24 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



question of ornamentation, but because " fish are a matter of profit and 

 increase of victuals." At the same time I should not advise anyone to rely 

 on this case to the extent of putting a fishpond in the middle of a tennis 

 or croquet lawn ! 



Damage. 



Finally, one might discuss for a moment the question of how far a 

 tenant is obliged to keep his garden in good repair at the expiration of his 

 tenancy. Unless the tenancy agreement contains a distinct provision on 

 the point, the outgoing tenant need take no active steps to put the garden 

 into good condition before leaving it, but on the other hand he must take 

 no active steps to do it harm. We have already seen that he must not 

 remove the trees, plants/and bushes, and it has been held that he must not 

 maliciously grub up a strawberry bed before leaving. So far as injury to 

 trees &c. is concerned, the tenant who does wilful damage for the purpose 

 of spiting his landlord incurs a double liability. 



Going back as far as the Magna Charta we find a clause forbidding 

 waste (i.e. damage) in the case of gardens and orchards — "inbosciset 

 gardenis," as the language of that day puts it — and the landlord can still 

 obtain compensation from the tenant for damage done. Furthermore the 

 Malicious Injury to Property Act of 1861 makes it a criminal offence to 

 destroy or damage trees or shrubs in a park, garden, orchard, or ground 

 belonging to any dwelling-house, the maximum penalty being, if the 

 damage exceeds £1, three years' penal servitude or two years' hard labour. 

 In small cases where the injury exceeds one shilling, on summary con- 

 viction before the local magistrate the maximum penalty is a fine of £5 

 or three months' imprisonment for the first offence, and twelve months' 

 hard labour for the second offence. Of course this only applies to 

 malicious injury. When the damage is caused other than maliciously 

 the proper remedy is to sue for damages in the Civil Courts. 



From all the foregoing remarks it will be seen that if one desires to 

 have a free hand in connection with the transformation of a garden it is 

 necessary to see that one's lease contains special power to take liberties 

 in this respect, and, on the other hand, any rights reserved to the landlord 

 in respect of timber or timber-like trees should also be carefully watched. 



I iy-the-by, there is a popular fallacy with regard to the stamp on the 

 agreement for lease. It is not sufficient to use a 6rf. agreement stamp 

 (except where the rent does not exceed £5 and the term does not exceed 

 thirty-five years or is indefinite). In all other cases the amount of the 

 stamp duty varies according to amount of rent payable. It is also a 

 mistake to assume that a lease or other legal document is not valid unless 

 it is stamped. With very few exceptions every legal document is valid 

 although not stamped, the only difficulty being that an unstamped docu- 

 ment cannot be used as evidence in Court without paying the necessary 

 stamp duty and interest in addition to a penalty for non- stamping. 

 Agreements for lease not under seal have to be stamped within fourteen 

 days after execution, but in the case of deeds under seal, such as a lease, 

 thirty days is allowed for stamping. 



