172 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Of course the laud iu the highway is burdeued with the public easement or right of 

 travel there by the public. But every beneficial use to Avhich it can be put, Avhicb 

 does not interfere with the public right of passage belongs to the adjacent owners. 

 The grass may be cut and carried away by them. Then, too, if the road were ever 

 discontinued the land in it would revert, free of all encuniberauce, to the adjacent 

 owner. 



HIGHWAYS. 



Most farms are bounded on one or more sides by a highAvay. Every highway is? 

 defined as a road which every citizen has a right to use for the purpose of travel^ 

 in any orderly or proper manner, either on foot or any reasonable mode of convey- 

 ance. The public has no other right in thera save that of travel and repair. Our 

 Michigan Supreme Court has held that persons using horses for travel on the high- 

 ways have no superior rights over those traveling by other permissible means, and 

 that the fact that horses Avere frightened by a steam road engine is not of itself 

 .sufficient to render the owner of the, engine liable for the injury resulting; iu other 

 words, the steam engine in the highway is not necessarily a nuisance. 



Every entrance upon the lands of another Avhich is not licensed in some way is 

 a trespass. It makes no difference whether the lands trespassed upon are enclosec! 

 by a fence or not. If there is no fence the law encircles the land with an imaginary 

 inclosure, to pa.ss through Avhich is to break through the close and commit a tres- 

 pass. For the mere entering upon the land only nominal damages can be recovered 

 and there are some trespasses which are said to be excusable altogether. Tres- 

 passes may be committed not only by a person going himself unlawfully upon the 

 lands of another, but by sending his servant there, allowing his domestic or other 

 animals to escape there, or by casting Inanimate objects upon the land. If one 

 throws sticks or dumps his rubbish on the side of the highway near another's land 

 or tlirows stones at another's house or buildings, it is a trespass. If a master 

 directs Iris servant to commit a trespass the master is liable. If one's cattle, sheep 

 or swine go upon the lands of another and there do damage it is a trespass and for 

 which the owner is liable. The subject of 



LINE FENCES 



l)etween adjacent owners is another question in Avhich the farmers are intensely 

 interested. The legislature has passed a law upon this subject which bears prin- 

 cipally upon tAvo points. It provides that partition or division fences between 

 adjoining farms shall be maintained in equal shares by the adjacent owners; and 

 they take from the oAvner of lands his right to sue the oAvner of trespassing cattle 

 unless the lands are enclosed by fences of legal height and strength. The statute 

 further re(iuires adjacent owners to maintain division fences in equal shares, that 

 is, each must buiki half of the fence, and if they cannot agree Avhich half each 

 shall build, or if either refuses to build his share, the laAV in-ovides a method by 

 Avhich the respective portions to be maintained by each may be determined, and by 

 Avhich either may compel the other to build his share. Of course adjoining owners 

 may agree betAveen themselves and such agreement shall be valid Avhile it remains 

 in force, and mere parol<> or verl)al agreement of this sort is not. however, binding 

 upon subsequent OAvners and will not bind the parties to it longer than they wish 

 to proceed under it. The statute further provides that the agreement relative to 

 line fences may be put in writing and filed with the township clerk, which shall 

 then become binding upon all parties always and upon subsequent oAvners or 

 occupiers of the land. Wlien the parties cannot agree and one of tAvo adjoining 

 refuses to build his half of the partition fence, then the laAv provides that the fence- 

 A^iewers may be called upon to decide the matter. The fence-vieAA'ers are the over- 

 seers of highAvays, or path-masters as we call them. *» 



The fence-viCAvers make their report to the supervisors and the expense of re- 

 pairing the fence is assessed by the supervisors on the delinquent owner. 



Tlie Michigan farmer Avho Avould inform himself thoroughly upon this question 

 should read carefully chapter 21 of Howell's Annotated Statutes. 



