228 BOARD OF AGRICULTURP:. [Pub. Doc. 



substantial damages against a passer-b^' who chose to ignore 

 the warning, and picked the fruit. 



Unless forbidden by town ordinance, the owner may pas- 

 ture his cattle on the side of the road ; but as this is likely 

 to cause accidents by the straying of the cattle over the 

 travelled portion of the road, and thus to interfere with the 

 use of the road by the public, the Legislature has authorized 

 towns to pass ordinances prohibiting it. 



But an abutter cannot complain if by the increase of 

 legitimate use on the part of the public his enjoyment of the 

 highway is gradually diminished. If the selectmen of a 

 town conclude to lay a sidewalk where there has been none 

 before, and by so doing diminish or destroy the crop of 

 hay the abutter has been accustomed to cut, he has no 

 remedy. 



The opening of the street for gas and water pipes, the 

 erection of telegraph and telei)lione poles and the location 

 of street railways in roads and streets are all illustrations 

 of the power of nmnicipal authorities to limit and dimin- 

 ish the value of the abutter's ownership of the land over 

 which the road is built. 



A curious case arose in Vermont some years ago, where 

 an abutter was able to enforce his rights in rather a remark- 

 able way. The defendant's children, going to school, got 

 their clothes wet from the grass growing between the horse 

 paths and wheel ruts. With the highway surveyor's con- 

 sent, the defendant cut the grass, carried it away and fed it 

 to her husband's cow. The plaintiff, the abutting owner, 

 sued, and the defendant was held liable. She might right- 

 fully cut the grass, the court said, but she was liable for 

 appropriating it after it was cut. 



Obstructions. 

 No person, whether an abutter or otherwise, is allowed to 

 obstruct the highway. Anything which materially encroaches 

 upon the highway is a nuisance, and may be abated notwith- 

 standing space is left for the passage of the public. The 

 adjoining owner may use a highway temporarily, or for a 

 reasonable length of time, for loading or unloading goods 



