48 ECONOMICS OF LAND TENURE IN GEORGIA [ 4 8 



This conclusion seems to be justified by the fact that 

 the laws pertain only to the growing crops, and do not 

 give a direct warrant for the transfer of a single acre of 

 soil. This, however, is not an adequate view, for the 

 : laws have operated to center upon the landowner a large 

 share of the burden of the supplying business. Or per- 

 haps it is nearer the truth to say that the laws have 

 merely given a legal sanction to an economic fact. Con- 

 siderations of safety, or, more properly, considerations 

 looking to a lessening of risks, have caused the merchant 

 to make the landowners responsible not alone for sup- 

 plies obtained for personal use, but also, in many cases, 

 for the supplies furnished their tenants. In other words, 

 landownership has been the avenue through which ap- 

 proach has usually been made to the merchants for ad- 

 vances of supplies. 



So true is the analysis just given that in 1890 the prac- 

 tice there set forth was crystallized in a law enacted for 

 the purpose of extending the scope of the landlord's 

 special lien for supplies. Here it is declared that a 

 special written contract is not required in order to create 

 a landlord's supply lien, but that such a lien arises by the 

 operation of law from the relation of landlord and tenant 

 as well as by written contract, whenever the landlord 

 shall furnish the tenant articles of necessity used in mak- 

 ing the crop. Furthermore, and this is important as 

 crystallizing the custom above referred to, the law said 

 that whenever such liens are created by special contract 

 in writing " the same shall be assignable by the landlords, 

 and may be enforced by the assignees in the manner pro- 

 vided for the enforcement of such liens by landlords."  

 This puts a legal guarantee upon a transfer of the crop 



1 Acts of the General Assembly of Georgia, 1890-91, p. 72, 



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