284 
AMERICA2N AGEIOTLTiRRIST. 
[July, 
Aprons for Horses. 
Horses, wliile at work should have some pro¬ 
tection from the bot-flies, which lay their eggs 
upon their shoulders, neck and gullet during the 
summer months. Au apron may be made of any 
coarse cloth, and fastened to the lower part of the 
collar, as shown at d in the engraving. The horse is 
most annoyed by the bot-flies when they dart un¬ 
der and strike the throat. To prevent this, a cloth 
PROTECTIONS FROM FLIES. 
can be fastened to the bit-rings and tbroiit-latch,seen 
at b, thereby very materially adding to the comfort 
of the animal. Nervous horses are much more annoy¬ 
ed than others, some of them being almost frantic 
if not protected when the bot-flies are .it their worst. 
The Fanner’s Liability for the Acts 
of His Beasts. 
H. A. HAIGH. 
General Kule as to Trespasses. —It is the 
duty of every one to keep his domestic animals up¬ 
on his own premises. This duty extends to his 
own animals, and those that are entrusted to his 
keeping. If he fails to perform this duty, and the 
animals escape and go upon other person’s lands, 
and there do injury, it is a trespass for which an 
action will lie, and damages maybe recovered. 
Exceptions to General Kule. —This general 
statement is modified by the fact, that where the 
owner of lands trespassed upon is under obligation 
to keep them fenced against these particular ani¬ 
mals, and he fails to do it, then no damages can be 
recjvered. Such an obligation may arise by agree¬ 
ment between the owner of the land, and the 
owner of the trespassing animals; or it may be im¬ 
posed by law', as, for example, the statutes re¬ 
quiring adjoining owners of improved lands to 
maintain the division fence between them in equal 
shares ; or it may come about by custom, as is pos¬ 
sibly the case in some of the newer States, where 
the universal custom of allowing domestic animals 
to run at large upon unenclosed lands, may have 
created an implied license for such animals to 
enter lands that are not enclosed with fences. But 
where fence regulations have been complied with, 
and domestic animals trespass notwithstanding, 
then their owners are clearly liable for the usual 
injuries resulting from such trespasses, like grazing 
off and trampling down grass, grain, or other crops. 
In.turies by Vicious Animals. —For the vicious 
acts of unruly domestic animals, like kicking, 
hooking or biting, the owner is generally liable. If 
a man owns an ugly beast, prone to do harm, it is 
his duty to prevent it from doing injury, both on 
his own premises and everywhere else, so that peo¬ 
ple may not suffer from its dangerous disposition. 
He must use due care to prevent any harm result¬ 
ing from its evil propensity, and his liability will 
depend upon some negligence on his part, some 
failure of his duty to exercise due care. Of course 
if he does not know that the beast is dangerous, he 
cannot be expected or required to take extra pre¬ 
cautions ; if he has not had what in law amounts to 
notice of the evil disposition, he cannot be held 
liable for not guarding against it. Consequently, 
where a horse or an ox suddenly, and without any 
previous exhibition of bad temper, does a vicious 
act, like kicking or hooking a bystander, its owner 
is not, and in reason should not be, held liable. As 
to what amounts to notice of a vicious temper, the 
rule is that it should be sufficient to put a prudent 
man on his guard. It is not necessary that the ani¬ 
mal should have already done harmful and vicious 
acts ; if it has manifested a disposition to do such 
things, that is sufficient to notify the owner of the 
danger (25 Conn., 92). The notice, however, in or¬ 
der to lay the duty of precaution upon the owner, 
must be notice of a propensity to do the particular 
mischief that has been done. Notice that a dog 
will worry sheep, is not notice that he will attack 
a person (66 Ill., 309), or is notice that a horse will 
run away, notice that he will bite (11 lad., 269); 
though it has been held that notice that a bull will 
attack and gore other cattle, is sufficient notice 
that he would so attack persons (27 Pa. St., 331). 
And there are certain kinds of mischief, which cer¬ 
tain animals—for example, stallions—are prone by 
nature to do at a certain time of the year, and 
these must be guarded against b}' the owner, with¬ 
out any previous w'arning (26 Ind.,334). 
It is no defense to a vicious injury by a domestic 
animal, that it was committed on the owner’s own 
jjremises.and that the person injured was at the time 
a trespasser (17 Wend., 496). A man cannot defend 
his iiremises by such means as a ferocious beast, 
any more than by setting man-traps, or spring-guns 
(37 Iowa, 613). So, therefore, if tl .e farmer keeps a 
savage dog, allows him to go unrestrained about 
the farm, and he attacks and injures a person who 
is casually crossing the land, the farmer will be 
liable, nay more, if the person beat the time atres- 
passer, hunting in the farmer’s woods on Sunday, 
the farmer will have to pay for his lacerated legs, 
although he did not set on the dog (17 Wend., 497). 
Likewise, if the farmer has an ugly and ferocious 
bull, which he allows to traverse through his fields, 
and the animal pitches upon strolling fishermen, 
trespassers though they be, the farmer will have to 
p.ay for their broken ribs, or broken necks, as the 
case may be (3 C. & P., 138; 124 Mass., 49). One 
may doubtless defend his house against burglars by 
a savage dog, but if it bites and injures any one 
coming to the house on any innocent purpose, he 
will have to pay for the damage (41 Cal., 138). 
Some sort of negligence, however, on the part of 
the owner of the unruly beast, is necessary to create 
a liability. If one’s horse breaks loose from him 
and runs away in the street, and there injures some 
one, or smashes a carriage, he is not liable merely 
because the horse got away. Some negligence 
must be shown, as that he left the horse unhitch¬ 
ed, or his harness or wagon was known by him to be 
out of order, or unroadworthy, etc. (3 Allen, 565). 
Contributory Negligence Excuses. —As the 
right to damages depends upon negligence on the 
pa.rt of the owner, any contributory negligence on 
the part of the person injured, excuses the owner 
and relieves him from liability. It would be obvi¬ 
ously unjust to allow a man to recover damages for 
an injury which he himself helped to bring about. 
Consequently, if I go into my neighbor’s pasture, 
and begin teasing his mad bull, I cannot complain 
if the bull to.sses me over the fence, and injures me 
in so doing. Undoubtedly it was negligence for 
my neighbor to keep such a savage animal uncon¬ 
fined, but it W'as also negligence for me to place 
myself needlessly in its way. But if my little chil¬ 
dren, not yet old enough to know the harm of 
going near, or teasing a fierce bull, went there in 
play and were injured, without any fault on my 
part, then the principle would not apply (4 Allen, 
431; 10 Cox, 102). 
Injuries by' Wilb Beasts.— Formerly the mere 
keeping of a wild and ferocious beast, was of itself 
negligence ; at least, damages might be recovered 
for the injuries done by one, without alleging neg¬ 
ligence on the part of its owner (9 Q. B., JOl) ; but- 
this is not now the ease. The keeping of wild 
beasts for exhibition, and the entertainment and 
instruction of the public, is now a ligitimate busi¬ 
ness, and all that can be demanded of their keep¬ 
ers, is the highest degree of care and caution, and. 
if, notwithstanding these, they manage to get loose, 
and do harm, it must be referred to the category of. 
accidental injuries, without ground for action (8 
Barb., 630). It is no longer unlawful to parade 
some wild animals, as elephants and camels, on the 
public streets. If a horse is frightened by the 
mere appearance of these, and runs away and does 
damage, the owner of the elephant or camel is not 
responsible (38 Barb., 14). 
As to the liabilities of owners of dogs, for injur¬ 
ies done by them, the statutes of nearly, if not all 
of the States, have made provision. It would re¬ 
quire too much space to give even an analysis of 
these statutes. Generally they remove the necessity 
of proving a scienter, that is, that the owner had 
knowledge of the dog’s vicious disposition. The. 
effect of them is generally to presume all dogs 
ugly, and to make the owners liable, irrespective 
of their knowledge on that point. 
Beets Early and Late. 
In most gardens it is customary to make a sow¬ 
ing of some early beet, and after the crop from this 
is used up, the table is supplied from the rows of 
the Long Smooth Blood, or other long and late 
variety. "While the last named is the best of the 
late beets, it is, at its best, vastly inferior to the 
small early kinds. We regard the Early Egyptian as 
the finest beet with which we are acquainted. The 
Early Blood Turnip Beet is larger than the Egyp¬ 
tian, and while not quite equal to it in quality, is 
still a very good and useful variety. We manage 
to have one or the other of these all through sum¬ 
mer and autumn, and usually our winter’s supply 
is of the Blood Turnip, instead of the longer kinds. 
The Egyptian is sown eveiy ten days until July,, 
when abundant sowings of the Blood Turnip are 
made, to be used when large enough, and to have- 
a sufficient supply for winter. In all sowings of 
beet seed, we sow with a free hand, with a view to 
abundant thinnings, which, of any beet, are the 
best summer greens. In growing early beets, we- 
are apt to leave them too close together; five 
inches apart in the rows is quite near enough; 
those intended for winter may be thinned still 
more by pulling the roots, as wanted to supply the 
kitchen, from those parts of the rows in which the- 
beets are the thickest. In storing beets for winter, 
be careful that they do not shrivel ; covering the 
I'oots with sand prevents this and keeps them fresh. 
A Land Measurer. 
An instrument for measuring land is shown in 
the engraving. • It consists of a wooden handle, 
into the bottom of which are fastened two stout 
curved iron rods. A cross-bar, bolted to one rod, 
and secured to the other with a thumb-screw, sets. 
A LAND MEASURER. 
the ends of the two rods at the desired distance 
apart. The measurer may be arranged so that the 
distance is one quarter of a rod, or it may be more 
or less. The implement is taken in one hand, and 
alternately turned upon each leg or end of the rod. 
It is only necessary to keep moving in a straight 
line. Measuring in this way is much more accu¬ 
rate than pacing, and may be done almost as rapidly. 
