FORMS OF LAND TENURE IN THE UNITED STATES 283 



tenant is authorized by the landlord to market the products in 

 sufficient quantity to pay the rent, after which he may dispose 

 of the remainder of the produce as he pleases. In some cases 

 the tenant gives a chattel mortgage to secure the payment 

 of the rent. 



It is common for the landlord to remit a part of the rent in case 

 of a great disaster over which the tenant had no control, and 

 which makes it impossible to pay the rent from the year's 

 productions. This should become a well-established custom. 

 Good customs do much to insure happy relations between land- 

 lords and tenants. The best landlords realize that food for the 

 family of an honest, industrious tenant should come before 

 the landlord's rent. Well-established customs impel the less 

 well-disposed landlords to live up to the standards established 

 by the better landlords. 



Enforcing the agreements. The lease should provide for en- 

 forcing the contract. Fines are sometimes provided in case of 

 failure to conform to the contract either by omission or com- 

 mission. It is sometimes agreed that in case either party shall 

 fail to perform his part in the agreement, as illustrated by an 

 example of the destruction of weeds by the tenant or the making 

 of an improvement by the landlord, the other party may hire a 

 third party to carry out the terms of the agreement and charge 

 the costs against the crop or against the rent, as the case may be. 



It should be provided in the agreement that in case either 

 party fails to perform his part, the tenancy may be brought to a 

 close, by due notice, at the end of the current year. As a rule 

 it is unwise to be strenuous in enforcing the terms of the contract. 

 In case either party fails to perform his part in the contract to 

 such an extent that appreciable loss results, it is better to bring 

 the contract to a close. 



While a change usually results in some loss, it is better than 

 tolerating excessive negligence. New agreements are better 

 than old agreements. The landlord tries harder to please a new 

 tenant than an old one. The new tenant operates under a new 

 stimulus, his expectations are high, and his work moves with 

 renewed energy. 



