“Every Man is presumed to know the Law. 
Nine-tenths of all Litigation arises from Ig¬ 
norance of Law." 
L. S., Xenia, Ohio. —Since my marriage, 
I have bought a farm; can I make a will giv¬ 
ing it to whomever I please, subject to my 
wife’s right of dower? 
Ans. —Yes, provided the wife has been given 
no other claims on the property. In Ohio there 
are only two limitations on the right of per¬ 
sons having property to dispose of by will. 
They cannot affect the right of dower, or any 
other interest given by the law to the surviv¬ 
ing husband or wife. 
A SECOND MORTGAGE. 
T. S. L., Rochester, N. Y. —A gives me 
a mortgage on his farm to secure mo for 
money loaned. About the time of doing so 
he informed me that there was a prior mort¬ 
gage which was a family affair which did not 
amount to anything, leading me to suppose 
that it would not seriously affect mine. Sub¬ 
sequently upon examination I learned that 
no prior mortgage had been recorded. Two 
years after the execution of my mortgage I 
learned for the first time that A had been 
paying interest on the prior mortgage. 1. 
How does my mortgage stand should I fore¬ 
close ? 2. How would it stand in the hands of 
a third party, if assigned ? Would I bo in 
honor bound to state to a purchaser the facts 
regarding the previous mortgage ? 8. Is the 
. priority of a mortgage determined exclu¬ 
sively by the books of record ? 
Ans. —1. The doctrine applicable to this 
case is that every holder of a mortgago 
holds it subject to such liens as he had notice 
of, either actual or constructive, at the time 
of taking the mortgage. Therefore the mort¬ 
gage in the hands of our correspondent is 
subject to that previously given, of which he 
bad sufficient notice. 2. In the hands of an 
assignee, who purchased it without notice and 
for a valuable consideration the second mort¬ 
gage would take precedence of the first, if 
the assignment was recorded before the first 
mortgage. How far the mortgagee would be 
bound in assigning the security to a third 
party to give notice of the prior lieu depends 
on the equities to be affected by it. If the 
first was a sham in any sense, it would not be 
unfair for the holder of the second to secure 
himself, if possible, by placing his before it. 
3. If two mortgages are given on the same 
real estate, each for a valuable consideration, 
and neither mortgagee has notice of the exist¬ 
ence of the other mortgage, that one which 
is first recorded takes precedence. 
The following are brief summaries of re¬ 
cent decisions of interest to farmers, collected 
from various sources, but chiefly from Brad- 
street’s. 
FRAUD IN OBTAINING A DEED. 
The Minnesota Supreme Court rendered a 
decision which practically declares that the 
fact of a person’s not understanding the En¬ 
glish language sufficiently to understand the 
nature of a deed does invalidate a deed con¬ 
voyed ny him. In the case decided, Herman 
Haupt held a tax title to a piece of land which 
belonged to Margaret Schramm, and with a 
written agreement, the nature of which was 
not explained to her, induced her to give him 
a deed to the laud under the supposition that 
she was to receive $5,000 immediately. She 
never received the money, and wanted the 
deed canceled on the ground that she was 
induced to sign by fraud. The Court below, 
however, decided against her, and the Su¬ 
preme Court reversed the decision. 
HOMESTEAD—EFFECT OF ABSENCE. 
The Supreme Court of Minnesota held, in 
the recent case of Russell vs. Speedy, that un¬ 
der the provisions of section nine of chapter 
68 General Laws of 1878, the owner may re¬ 
move from his homestead for a period of six 
months without such absence affecting his 
homestead rights in any degree, and that the 
immunity from seizure or sale does not de¬ 
pend upon his filing the notice prescribed by 
said section, nor upon occupation, but is 
absolute. 
LANDLORD AND TENANT. 
The Court of Appeals of Maryland, in a re¬ 
cent case (Carlin vs. Ritter etal.), held that 
wooden structures resting by their weight 
alone on fiat stones laid upon tho surface of 
the ground, without other foundation, were 
not so attached to the freehold as to have be¬ 
come fixtures. 
CORRESPONDENTS’ VIEWS. 
Care of the Ram.—M y advice to those 
who start in the sheep business would be : 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
451 
Buy good, young, or middle-aged grade owes, 
short-legged and square-bodied. If this class 
is not to be had at a reasonable price, buy 
lambs and wait for them to mature. If 
money is not to be had, take sheep on shares, 
as is often dono to the advantage of both par¬ 
ties. Get the best ram you can afford, and 
remember you cannot afford to get a poor 
one. There need bo no loss. Use him two 
years, take good care of him and sell him for 
nearly as much as you gave. But he must 
bo treated in a more humane way than is 
generally done, in order to preserve his vital¬ 
ity. About two weeks before the time of ser¬ 
vice, commence giving him a little extra 
feed, and keep him from all storms in autumn 
and winter, but do not over-feed him. Before 
turning him with the ewes, smear his brisket 
with paint. As soon as he has served a ewe. 
she will be marked with the paint, then catch 
her and put her in a separate yard. After three 
or four aro served in this way, if that many 
are in readiness, remove the ram to his own 
place. Repeat this night and morning for 
three weeks, after which he may be turned in 
with the flock for two or three weeks. This 
is said to be too much trouble, but it pays 
well. This is one of the important points. 
Some of the neighbors may laugh in tho fall, 
but as usual “They laugh best who laugh 
last.” And so in tho spring when your 
lambs aro jumping up to take their rations the 
first morning without assistance, and your 
neighbors are hastening to their houses with 
a lamb under each arm and upsetting the 
pantry for a nursing bottle to brace up the 
weak lambs, then is your turn to laugh. 
One Cause of Mortgaged Farms.—Go 
over the country and you will see good farms 
well fenced and under good cultivation with 
comfortable dwelling-houses that cost from 
$800 to $1,500, built in good taste and in mod¬ 
ern style and well furnished, with an organ 
or piano in many of them, while music- 
teachers are employed to instruct tho children. 
Large and commodious barns are connected 
with them, and everything looks like thrift. 
Stand on the street or any public road on a 
Sunday afternoon for an hour or so in the 
summer, and you can count 15 or 20 carriages 
in which farmers’ sons and daughters aro rid¬ 
ing for pleasure, dressed in the hight of fash¬ 
ion. If you chance to be in a village or town¬ 
ship center and go into the stores, taverns or 
saloons, you can count 50 farmers’ sons and 
hired men smoking cigars or drinking beer 
or playing cards or billiards, and each leaves 
from 10 cents to $1.00 in these places. Go to 
the Register’s olliee and you will find four- 
fifths of these farms mortgaged—many for 
half or two-thirds their cash value. Tako the 
tax list, and you will find these farmers have 
to pay as much tax as if there were no mort¬ 
gage on their land. john mclean. 
Calhoun Co., Mich. 
One Evil of “Slow Pay.”— Ono of my 
neighbors some time ago had a judgment 
against him for six dollars, and they were about 
to levy on his proporty. He came to my house 
one morning and told mo about it, and said ho 
was going that day to try and borrow the 
money to pay it. He did not ask mo for it, 
and I did not offor it to him because I know 
he was very slow to pay. Well, he hunted all 
day for those six dollars and did not find them. 
The next morning he eaine to me, and said he 
wanted me to let him have tho money; that he 
had a calf he was fattening, and he would sell 
it, and then he would take out his potatoes and 
sell enough to pay me in two weeKs, if I would 
do him the favor. Well, in a few days he sold 
tho calf for $4.50. He spent 50 cents of it for 
nails and paid me the four dollars. This was 
in the spring; tho next fall I got him to work 
tho rest of it out, and yet ho promised to pay 
me “certain” in two weeks, and ho has a good 
farm of 60 acres. Now this incident shows 
why some men can never find favors when 
they need them. s. mills. 
Worthless “Incubators.”— Scattered all 
over the country aro pine boxes, with screws 
and chambers and some sort of a heating ap¬ 
paratus, which have been purchased by inno¬ 
cent poultry amateurs on the supposition that 
they were incubators. It is surprising how 
many persons have been induced, by means 
of attractive advertisements and cheap testi¬ 
monials, to purchaso so-called incubators only 
to discard them after tho “ first disastrous 
trial.” A good incubator run by an experi¬ 
enced poultrymun can hardly fail to yield a 
large profit on its costs. But such machines 
are not automatic : they will not hatch eggs. 
In short, they require as much careasor more 
than hens, all representations to tho contrary 
notwithstanding. j. h g. 
Advantages of Underdraining.— One 
who has not had the experience can never 
have any idea of the effects of uuderdraiuing. 
Tako a wot piece of land in its natural state ; 
plow it up wet or very hard, and in either case 
the elements of plant-food are locked up out 
of reach of any plant. If you plow it wet in 
the spring and the drought comes on it will 
bake, and there is no more life in it than in 
an unburued brick ; but let it get thoroughly 
dried out, and burned out by the sun, and 
then let a good rain fall on it and j’ou will see 
quite a different thing. It will crumble all to 
pieces, and when you stir it it will creep as 
though it were alive. Now this is nature’s 
way, and when you have your land thorough¬ 
ly underdrained you will find it in about this 
condition at all times. Dry or wet your 
ground is always loose and open to admit air 
and all other elements required by growing 
crops, and tho plants will not get soaked to 
death by water standing upon the land. It 
does not bako when the drought comes. 
Huntington, Ind. j. c. C. 
Seed Potatoes. —Many say that in this sec¬ 
tion and south, potato seed, for profit, must be 
northern-grown. Now I have tried experi¬ 
ments with northern and other seeds a few 
times, and have arrived at this conclusion: If 
the conditions aro favorable for tho potato in 
the spring, that is, if the soil is moist and 
warm, a cutting or anything that will send 
up a sprout,will give agood crop; that is, there 
will be no perceptible difference in yield. If 
the spring is dry and cold, then only good, 
solid seed will give a good crop, I care not 
where the seed comes from; and tho large seed 
potato will beat a small one, for the large 
seed will support a good strong growth. 
Titusville, N. J. i. j. b. 
The hog that picks up his living in the woods, 
may not take the prize at tho county fair; but 
he makes mighty cheap pork. “Many hands 
make light work.” Y-e-s, and a light pocket- 
book too. That new labor-saving machine 
you are contemplating buying will pay for 
itself, provided you have the ready cash sur¬ 
plus wherewith to pay for it. Better have 
one old pair of pants, reshingled at the back, 
than six new pairs with a mortgage on them. 
Catonsville, Md. p. b. c. 
One way to raise a largo amount of fodder 
on a small piece of land, is to break sod just 
■after haying and sow a mixture of two bush¬ 
els of winter rye and two bushels of barley 
per acre by Aug. 1. The barley can be cut 
late in the fall, and tho rye in May; then by 
immediately plowing and sowing Hungarian 
three crops may be grown in one year. 
Ashby, Mass. a. w. b. 
Wtmum’s XX^orK. 
CONDUCTED BY EMILY LOUISE TAPLIN. 
CHAT BY THE WAY. 
We have just acquired a new lemon squeez¬ 
er, which can’t get out of order, and are de¬ 
lighted with it. It is of glass, and is in shape 
like a lid to fit ovor an ordinary glass. A lit¬ 
tle way from the edge is a circle of small holes 
all the way around it. In the centre is a 
sharp cone cut into perpendicular ridges. The 
lemon is cut into halves, and a half is placed 
over the cone like a cap, give it one 
twist around and all the pulp v nd’ juice fall 
through the holes into the glass beneath. This 
article is simplicity itself; it is easily kept 
clean, and the glass is certainly better than 
metal, which we always view with some doubt; 
even when thoroughly washed, there is always 
the risk of injurious corrosion by the acid. 
* * * * 
If only thoso people who complain of coun¬ 
try life could spend a week in the city during 
this hot wave! Dust and glare everywhere; 
tired and foam-flecked horses; fanning and 
perspiring humanity everywhere. We saw 
three women faint in tho crowded stores, and 
another on the ferry-boat in one day. No one 
who is not compelled should think of shopping 
on such days; apart from personal considera¬ 
tions, it is adding to the burdens of the toiling 
sales-women. Another point to bear in mind; 
never go shopping on Saturday, if it is possi¬ 
ble to avoid it. Of course, there are many 
who must do their shopping on that day, but 
if another day is possible it should be chosen. 
During the summer, when many of the shops 
close at noon, any extra press of business 
keeps the sales-women busy over-time in ar¬ 
ranging and putting away stock, thus choating 
them out of a half of their needed holiday. A 
little of this needed consideration for others 
helps us along wonderfully. 
* * * 
One of our Southern correspondents writes 
an indorsement of “S. J. L.’s” comments on 
the rough old wagons so many farmers’ wives 
are compelled to ride in. She says that after 
riding to church in the rough, jolting wagon 
she suffers for days from the shaking, and yet 
this complaint is one few men really under¬ 
stand. How many women there are who 
suffer from a perpetual backache—to whom a 
shaking of any sort is absolute torture I They 
go on working, day after day, with that ever¬ 
present demon of nervous aches, until all 
their aches slip off like Christian’s pack, and 
thoy go to find in another world the rest that 
is denied them in this. But wo believe that 
if the deeds of heroism done on the battle¬ 
field in all our nineteen centuries were 
weighed against the life-long heroism of but 
one of these toiling mothers it would be as 
nothing in the scalo. 
ENGLISH COOKERY. 
PATTY GAUTON. 
There is a wide difference between English 
and American cooking in many respects, 
though they may agree in essentials. And 
though cooks of the French school affect to 
sneer at the heavy dishes of their neighbors 
across the Channel, we might do worse than 
follow their directions, especially in the pre¬ 
paration of meats. Meat pies of all sorts are 
made in England with a toothsomeness the 
clever Amoriean cooks might well imitate, 
aud excellent aro the methods in which game 
is prepared. A favorite dish is 
Jugged Hare. —The ordinary Ameri¬ 
can rabbit is really a hare and may 
be cooked to advantage after this me¬ 
thod. Having skinned and washed the 
hare, cut it into neat pieces for serving at 
table. Mix a teaspoonful of salt with nearly 
the same quantity of black and white pepper 
and a small portion of cayenne. Have ready 
two pounds of good beef cut into small 
pieces. Tako an earthen jar aud lay in it, 
first, a layer of beef, then a layer of hare, 
seasoning each layer as you proceed with the 
mixture of pepper and salt. Then add two 
large onions with a clove stuck in each, a 
small bit of mace, one small carrot, aud a 
small bunch of sweet herbs and celery. 
Cover it well with water, place a close- 
fitting lid on the jar, and bake in a moderate 
oven for four hours. When cooked, removo 
tho herbs, pour the gravy out and thicken 
with flour and butter. Have ready some balls 
of forcemeat about the size of walnuts; add 
them to the gravy, and return it to the oven 
for half an hour. When dished use the force¬ 
meat for garnishing. 
Roast Hare requires a special prepara¬ 
tion, too, and this is an excellent mode for the 
American rabbit also. Having skinned and 
otherwise cleansed the hare, place it in salt- 
and-water for half an hour; in this time you 
can prepare the stuffing. Boil the liver and 
chop it very fine with a little parsloy and 
thyme. Season with pepper and salt and 
knead all together with two eggs. Having 
stuffed aud trussed your hare, it should be 
dusted with flour and basted with milk during 
the first hour it is in the oven. This forms a 
good case over it; afterwards sweet beef drip¬ 
ping is the best thing to baste with. Serve 
with brown gravy and currant or cranberry 
jelly. The length of time required to cook it 
depends on the size of tho animal; fifteen min¬ 
utes for each pound is the usual allowance. 
Brown Gravy, to serve with the hare, is 
made after this formula: Stew some pieces of 
lean beef with a bunch of sweet herbs, one 
onion with a clove stuck in it, a few pepper¬ 
corns and a bit of mace, aud a piece of well- 
toasted bread. When all the strength is stewed 
out of tho meat, the gravy should be strained, 
and if desired it should be slightly thickened 
with flour aud butter. The Euglish cook adds 
a small glassful of port wine; but we may omit 
this. 
Boiled puddings are an English standby, and 
a dish having the double attractions of excel¬ 
lence and economy, is entitled 
Half pay Budding. — It requires four 
ounces of each of the following ingredients: 
finely chopped suet, flour, currants, stoned 
raisins, aud bread crumbs, and two ounces 
of sugar. Mix thoroughly with two table¬ 
spoonfuls of molasses, one egg, and half a 
pint of milk. A little salt should of course 
be added, and either mixed spice or nutmeg, 
according to taste. Boil it in a buttered 
mould for four hours, and serve with any 
pudding sauce. 
A rich species of tart, which we rarely see 
here, is the Euglish Cheese Cake. It is made 
as follows. Take four ounces of butter; beat 
it with a wooden spoon in a warm pau, until 
it comes to a cream. Then add four ounces 
of powdered sugar; beat it well: add tho yelk 
of one egg; beat again, then add one whole 
egg; beat all well together, and mix in four 
ounces of clean currants. Line little patty- 
tins with puff paste; fill them half full with 
the mixture, shake a little sugar over, aud 
bake them in a good heat. 
Curd Cheese Cakes require the curd from 
one pint of milk, added to tho mixture given 
above. The curd, being broken up and 
strained, is put in a colander with the butter, 
sugar and eggs. This mixture is pressed 
through the colander, aud the currants are 
added afterwards. These cheese-cakes are 
