

 in front of his house would add to the beauty and value of his homestead. It 

 would even make his children grow up and appear more graceful and genteel. 

 The chances are that he will have his barn, cow yard, or hog pen in front of 

 his house. In this improved country there is no class of people who are so 

 independent and who have so much leisure as the farmer. The only individ- 

 ual about the farm whose work is never done, and who never sees a leisure 



