1236 
JShe RURAL N E W- YORKER 
Legal Questions 
Division of Property 
IA man dies intestate leaving wife, 
nieces and nephews as nearest relatives, 
he having had children who have died. 
To whom does the real estate and per- 
sonlil property go? mrs. i. 
The personal property in the case which 
you have outlined is governed by Section 
98 of the Decedent State Law, which is 
as follows: 
After file Payment of a Deht. —One- 
third part to the widow and the residue 
in equal portions among the children and 
such persons as legally represent the 
■children if any of them have died before 
the deceased. If there be no children, 
nor any legal representative of them, then 
one-half of the whole surplus shall be al¬ 
lotted to the widow and the other half 
distributed to the next of kin of the .de¬ 
ceased entitled under the provi-sions of 
this section. 
You did not state in your letter wheth¬ 
er (he children had died had left any des- 
<-endants or children on their part. On 
the basis that they did not, one-half 
would go to the widow, and one-half to 
the nieces and nephews of the personal 
property, and as to the, real property, the 
real property, .subject to a life interest in 
one-third of the income, would go to the 
nieces and nephews, unless there be chil¬ 
dren or representatives of the children, 
in which event it would descend to the 
children or their descendants. 
The New York Dog Law 
Is there any law in New Y^ork State 
that protects the .sheep raiser? I am 
buying 10 purebred sheep, and do not 
care to have them be a loss to me, all on 
account of someone’s dog. There are 
quite a few mongrel dogs around here, 
and I was half afraid to buy the sheep 
on that account. Can a man shoot a dog 
that is chasing his sheep without any 
come-back from the owner of the dog by 
law? P. n. 
Orange Co., N. Y^. 
There certainly is a dog law in New 
York State. It i)roduces a large revenue, 
but is not satisfactory. Many losses in 
sheep and poultry occur, and it re<iuires a 
long time and much red tape to collect 
damages. No dog law can ever go higher 
in its enforcement than local public opin¬ 
ion will permit. In a sheep-raising com¬ 
munity where all or most farmers were 
good shots with a rifle and determined to 
protect their i)roperty, the present dog 
law would work out, well. Where there 
are few sheep and many dogs there would 
be trouble. Under the New Y’ork law 
anyone may shoot a dog which is caught 
chasing or worrying live stock or poultry. 
I'lvery dog must be licensed and tagged, 
and must stay at home unless accom¬ 
panied by his owner. If you can prove 
that a dog chased or killed your sheep 
you may shoot the dog at once. It is well 
to reiiort the circumstances of the shoot¬ 
ing to the local authorities or the Dej)art- 
ment of Agriculture at Albany. 
Inheritance Tax 
On Oct. 20. 1015. my sister deeded me 
a house and lot, retaining life use. The 
deed wa.s recorded March 4, lOlti. I paid 
her the dollar re(|uired in the deed and 
paid for the deed .being recorded. My 
sister died recently. Am I under obliga¬ 
tions to i)ay an inheritance tax. and if 
so what per cent is a direct heir expected 
to i)ay? We value it at. about ,$2.5(X). I 
liave been told it would be less, my being 
an own sister. S. 
New York. 
Whether you have to pay inheritance tax 
would depend on the circumstances of the 
gift. If it was made in contemplation of 
death the inheritance tax must be paid. 
Where the gift is to a sister $500 is ex- 
em))t^from taxation. Above this and up 
to $25,000 the tax is two per cent on the 
value of the gift. There may be circum¬ 
stances which would entitle you to have 
(bis hou.se without the i)aymen't of the 
inheritance tax, such as. for instance, if 
.A'ou had heljjed pa.v for the j)roperty or 
had supported your sister and the ])ronerty 
was' deeded to you in jiayment for the 
service. If the deed was not given just 
ti> escape the tax the chances are you 
would not have to pay a tax, as a gift, 
such as you de.scribe ma.v always be made 
without a tax being payable. If you are 
in doubt it may be worth your while to 
<dear your mind to st.'ire the matter to a 
good trustworthy local attorney and get 
his opinion. 
Wife'* Property Rights After Separation 
A wife in Pennsylvania, having money 
in her own name, desires to leave her 
husband without any just cause, he hav- 
Jng no money, but .some real estate, in 
which is $300 of the wife’s money. In 
case the wife leaves home and sejiarates 
from her husband, looking toward divorce, 
can she demand and collect any money 
portion from the husband, or the jirop- 
erty? Or should she demand the $300 of 
her money and several hundred dollars 
additional, the husband agreeing to pay 
it, she promising to waive all further 
rights or title to the aforesaid property 
and signing a paper to that effect drawn 
up in good legal form? The question is, 
will it hold for all time, or could .she come 
back at a later date and demand more? 
Pennsylvania. >i. 
Under the “married woman enabling 
acts,” that have been enacted in probably 
all the State.s of the I.'nion, a woman is 
entitled to her own money in the same 
way as if .she was single, and, in addi¬ 
tion to that, entitled to the support of her 
husband. In the event a woman deserts 
her husband without cause, she can a.sk 
for no support from him whatever, but, of 
course, is entitled to the money belonging 
to herself. 
After she has separated from her hus¬ 
band, a settlement can be made under 
the laws mentioned whereby the liability 
of the husband for her support and the 
liability of his property for her dower 
rights, and all of the liabilities between 
them are settled once and for all, and 
each is released from any claim by the 
other. Of course, this document must be 
executed without fraud or concealment 
on the part of either, and in most States 
the separation must have actually oc¬ 
curred and must continue. A resumption 
by the parties of the marriage relation 
will serve to .set aside such an agreement, 
but if the agreement is executed without 
fraud or mi.srepre.sentation, and is pre¬ 
ceded and followed by a permanent sepa¬ 
ration, it is final, a. W. g. 
Crops and Farm News 
I note from crop and farm news that 
the frost of September 10 was pretty gen¬ 
erally felt throughout the Northern 
States. Ice formed here on that date, 
but a fog raised for two or three hours 
and only slight damage was done to corn 
loaves and squash and pumpkin vines. 
Ibitatoes, beans and tomatoes were not 
injured. Our killing frost came Septem¬ 
ber 30. Crops in this .section have been 
fairly good this season. Corn and buck¬ 
wheat well ripened. Tomatoes mostly 
have had to be ripened in the house, ns 
they came on very slowly. Peaches sold 
at 30c a dozen; we have not dared a.sk the 
price per bushel. I suppose the Congress¬ 
men who are responsible for the change of 
time never had to sit up and operate the 
cream separator by lamplight. Person¬ 
ally I would rather trust to the instincts 
of our roosters than to theVequirements of 
law. I notice they don’t crow according 
to the new schedule. n. u. 
Antrim Co., Mich. 
Our section of Chester County is fertile 
and productive. Farmers all appear pros¬ 
perous ; crops have all been generally 
good : oat.s a big crop; wheat yielded well 
and corn is very good, considering the dry 
spell of July and August, Some farmers 
had an unusual crop of potatoes. Our 
market town is Pottstown, an irosi mill 
town of 1(5,00() population, doing mostly 
war work. Egg.s, (IS to 70c; butter, (»5 
to 75c per lb.; milk, 14c per qt., retail. 
I’otatoe.s, $2.50 per bu.; apples, 40c one- 
half peck; onions, $1 per i^-bu. bskt.; 
honey, ,30e per lb.; pork, $27 per cwt., 
wholesale, and 40 to 45c per lb, retail, ac¬ 
cording to cuts. Cows at auction are sell¬ 
ing for from .$00 to .$170. Farms are 
changing hands at prices ranging, on an 
average, from $12.5 to $2.50 per acre, 
and there seems to be quite a demand. 
Wood is gather plentiful and sells well 
from .$10.;)0 to ,$14 per cord, delivered. 
Chester Co., Pa. .s. t. c. 
Crops are very good this year. Corn, 
rye and hay are the staples here. Most 
farmers raise enough wheat and oats for 
home use only, though last year more 
wheat was rai.sed than formerly. Farm¬ 
ers here depend upon milk for cash. 
Though the herds are small, good stock is 
kept and they now get Oc per qt.; will 
get 10c within a month. Farmers can 
get $2.15 for wheat, but want $2.40 per 
bu. Oats sell at .SOc per bu.; rye, $1.,50; 
corn, $1.35 ; barley, ,$1..3.5 ; clover hay, $20 
l)er ton ; Timothy, $25; rye straw, $14. 
Farmers here are pro.sperous, but are in¬ 
clined to feel they should get higher 
prices, though they tell me they never 
made as much money as last year. Eggs 
1 sell at 75c. mr.s. a. b. t. 
Somerset Co., N. ,1. 
We are located 12 miles from New' 
Castle and 12 miles from Sharon, and 
most of the produce from this vicinity 
goes to those towns. About half the 
farmers have a private trade and .some 
handle butter and eggs for their neighbors 
on commission. Prices vary considerably, 
but the following are alauit what they 
hjive been getting for the last 10 days : 
Wheat, .$2.i0 per bu.; oats, 85c; apples. 
.$1..50; butter, 60c per lb.; eggs, 60c; 
hens, 25c per lb.; young chickens, 32c; 
cows, .$70 to $100 each ; hogs, 25c, dressed. 
Lawrence Co., Pa. g. A. n. 
November 2, lOlS 
West seems to have had a short and poor 
crop of both potatoes and apples. I’otato 
l)rices are about the same now as in early 
November last year, but the level of 
values seems much better justified this 
year because the crop is considerably less 
and more of it has already been sold. If 
the Winter proves fairly mild, the crop 
ought to move to market without any such 
break as happened last year. Prices of 
$3 per bbl. bulk in Maine compare with 
$4 the last of October in 1917. At Chi¬ 
cago carlot prices are about the same as 
last year. 
The onion outlook is rather doubtful. 
M ith nearly 2.000.000 bu. more in sight 
than last year, the only way out seeniR 
to be a rapid, steady movement all Win¬ 
ter, and no holding for fancy prices. So 
far, the shipments have been liber.al, 
starting early in the sea.son owing to early 
maturity of the crop, and continuing at 
•a heavier rate per week than last year. 
Some leading sections appear pretty 
nearly cleaned up already. Prices dropped 
close to .$1 per lOO lbs. in some shipping 
sections, even below that in California, 
but recoveries have occurred, and good 
.yellow stock brings mostly around ,$1..50 
shipping sections and ,$1.25 
to .$2 in city markets. 
Cabbage is hard to move. Buyers are 
reported scarce in some places in West¬ 
ern New York, even at $10 per ton. 
.suitable for long storage brings $1.5 
City prices range from $12 to 
$30 in the East and Middle West. 
Applee hold very steady. Winter kinds 
bring .$4 to $5 for best No. 1 or No. 2 
grade all through the East, and are higher 
tlmn th.at in the Middle West, some 
mney kinds exceeding .$9 in Chicago. 
Boxed apiiles are high, .$3 to $3..50 per 
box wholesale for top grades, and West¬ 
ern growers get about $2 for these. 
The pumiikin growers of Northern New 
Jersey have been looking for an outlet 
among the Baltimore cannerie.s. In their 
own section the influenza had disorganized 
most of the factories which had been ex¬ 
pected to handle the crop. g. n. F. 
Countrywide Produce Situation 
The potato market has reached an in¬ 
teresting point. Last year in early No¬ 
vember the big decline started which was 
to cut the price in halves before the sea¬ 
son’s clo.se. This year conditions .are 
more favorable. The crop is earlier and 
much of the stock already has been 
moved. Shipments are now a good deal 
lighter than October’s average, yet there 
does not seem to be much holding back 
for higher prices, nor on account of car 
shortage. 
Under lighter supplies the markets 
showed fresh recoveries, especially in the 
-Middle West and North. The' Middle 
Our market here is not stable. The 
prices I give are approximate: Wheat 
,$2.10; rye, $1.40; corn, $1.25; oats, SOc 
buckwheat not yet in market. Butter 
lb., 44c; egg.s. 44c; chickens, lb., SOc 
older fowls, lb., 26c; lambs, lb., 15o 
mutton, lb., 13c; cattle, butchers’ stock 
12 to 15c: calves. 15c; pork, dressed, 22c, 
pigs, pair, $10 to $20. Potatoes, $1 to 
$1.50 bu.; apples, hu., 7.5c to $1; toma¬ 
toes, bu., $1.50. Feeds at the mill, bran, 
$2 per cwt.; middlings, per cwt., $2.25; 
linseed meal, per cwt., ,$3.25. Wheat is 
average crop, running about 18 bu. per 
acre; rye about 18 bu. per acre; oats 
about 30 bu., and quality good, 
Columbia Co., Pa. A. P. G. 
Send 
For Prices 
Ask For Agency 
Proposition 
The Early Order 
Gets the Goods 
There is not enough labor to go around 
The railroad traffic is greater than ever before 
The numerous Government activities have 
drawn heavily on the labor supply. Every 
farmer realizes how difficult it is to get good help. 
With the new draft in operation and the increasing 
demand for munitions and ships, labor will be even 
more scarce. The terrible epidemic which is sweep¬ 
ing this country is affecting the labor supply. 
Troops and supplies must be moved to the seaboard. 
They have the right of way over all freight. The 
strain on the railroads is tremendous. Every car must 
be loaded as near full capacity as possible for 
there are not enough to go around. 
Transportation conditions are sure to grow worse 
with the coming of winter weather and already 
many of the freight yards contain thousands of 
loaded cars waiting for an opportunity to proceed. 
“What has all this to do with farming?” you may 
ask. Just this—YOU can protect your interests by 
ordering your Spring fertilizers shipped NOW and 
at the same time help win the war. 
E. Frank Coe’s Fertilizers 
Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. 
1857 Tlie Business Farmers’ Standard lor over Sixty Years 1919 
In spite of war conditions you can depend on these 
old time reliable brands to furnish you available 
plant foods in the right proportions for the needs 
of your crops. 
Mr, August Freling, Sr., of Westfield, N.Y., raised 
over 72 bushels of good heavy oats per acre 
using E. Frank Coe’s Fertilizers exclusively. 
Mr. Isaac S. Rothenberger of Lime Kiln, Pa., won 
the Eagle Sweepstake Prize in 1917 and two first 
prizes this year at the Reading Fair. He says; 
“I used 2,000 lbs. of E. Frank Coe’s Prolific 
Crop Producer, 1916, and no manure. 1 had 
the best potato crop in my locality and would 
have had more if we had gotten some rain.” 
will 
If you will tell us how many acres of potatoes or oats you expect to raise next season we wi 
mail you a copy of our book “Potatoes, a Money Crop’* or “Oat Production’’ 
free, together with the name of our nearest local agent. 
We Want Age*nts in Unoccupied Territory. Ask About the Proposition. 
Address Crop Book Department 
THE COE-MORTIMER COMPANY 
Subsidiary of The American Agricultural Chemical Company 
51 Chambers Street 
New York City 
Order Full 
Carloads Today 
To Delay 
Is Dangerous 
