The RURAL. NtW-YORKER 
957 
Contracts and Controversies 
Enforced Drainage of Land 
A owns a piece of property joining the 
highway ; on the opposite B owns a piece 
of property. Through the property of A 
runs an open ditch, which crosses the 
highway and runs through the property 
of B. The ditch on B's property has 
been allowed to fill up with dirt and 
bushes, holding the water back on the 
highway and A’s property. Can B be 
^ forced to open ditch, or is it the town’s 
duty to do so? c. J. w. 
New York. 
B cannot be forced to open the ditch 
to allow the water from A’s land to drain 
freely. The town authorities may take 
whatever action is necessary to drain the 
i road properly, but that is as far as their 
power goes. If by long usage, say more 
than 20 years, A has gone on B’s land 
and kept the ditch oneu, he would have 
what is termed a t .escriptive right to 
enter B’s property now to open the ditch. 
Otherwise he cannot go on the property, 
nor can he force B to open the ditch. 
His best plan is to work with B and get 
the ditch open, or offer to do the work 
himself if it is worth this much trouble 
to him. 
them when they are on my farm? Must 
I notify the tenant or the owner of the 
place? g. it. 
.New York. 
The owner of the rabbits is responsible. 
This is a new case, and likely ta come 
up in the future as rabbit breeding in¬ 
creases. The New York conservation law 
protects two kinds of wild rabbit—the 
cottontail and the snowshoe rabbit. This 
law states: 
“The owners or occupants of inclosed 
or occupied farms and lauds or a person 
duly authorized in writing by such owner 
or occupant may take, except by use of 
ferrets, in any manner, at any time, and 
in any number varying hares and cotton¬ 
tail rabbits which are injuring their pro¬ 
perty.” 
But that refers to wild rabbits en¬ 
tirely. and even when these wild rabbits 
are killed in protecting property they 
must not be- eaten, but promptly buried. 
As for Belgian hares and other tame rab¬ 
bits, tho law gives no special protection 
either way. We should treat them the 
same as wandering poultry. Notify the 
owner, and if he will not keep them con¬ 
fined, shoot a few of them and throw the 
bodies back on his premises. This is 
hard treatment, but if a man will not 
prevent the chicken or rabbit nuisance 
after fair request—he deserves it! 
A Farm Lease Between Neighbors 
I have a field of 13 acres between my 
next neighbor and myself, much handier 
to him. The field has been in grass for 
a great many years and is almost run 
out. I have not the time to work it; 
have at the present time as much hay 
as I want. What sort of contract can I 
suggest to him for a term of years, and 
how long, for him to use it free as 
long as he turns it over to me at the 
end all seeded to hay again, and in 
smooth, fertile condition, so as to 
be of benefit to us both? There is quite 
a lot Off brush along the sides I would 
like to have removed at the same time. 
Any plan or arrangements that would be 
fair to both would be greatly appreciated. 
I do not want to tie up the farm on a 
binding contract. C. C. P. 
New Hampshire. 
> This is a new suggestion for most 
American farmers, who generally make a 
cash rental, with little consideration for 
the way the soil is handled. In Great 
Britain most farm leases contain an 
agreement as to what crops shall be 
grown in rotation, and how much manure 
1 or fertilizer must be used. If, when the 
lease expires, the tenant has used fer¬ 
tilizer and manure properly, he gets a 
credit or rebate for the amount of “un¬ 
expended plant food” left in the soil. 
When England woke up during the war 
and found that more potatoes and wheat 
must be produced, a trouble arose because 
farm leases defined certain definite rota¬ 
tions, and these agreements had to be 
legally broken or made over before the 
land could be jumped into new crops. 
In the case here mentioned the owner 
wants that field reseeded. The neighbor 
can have the use of the land for nothing 
provided he leaves it with a good stand 
of grass. The latter of course will not 
go to the expense of fitting and seeding 
unless he can get a profit out of his work 
and outlay. The neighbor should have 
at least four years to cover his expenses. 
We do not know what rotation is fol¬ 
lowed in that part of New Hampshire. 
In our own locality, in New Jersey, we 
should plow that old sod, use lime and 
plant corn with fertilizer in the hill and 
rye at the last cultivation. The next 
year it would be corn once more or early 
potatoes. As soon as these crops were 
out the land would be well fitted and 
seeded to Timothy and Bed-top, with a 
thin seeding of rye. Clover would be 
added in the Spring of the third year. 
This would give a light crop of rye and 
a short cutting of grass that year, and 
a heavy crop the next year, leaving the 
field well stocked with grass. In New 
Hampshire some other rotation would be 
used—say corn for the first year and oats 
i or barley seeded to grass the second year. 
We should figure out the most sensible 
rotation, and then draw up a fair agree¬ 
ment, stating what crops are to be grown 
each year and the amount of manure, 
fertilizer or lime to be used with each 
crop. We should make the term of lease 
four or five years. Such an arrangement 
between good neighbors ought to benefit 
i both parties. 
The Tame Rabbit Nuisance 
I have a neighbor who is a tenant. 
House and barn are only three rods from 
my farm, and he has a lot of rabbits. I 
have a young orchard, set out eight years 
ago, and it runs within four rods of his 
place, and also Alfalfa seeded in wheat. 
IIis rabbits are over there part of the 
time, and I am afraid they will spoil my 
young trees. What are my rights about 
those rabbits? Whom can I hold re- 
1 sponsible for the damage, the owner of 
the place or the tenant? They raise 
nothing for their rabbits at all. they 
raise celery and onions. Can I make 
him shut libs rabbits up or can I shoot 
Surrendering a Lease 
I have leased a farm for three years; 
this is the second year. There is a clause 
in this lease that in case the owner sells 
I shall receive $100 and have to sur¬ 
render the lease on 00 days’ notice. I 
have planted about 1% acres of oats, one 
acre of corn, one-lialf acre of garden and 
1 y* acres of potatoes. Can I come back 
tin event of sale) and harvest the crop? 
What can I do if the other owner refuses 
to let me enter the grounds? J. M. 
New York. 
In such case the surrender of the 
lease would probably destroy your right 
to the crops. If the farm were sold with¬ 
out any surrender clause the lease would 
no doubt go as an obligation or encum¬ 
brance on the land. When you surrender 
the lease you will surrender the right to 
the land unless this is specially arranged 
for in the contract. 
A Mixed-up Understanding 
A leased his farm to B with verbal 
understanding he is to cultivate his farm 
and keep farm up and pay A one-fourth 
of all raised on place. B did this two 
years. Now B expects to raise most of 
tobacco crop on another place (tobacco 
being the principal money crop in this 
section), while he still lives on A’s farm, 
and A just spent $300 fixing up farm for 
him. There is plenty of land on A’s 
farm and more than B can cultivate, 
(’an A make B pay him any of this crop 
raised on another farm? A has no con¬ 
tract with B. E. ai. A. 
Virginia. 
It is not likely that A can make B pay 
him a share of what he raises on the 
other farm. A would have nothing to 
do with that. What did B definitely 
agree to do? If he agreed to work the 
farm properly or grow certain definite 
crops lie ought to do so. and if lie lias 
proper soil on this farm for the tobacco 
it would seem that he ought to grow ir 
there. I'nless there is some definite 
agreement to that effect A cannot expect 
a share of what B grows on the other 
land. But A might compel B to give up 
the farm if he does not work it. 
Trees on Boundary 
The line fence (wire) dividing the 
farms of my neighbor and myself, runs 
through a piece of wooded pasture. The 
wire fence has in many places been fas¬ 
tened to trees, which have now in some 
instances overgrown the wires to a depth 
of six or eight inches. Many of the 
trees are now valuable, and we wish to 
know, according to law, what rights we 
have to cut them down. Sometimes the 
wire was nailed on neighbor’s side of tree, 
and sometimes on ours. Neighbor and T 
are the best of friends, and I do not wish 
to do anything regarding this timber that 
is unlawful. H. s. R. 
New York. 
When the trunk of a tree stands partly 
on one man’s land and partly on an¬ 
other’s, the dividing line between the lots 
passing through the trunk, whether at the 
middle or not, the entire tree and its fruits 
belong to the two landowners as tenants 
in common. Neither owner can legally 
destroy or injure the tree without the 
consent of the other. If you and your 
neighbor are good friends the best way 
for you to proceed is to cut the trees to¬ 
gether and get them out to mill, each do¬ 
ing an equal share of the work, or one of 
you doing the work and a fair allowance 
made by the other. Then divide the lum¬ 
ber or the proceeds equally. 
“What’s your grude against Judge 
Wombat?” “To hasty, too hasty. Gives 
a mau no time to prepare his cases. Case 
of mine has been on the docket only ten 
years and he insists on my going to trial.” 
—Louisville Courier-Journal. 
A typical view of West Michigan Pike. Van A view of the same section of the same road after Tarvia 
Buren County, Mich., before Tarvia teas used, ivasnsed. Vote smooth,dustless, easy-traction turfoes. 
Before and After 
Tarvia was Used— 
T HE “Before” photograph above shows a section of West Michigan 
Pike, Van Buren County, Michigan, as it looked in the summer 
of 1916. 
But the taxpayers of Van Buren County realized that such roads as 
this not only hampered the development of the county and made travel 
difficult, but that in the long run they cost the community more than 
good easy-traction roads. 
The “After” picture shows the same road, photographed at exactly 
the same spot, after macadamizing and treating with “Tarvia-B.” 
West Michigan Pike is now a firm, mudless, dustless road, water¬ 
proof and automobile proof, over which full loads can be hauled to 
market with speed and economy. 
• And wisely, the taxpayers of Van Buren County, propose to keep 
this road new. Last year they gave it a second treatment with 
“Tarvia-B.” Thus at very small expense they protected their original 
investment and now have a fine piece of highway that brings their mar¬ 
kets at South Haven and Watervliet miles nearer to each other. 
The satisfaction felt over the vast improvement effected by the use 
of Tarvia is officially expressed in the following letter from the engineer 
of the Van Buren County Road Commissioners, Paw Paw, Michigan: 
“The \ an Buren County Road Commission has been using ‘Tarvia-B’ 
for some years to maintain about 20 miles of macadam road and it has given 
the greatest satisfaction. We have entirely got rid of dust and ravelling 
and it is the opinion of many observers that the roads get better instead of 
worse. 
“This year we had about two miles of macadam which was so bad that 
the State Highway Department advised covering it with gravel, but instead 
we patched the holes with ‘Tarvia-KP’ (which by the way is something that 
is indispensable in our business) and treated the surface with ‘Tarvia-B’ and 
stone chips and today the road is in better shape than when new. 
“We have also been trying out ‘Tarvia-B’ on a trunk line gravel road, 
the gravel testing about 75% stone. The results liave been very good in 
spite of the heavy traffic. It produces a smooth, durable surface which will 
be better the second and third year than the first. We are now building a 
30,000-gallon storage tank so that we can always have a supply on hand 
when we want it. 
“Aside from treating the roads with 'Tarvia-B’ there is no maintenance 
cost but a little attention to holes and drainage. 
“Tarvia has solved our macadam troubles for us. 
Dana P. Smith, County Road Engineer. 
The use of 1 arvia will give any community or state all-the-year- 
round roads that are dustless in summer, mudless in spring and fall 
frost-proof in winter, and that are easy to maintain at a low cost. 
Illustrated booklet describing the <various Tar-i'ta treatments free on request. 
Preserves Roads-Pret/ents Dust 
Jk , 
The 
Company 
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THE BARRETT COMPANY. Limited: 
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Vancouver 
111III1!»J]I111UTO11IIII1M11M 
