1803.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
9 
END OF THE LAWSUIT-DIVISION OF THE PROPERTY. 
The above sketch by our German artist, A. 
Hochstein, is designed as a sequel to the picture 
of last month, in which two litigants were tugging 
with all their might, the one at the horns and 
the other at the tail of a cow, while a lawyer 
was quietly seated upon a pile of books, draw¬ 
ing his fees (milk.) We have here the final re¬ 
sult of the suit. The cow is wasted, her flesh 
has gone into the milk pail—and the milk has 
been required to sustain judges, lawyers, sher¬ 
iffs, jurors, witnesses, etc. The contestants arc 
unusually lucky if they have not wasted the 
value of half a dozen other cows, to say noth¬ 
ing of loss of time and strength. The original 
cause of the lawsuit was, or might have been, 
(for we have known of just such a case,) a differ¬ 
ence of recollection as to wdiether the cow was 
sold to “ come in ” about the first of May, or after 
that date, the purchaser refusing to pay without 
a reduction of $3 for loss of milk during eight 
weeks. The illustration is not aimed at the legal 
profession per se , for we are free to say that it is 
an honorable one, when honored by its members. 
Below we give place to one of several protests 
from the profession, which spiritedly, and in the 
main justly, sets forth its value, importance, and 
dignity, and we need add nothing more on that 
point. The writer admits the prevalence of 
just what our illustrations are intended to dis¬ 
courage, viz.: a propensity to run into litigation 
about eveiy real or fancied difference of 
opinion concerning property rights. We re¬ 
commend our legal friends who protest so 
strongly against our last month’s engraving, to 
read the article appearing with the original il¬ 
lustration in the September Agriculturist , 1859, 
(vol. 18, p. 265.) We repeat a few paragraphs: 
“ The picture portrays the character of very 
many of the lawsuits carried on in our country. 
So long as the cow gives milk, it will be required 
for ‘expenses,’ and when this fails, the worth¬ 
less carcass of the animal may perhaps be ob¬ 
tained by the litigant who has the most money, or 
the greatest physical endurance—each of them 
having in the mean time sacrificed the entire use 
(.Designed and Engraved for the American Agriculturist.) 
of the cow, and, besides, time and strength enough 
to have acquired half a dozen better animals. 
“With most men, the first impulse, on having 
a slight difference with a neighbor, is, to ‘go to 
law about it.’ To submit the case quietly to the 
arbitration of disinterested persons, and yield to 
their decision, would not quite satisfy the digni¬ 
ty, na 3 r , the belligerent propensity of the parties. 
How few men, comparatively, there are, who 
have lived forty years without having ‘ been in 
court ’ one or more times. And how few are 
the instances w T here even the victorious party 
has not lost more than has been gained—in time, 
worry of mind, expenses—to say nothing of the 
trouble entailed upon others who have been 
drawn into the conflict as witnesses, interested 
spectators, jurymen, etc. We have a vivid re¬ 
collection of being called from pressing business 
to go fifteen miles to attend ‘ county court,’ and 
of waiting four whole days to give evidence as a 
witness, in a case of which we personally knew 
nothing; and to cap the climax, the case was 
‘adjourned over’ three months, when two days 
more were consumed in waiting. Our protesta¬ 
tions that we knew nothing of importance, and 
that all we did know was hearsay, amounted to 
nothing with those in eager fray. The idea 
seemed to be that that side would be the strongest 
which could bring the most persons on the stand as 
witnesses , and so with more than twenty others 
we danced attendance. The whole amount at 
issue was less than our individual loss of time 
in one of the days spent at court. We received 
in return one shilling (12£ cents!) ‘ in advance.' 
“ There is no doubt that most persons who 
would first sit down and count the cost of a suit 
at law, would be deterred from litigation, but 
for a feeling of false dignity. ‘I would expend 
the last cent before I would allow him to tram¬ 
ple on my rights,’ is the common expression. 
“ But the pecuniary loss, serious as it often 
may be, is not the worst feature in the business. 
The hatred engendered, and bad passions nour¬ 
ished, re-act sadly upon the parties engaged. 
Said one who had finally obtained his suit, 
involving a large amount, and one which he 
could ill afford to lose: ‘Had I foreseen the 
anxiety and vexation I have suffered from this 
business, I would have given a receipt in full for 
the amount, rather than have commenced.’ 
Many others will bear the same testimony. 
There are cases where it is positive duty to in¬ 
voke the aid of law to secure or preserve rights, 
but reason, not passion, should preside when 
such interests are involved.—If any of our read¬ 
ers are tempted to indulge in ‘law,’ let them 
first give this picture a careful study, and 
then inquire if it will not be better to lose 
the milk at once, than to hold the cow with 
might and main, for an indefinite period, and in 
the end find all the labor lost.” 
We are happy to say that we have but slight 
obligations, good or bad, to cancel with our 
legal friends. We have got along more than 
forty years without being actually called into 
court as a defendant or plaintiff, and hope to be 
equally fortunate the rest of our days. A libel 
suit, claiming $10,000 damages against us, for an 
article cautioning our readers against land spec¬ 
ulators, was commenced some three years since, 
but the parties failed to intimidate us into si¬ 
lence, though the complaint is still on file in 
some court. Our good legal friend, Wm. E. 
Robinson, Esq., put in a rejoinder which (thanks 
to his legal skill, and in this case legal brevity ,) 
seems to have set the matter at rest. 
But we will now give room to our able and 
worthy friend to put in his rejoinder to our 
pictures. Adhering to our rule not to contest ‘a 
case’ if to be avoided, we make no response, but 
submit the whole matter to the jury of readers. 
LAW, LAWTERS, ANT) LAWSUITS. 
To the Editor of the American Agriculturist : 
I have taken and read your paper forhalf a dozen 
years or more, and prize it highly. It has done 
much to change my homestead from a small city 
lotto a twenty acre farm in the suburbs of New- 
Haven. You have contributed not a little to my 
stock of horticultural, agricultural and pomologi- 
cal knowledge. Warmed by your enthusiasm I 
