of Rural Art and Taste. 



369 



It is decided that the aggrieved party may 

 cut off" the limbs that hang over his ground, 

 but he must do this with as little damage as 

 possible ; which means, I suppose, that he 

 must use sharp tools, and wax the ends of the 

 stubs. 



On his right to dig down and cut off" the 

 thieving roots, which may be feeding on his 

 dear-bought superphosphate, they do not give 

 an opinion ; but it is inferred that he has no 

 remedy, not expressly granted by the courts. 



On the same principle, a man may tether 

 his cow on his neighbor's grass, if he drives 

 the stake on his own land. The courts would, 

 doubtless, give the neighbor the privilege of 

 driving the cow back whenever it trespassed, 

 but he must do it gently. The milk would, 

 of course, belong to the owner of the cow. 



Now, so far as this decision aff'ects the trees 

 already planted, it makes but little difference, 

 as there are very few persons who would feel 

 disposed to have any contention with their 

 neighbors, to get what clearly appeared to 

 them their own ; but it is because it gives 

 legal sanction to that which is morally wrong, 

 and encourages that class of people who are 

 willing to take all the laws allow, to continue 

 a practice which ought to be discontinued. 



A row of thrifty apple trees, set within four 

 feet of the line, would, in twenty years, extend 

 their roots at least two rods beyond the line ; 

 and while the owner of this strip of land has 

 the unquestioned right to all it can produce, 

 he gets not more than half a crop for his out- 

 lay for culture and fertilizers ; a return which 

 would hardly leave him any profit. It would, 

 probably, be just as well for him to give the 

 owner of the trees a lease for a strip two rods 

 wide during the life of the trees as to con- 

 tinue to cultivate it. 



In regard to the custom of claiming all the 

 trunks of forest trees on the premises, how- 

 ever much they may have extended their 

 roots across the line, the case is not parallel ; 

 because, first, there is a reciprocity, which, if 

 not exactly equal, is generally near enough so 

 to be satisfactory ; and, second, because no 

 damage can be claimed ; as the growth of a 

 forest improves the soil by drawing sustenance 

 24 



deep in the ground, and shedding its leaves 

 and products on the surface. So that a tree, 

 growing in a dense forest, so near the line as 

 to draw about as much from one side as the 

 other, has done good service to the party who 

 cannot claim the trunk. 



The nearest that fruit trees should ever be 

 planted to the line, is half of the usual dis- 

 tance trees are planted in the orchard. If 

 pear, plum or cherry, ten feet ; if apple, six- 

 teen to twenty feet ; and then the roots will 

 encroach enough in a dozen yeai-s to draw 

 largely from land adjoining, if cultivated. 



St. Joseph, Mich. 



The Western, Triuitiph Blackberry, 



Three years ago we saw advertised in a West- 

 ern paper a new blackberry under the above 

 name, and we ordered a dozen plants which 

 came duly to hand, with a modest bill for the 

 same, amounting to $5, which was promptly 

 paid. The plants were set out and made a 

 vigorous growth, producing a fair quantity of 

 fruit last year, which we thought was of very 

 good flavor, but were not up to the standard 

 for size. The past winter was quite a severe 

 one on all the small fruits, the blackberry not 

 excepted ; but our Western Triumph plants 

 passed through uninjured, and are at this time 

 more heavily loaded with fruit than any other 

 sort in our collection. The berries are also 

 large, and so deliciously rich and sweet that 

 to add sugar would be superfluous. The 

 ladies of our household pronounce this new 

 blackberry a " Triumph," especially the dys- 

 peptic portion, who have to deny themselves 

 of the privilege of eating sugar upon fruits of 

 all kinds. If our Western people can suc- 

 ceed as well with this variety as we have, 

 there is no need of sending East for Kitta- 

 tinny, Wilson and Lawton Blackberry plants. 

 — Rural New Yorker. 



Dummet's Orange Grrove, South Florida, 

 produced 600,000 oranges last season, and he 

 expects to have 1,000,000 this year. Three 

 or four years ago the trees were nearly de- 

 stroyed by insects, but they have fully recov- 

 ered and look finer than ever. 



