78 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
FEB 
CftttL 
“ Every Man is presumed to know the 
Law. Nine-tenths of all Litigation arises 
from Ignorance of Law." 
TRESPASSING ON ANOTHER’S LAND, ETC. 
S. L. M., Essex County , Mass. —About 
three years ago I bought this farm. Across 
a part of it B, a neighboring farmer, has 
exercised a right-of-way for many years— 
he says for over 20. C, the former owner 
who has-removed to a neighboring town, 
says that B has been accustomed to cross 
the lahd for only about 19 years, and that 
he had always done so, not as a matter of 
right, but by permission. Of this I was 
assured on purchasing the farm, and short¬ 
ly afterward, in order to protect my legal 
rights, I protested against the exercise of 
the right-of-way claimed by B and his 
family. He persists in saying that after 
he has been allowed to cross the land for 
20 years, he has a right-of-way by “pre¬ 
scription.” Is he correct ? Crossing my 
land is merely a matter of convenience, 
not of necessity. 
Ans.—T he mere fact that a person has 
been in the habit of crossing another’s land 
for 20 years does not give him the right to 
continue the practice. The crossing must 
have been adversely or contrary to the own¬ 
er’s wishes, or at least without his permis¬ 
sion, expressed or implied,and under a claim 
of a legal right to do so, whether the owner 
is willing or not. If, therefore, the person 
crossing does so with the permission of the 
owner, and not under any claim of right, 
it is wholly immaterial how long the cus¬ 
tom has continued. If the thing had been 
done for even 50 years, the fact would not 
give any right to continue to pass, after 
the person had been forbidden to do so. A 
notice put up forbidding it, would make 
the person doing it a trespasser. As to the 
penalty,a statute of Massachusetts provides 
that “whoever between the first day of April 
and the first day of December willfully 
enters or passes over or remains on any 
orchard, garden, mowing land or other im¬ 
proved or inclosed land of another, after 
being forbidden by the owner or occupant 
thereof or by the authorized agent of such 
owner or occupant, either directly or by 
notice posted thereon, shall be punished by 
fine not exceeding $20.” Trespassing on 
such land and at the season stated is made a 
crime, and any constable or other officer 
may arrest the offender on the spot and 
take him before the proper tribunal for 
trial and sentence. At all other seasons or 
on other kinds of land such a trespass is 
only a civil offense and the only legal 
remedy is an action for damage. If a 
person trespasses on the premises of a 
farmer, and is ordered off by the latter, but 
refuses to go, the farmer would be justified 
in using force to compel him to depart^ 
provided he is not unreasonably violent. 
ENDANGERING ADJOINING PROPERTY BY EX¬ 
CAVATING ON ONE’S OWN LAND. 
T. M. S., Steuben County, N. Y. —A small 
part of A’s farm runs alongside a railroad 
and he wants to sell it to the company for 
a very high price which the company re¬ 
fuses to pay. In order to force the road 
to buy the land, A notifies it that he is going 
to excavate the land close to the road and 
begins to do so. Finally he dug down so 
far that all the tracks began to move out 
into the hole. The company then agreed 
to pay him for permission to fix props to 
lean over his property. The track is ren¬ 
dered dangerous to passengers by his oper¬ 
ation, however; do the laws of New York 
State allow him to endanger human life in 
this way ? 
Ans.—I t is the doctrine of the courts of 
New York State that a person is not liable 
for auy consequences of an act done upon 
his own land, lawful in itself and not in¬ 
fringing on any lawful rights of another, 
simply because he was influenced in such 
acts by wrong and malicious motives. The 
only question to be determined here 
is whether A has a right to deal 
with his own land in the w T ay in which 
he has dealt with it. If he had such right 
his motive will not form a subject of in¬ 
quiry, though if his act was wrongful, the 
fact that he did it maliciously may increase 
the gravity of the offense. See Phelps v, 
Nowlen, in NT Y^, 39. It'is held in this 
State that one who excavates and thus re¬ 
moves the natural support of his neighbor’s 
land so that it falls, is liable. See 27 
Barb., 523. But the right of the proprietor 
of land to tne lateral support of the soil by 
adjacent lands does not extend to cases 
where the owner, by building or otherwise, 
has increased the lateral pressure upon the 
adjoining soil. See 19 Barb., 380, and 21 
Barb., 409. The principle established by 
these decisions, as applied to the case put 
by our correspondent, is that if the excava¬ 
tion endangers the land of the railroad 
company only by reason of the weight of 
the track or of the trains moving over it, 
it is the duty of the company to guard 
against this; but if the excavation is such 
that the soil with no extra weight upon it 
would fall in, he who made the excavation 
is liable. It is generally held that one who 
is going to make such an excavation on his 
own land as will be likely to endanger that 
of his neighbor, is bound to give the neigh¬ 
bor warning and to allow him reasonable 
facilities for protecting his property, and 
that appears to have been done in this case. 
FENCE LAW IN NEW YORK STATE. 
O. H. K., Tuscarora, N. Y. —1. A and B’s 
farms adjoin each other. B rents his farm 
to C for half of what he may raise. If A’s 
stock gets through B’s part of the fence 
and destroys the crop that C has put in, 
who would be responsible for the damage ? 
2. Are neighbors required by law to main¬ 
tain line fences ? 3. If so, is each required 
to have his part of the fence registered in 
the town or county clerk’s office ? 4. Are 
farmers required to keep road fences ? If 
not, who would be responsible for damage 
done to crops by stock getting on the crops 
from the road ? 5. What is a legal rail 
fence ? 
Ans.— 1. Was the fence through which 
A’s stock broke a “sufficient” fence and 
in good condition ? If so, A is responsible 
for the loss caused by his breachv animals. 
If not, then the loss falls to the share of 
B or C. Independently of any express 
agreement on the part of the tenant, and 
in the absence of any undertaking of the 
landlord to make repairs, the law imposes 
on the tenant the obligation of making 
them. In other words, the occupant of the 
land and not the owner is the person bound 
to keep the fences in repair. Did the fence 
need repairing? If so, had the landlord con¬ 
tracted to keep it in good order? The 
question of liability will depend on the 
nature of the answers ; but if the fence was 
out of repair, probably the best and cheap¬ 
est plan would be for B and C to share the 
loss between them. 2. Yes. 3. No. 
4. The laws with regard to road or high¬ 
way fences vary greatly in the different 
States. In some the provisions for statu¬ 
tory fences are very stringent; in others a 
landowner is not obliged to fence against 
cattle on the highway unless they are 
rightfully there ; in others he is under no 
obligation to fence at all. But if he turns 
his cattle into the highway to graze and 
they pass therefrom into his neighbor’s ad¬ 
joining field through an insufficient fence 
or in the absence of a fence, the neighbor 
can recover foi the trespass, as the cattle 
were not lawfully in that part of of the 
highw r ay. In New York State this law 
holds good ; but should cattle driven along 
a highway escape into an unfenced adjoin¬ 
ing field, the owner would not be responsi¬ 
ble for damages. 5. Une 4% f ee t high and 
in good repair. 
T. W. S., Middlesex County, N. J.—A 
man gave a bond and mortgage on his 
farm. He is now dead and the farm has 
depreciated in value and will not bring 
nearly the amount of the mortgage, which 
has been foreclosed. Is the personal prop¬ 
erty of the deceased liable for either the 
principal or interest. 
ANS.—Y r es ; the personal and other prop¬ 
erty of the mortgagor remains liable for 
the deficiency. When a mortgaged proper¬ 
ty is sold to satisfy the mortgage, if it 
brings more than the debt, interest and 
costs, the mortgagee must pay over the bal¬ 
ance ; if less, the deficiency will not be dis¬ 
charged ; but may be collected from other 
property of the mortgagor. 
§RiSKcltancmtf ^ A vertising. 
I POULTRY PAPER. 6 pages. 4 imnths for I'k.- 
Samule/Vee C. G. DkPUY. Syracuse. V V 
HI! MD STRAW PRESS. 
Guaranteed to prtss three tons more of hay In one 
day (ID uours), than any other portable twohor.se 
press, with the same amount of help. Give It a trial. 
satisfaction guaranteed, or no sale and freight 
reluuded. For conditions, circulars, etc., address 
J. A. SPENCER, Dwight, Ill. 
All kinds of Fruit and Ornamental Trees and Plants (new 
and old and strictly true to name) at almost half price. 
Lovett’s Guide to Horticulture gives their prices, merits and 
defects, anti tells how to purchase, plant, prune, cultivate, etc. 
It is a handsome book of over eighty pages, finely printed and 
profusely illustrated. Mailed free; with colored plates ioc. 
Trees and Plants to distant 
A c n»- of Orchard and Garden sent free to 
all who siate where they saw this advt. 
points by mail and express a specialty 
J. T. LOVETT CO, Little Silver, N. J. 
CHRYSANTHEMUMS. 
We have undoubtedly the most charming novelties In ihis flower ever 
Introduced. Winners of the First Prize, and receiving the highest hon¬ 
ors wherever exhibited. Arevelatloi to sit who have seen them. They 
are so elegant that we wholesale the single flowers tor 25c nts each, which 
will give some Idea of their choiceness, v hen good kinds, as usually grown 
bring oneceut each. They nre fully described in ■ ur inrge I Must rated 
THE BEST HEW SEEDS and PLANTS. complete! 
handsomely Illustrated, artistic; of particular interest to all lovers of 
choice flowers Sent free to all readers of the Rural Nkw-Yobkkr, inclos¬ 
ing stamps to pay nostage. Our Importation of THE GOLDEN BANDER 
LILY OF JAPAN lias ju«t reached ns. We offer tine strong bulbs of 
this, ‘The Queen of Lilies” (Hardy), 3lc. each; i for $1, post-paid. Address, 
mentioning The Rubal New-Yokkbb, 
F. R. PIERSON, Florist and Seedsman, 
P. O. Box R,TARRYTOWN, N. Y. 
The Dingee & Conard Co's ROSES, HARDY PLANTS, 
Growers in America. 
BULBS and SEEDS. 
OUR NEW GUIDE, n6 pp., elegantly illustrated, is. 
sent FREE to ALL who write /or it. It describes and 
tells HOW TO GROW over TWO THOUSAND 
FINEST varieties of ROSES, HARDY PLANTS, 
BULBS and SEEDS. 43“ NEW ROSES, NEW 
SHRUBBERY, NEW CLEMATIS and Climbing 
Vines, NEW SUMMER FLOWERING BULBS, 
JAPAN LILIES, GLADIOLUS, TUBEROSES 
CARNATIONS, New JAPAN CHRYSANTHE-. 
MUMS, New MOON FLOWERS, and the choicest 
New and 
It ARE 
Large 
Rose Houses 
FLOWER AND VEGETABLE SEEDS 
Goods sent everywhere by mail or express. Safe arrival guar¬ 
anteed. If you wish Roses, Plants, or Seeds of any kind, it will 
you to see our New Guide before buying. Send for it—free. Address 
THE DINGEE & CONARD CO., ROS L 6 E R D 0 s S &nd West Grove, Pa. 
POTATOES. 
Two Crops a Year. 
Earliest and Most Prolific in the World. 
Memphis SECOND CROP Triumph, 
Three Pounds FREE by Mail, $1. 
Write for Prices on Large quantities. Crop Limited. 
$50.00 given away for largest yield from three pounds: 
$25.00 for first; $15.00 for second ; and $10.00 for third. 
ULLATHORNE & CO., 
Seedsmen, MEMPHIS, TENN. 
Refer to The A merican Garden for responsibility. 
Plants, Roses, Shrubs,I 
Fruit and Ornamental 1 
Trees, Crape Vines, 
w — — _ w Small Fruits etc. 
EVERYTHING IN THE NURSERY LINE. 
RAREST NEW. CHOICEST OLD. 
Send ten cents for our illustrated catalogue ofl 
about 150 pages, containing a certificate good tori 
ten cents in seeds, etc. Or send for our pagej 
abridged catalogue and price-list free. 
36 years. 24 greenhouses. 700 acres. 
THESTORRS & HARRISON GO., Painesville, 
wszm 
^ATALOOw 
The Public Want Th t3^« ,resh 
what it costs me to raise it, but could not sleep'sound 
should I warrant seed of this class. For the samu. 
reason I make, special, effort toproeure feed stock 
[directly from their originators. You will find in my 
r - nevtr seed catalogue for rSqo (sent free).the usual 
extensive collection (with the prices of sciine lunds lower 
