1200 
Legal Rights of a Dog 
I live on a lonely road, and keep a dog for the pro¬ 
tection of my family and property, lie is a good dog, 
and has never kitten anyone, lie i- obedient and minds 
what we tell him. 1 do not keep a dog for the benefit of 
my neighbors, but because I need protection. This dog 
is tied at night in accordance to the law of Pennsylva¬ 
nia, and I have also kept him tied before my chicken 
house and stable on the days when we are away. 
Not long ago my wife took this dog with her on a 
walk down the road through the barn. She stood behind 
a screen of trees near the apple orchard and saw a man 
coining down the road on a motorcycle, lie did not see 
her. and stopped by the orchard where a few trees 
near the road are bearing this year. This man. think¬ 
ing hi' was not observed, stopped his machine, ran op 
the bank and began picking apples t<> hand to a child 
who was with him in the side ear. My wife saw him 
pick the apples in this way. The dog ran out after this 
mail. My wife called the dog back, but he frightened 
the man out of the orchard, and he ran down the bank 
to bis car. In trying to turn his machine around out 
of the way, this man fell over the end of if and tore his 
trousers. He got away and stopped at the next house, 
showing the tear in his garments to a neighbor, claim¬ 
ing that my dog bit him. The marks in the road show 
that the dog never went near tin* ear at all. but came 
back when my wife called him. ITc knows h : s place and 
is not vicious. This man who took the apples, however, 
threatens suit if 1 do not pay him Si." which lie claims 
as damages for his trousers. The justice of the peace 
has sent me the following note: 
“-says your dog bit him on Friday afternoon. 
lie also tore his trousers. Mr. - was coming 
down the valley on his motorcycle when this happened. 
II<* was here to have you arrested, hut I told him I 
would write you and ask you to settle with him without 
any suit. Hope you will settle and appreciate my 
stand. .7. p.” 
What I want to know is what legal rights has a dog 
in a ease of this sort, and is it possible for this man to 
collect $15 on such evidence? n. 
• 
HE legal right to keep a dog for the purpose of 
guarding one's promises has not been cleariy 
and satisfactorily defined by the courts in many o r 
the States. The main question, however, is as to 
whether or not the dog is vicious, and known to he 
vicious by the owner. The rule seems to he that 
one may keep a vicious dog to guard one's premises 
where the dog is cautiously used and sufficiently 
confined, and under that rule the owner need not as 
against a trespasser give notice of his vicious char¬ 
acter. 'fhe mere keeping of a ferocious dog. know¬ 
ing him to he such, for the purpose of defending 
one’s premises, has been hold not in itself to be un¬ 
lawful, when injuries follow from one so kept, the 
manner of his confinement and the circumstances 
attending the injuries are all to he considered in 
'determining the owner’s liability. 
In the case in question there seems to be no ques¬ 
tion of the viciousness of the dog. and 
Iht RURAL NEW-YORKER 
September 10, still growing rapidly. It is doubtful 
whether a profitable growth can he obtained after 
August 1. We think rye and Ilubam can he seeded 
together in August. The clover will he killed, but 
Concrete Post llnilt with Khccf Iron Form. Fig. .10) 
(he rye will grow on. There is some complaint that 
seed of the old-fasliioued Sweet clover is mixed with 
(lie Ilubam. 
Concrete Corner Posts 
T O those who. wish to build neat concrete corner 
posts there seems to he no better plan than to 
go to a tin shop and have a form made out of heavy 
sheet iron rooting. This form should be made to the 
size of the post desired. It may he bolted together 
and set in position after the post hole is filled witli 
concrete. Then this form may he filled and let stand 
for several days to harden, then removed by taking 
out the holts and slipping the form off the concrete 
base. The sheeting should he flexible enough to do this 
easily. If it is necessary to have holes through the post 
October 8, 1921 
Permanent Meadows 
On page 900. under the title of “Keeping a Field in 
Grass,” you state that “a meadow on good soil, well set 
in grass and well handled, should be good for five or six 
years.” Having had years of experience in rebuilding 
the soil on depleted farms in several different States, and 
lastly in New York. I cannot refrain from taking issue 
with you. Where Alfalfa can be raised a profitable crop 
might be maintained for a term of six years, and the 
extensive root, growth would aerate the lower soil and 
add humus, which is the most important factor of the 
soil, while Timothy and Rod-top would only serve to 
deplete the soil. 
1 his allowing the meadows to stand for six or more 
years, some of thorn 20 years, as was the case on this 
farm that I bought, is the main cause of so many 
depleted and abandoned farms in the East. A three- 
year rotation is my plan. Put the manure on the sod 
and plow it under, good and deep; plant to corn and 
potatoes, and give thorough cultivation. Next Spring 
seed to oats, lime and clover. The next year take two 
cuttings of clover, then apply the manure and plow it 
down again for corn. This being a dairy section, we 
should not impose upon the cow by forcing her to pro¬ 
duce milk from Timothy when we can raise clover, corn 
and oats. p. E. c. 
Chenango Co., N. Y. 
Fit friends must remember that we were stating 
conditions as we found them in Now England, 
and not attempting to lay down general rules for ell 
fanners to follow. We have seen many fields of 
grass handled after the manner described in that 
article which continued to give good yields from six 
to 10 years. The old sod was thoroughly killed out 
by the plan described before the new seed was put 
in. Lime is used, there is a heavy seeding of grass, 
and the application of chemical fertilizers is heavy. 
Under these conditions the stand of grass is well- 
nigh perfect, and with 000 to SOO pounds of fertilizer 
used every Spring, the yield is kept up. You must 
remember that we did not advocate (his plan for 
general use. We simply told how the work was done 
in New England. On the usual dairy farm the plan 
you mention would undoubtedly he better. Remem¬ 
ber, however, that in many parts of New England 
hay will bring $.°>0 or more per ton, and a yield of 
three tons to the acre, as is often produced by the 
methods described in that article, will pay better 
when labor is all considered than would he the ease 
if all this hay were fed to cattle. Your plan is an 
excellent one for dairying, hut where hay is to be 
sold without feeding on the farm you will admit 
that the other plan has merit. Of course no one 
questions the fact that if meadows are left, in a 
neglected condition they will soon “run out.” Tn the 
case mentioned they are carefully prepared in the 
first place, and well fed each year. 
Filling a Concrete Post Form. Fig. .110 
for the wires, provision for making the holes should 
he made in the form. A three-eighths inch hole 
should he made in the form in the place where the 
wires are desired. Tn this then may he inserted 
a small pipe. The pipe can he used to punch the hole 
through the soft concrete when the form is being 
filled, or it may he inserted permanently and left in 
the post. Some farmers, however, prefer posts that 
do not have holes through them, for these may ad¬ 
mit moisture and water, which in the long run 
might cause the posts to crumble and break off. 
The building of concrete posts is not an easy job. 
It requires considerable material to fill such a form, 
and the expense, too, is no small item. Hence, build¬ 
ing posts of this nature is adapted mainly for corner 
posts, or where a very permanent post is needed. 
if he hustled the apple thief off from 
the premises it seems extremely doubt¬ 
ful if a jury would ever say that the 
owner of (In* dog should lmy the thief 
a new pair of trousers, whether the dog 
caught hold of them or whether he tore 
them on liis- motorcycle. x. t. 
The Apple Outlook 
L AST year the apple crop was so 
large that many growers could 
hardly give their fruit away. Millions 
of bushels rotted on the ground because 
the labor and package, cost of picking 
and packing them was greater than the 
price they would bring. This year 
there is a short crop and prices are 
soaring. The trouble last year was 
chiefly one of distribution. While fruit 
was wasting in the orchards people in 
the cities could not afford to pay the 
retail price. Now we have the figures 
from the last census. These state that 
in 1010 there were 151.322,840 hearing 
trees and 05.701 .S4N non-hearing trees 
in the country. In 1020 there were 
only 115,265,029 bearing trees and 
36,171,604 non-bearing trees—a loss of 
over 45 per cent in 10 years! There 
was heavy planting up to the middle 
of the war; so heavy, in fact, that 
many of the wise men predicted a great 
over-production. It looked just like 
that this year in April, but in May 
.Tack Frost attended to it. without cere¬ 
mony. Now, what is the truth of all this? The 
census figures are usually a collection of more or 
less good guesses. You and I know that when we 
make our returns we do not count every tree. We 
make a good estimate or guess and let it go at that. 
Our opinion is that in the census year farmers were 
more or less depressed, and that this depression 
found expression in their estimates. We think, too, 
that the great loss in numbers may be found in 
“farm orchards,” mostly old trees formerly produc¬ 
tive, but neglected during the war. There has not 
been any such loss in the younger commercial or¬ 
chards, but the older and neglected ti*ees have 
faded away. The average commercial orchard is 
better cared for now than it was 10 years ago, and 
there are still enough trees left to give a good supply 
Fall Seeding of Hubam Clover 
Tn The R. N.-Y.. pages 007 and 008, I 
noticed a couple of inquiries in regard to 
Ilubam clover. In the first. G. f\ wants 
to know how much growth Hubam would 
make if sown after the first week in .in- 
gust. The record of a trial made at Ar¬ 
lington Farm last year showed that in 
this locality the annual white Sweet 
clover seeded August 10 made a growth 
of about IS in. before being out down by 
frost early in November. 
The majority of those plants did not 
live through (be Wiirter, although last 
Winter was a mild one. A small amount 
did live, but whether this was due to a 
slight mixture of biennial Sweet clover 
or not, we are not at (his moment pre¬ 
pared to say. Of course, the soil in fort- 
land County, N. Y.. may be better than 
it is here, but the frost will certainly come 
much earlier, so I doubt whether your 
correspondent could expect a growth of 
more than about a foot from any seeding 
of annual white Sweet clover made after 
the first of August. 
On page 90S, H. R., Virginia, asks 
about sowing the Hubam clover in corn at tin* last work¬ 
ing. In Circular 100 we have also shown that at 
Arlington Farm last year the annual white Sweet clover 
seeded in corn on August 10. at which time this par¬ 
ticular lot of corn was almost ripe, made only 3 or 4 
inches of growth, against about IS inches made on 
similar land just outside the corn. 
This evidence is. of course, not sufficient to condemn 
the annual white Sweet clover for seeding in corn. but. 
I think it is sufficient to cast a great deal of doubt upon 
the likelihood of (Ik* plant proving useful in this way. 
Unless either of your correspondents wishes to plant an 
early crop like early potatoes. I feel certain that the 
biennial white Sweet clover will be vastly more effective 
as a green manure crop than will the annual. It can be 
turned under in plenty of time for corn or for late po¬ 
tatoes. The Spring growth will conserve all the fertility 
that might be wasted were the ground left bare after 
annual white Sweet clover. A. j. PIETERS. 
U. S. Dept, of Agriculture. . 
R N.-Y.—The Hubam clover is not suited to-seed- 
• ing in corn or for Fall seeding with wheat or 
rye. Many of our readers talk of u^ing it for these 
purposes, hut we advise against it. We seeded this 
clover on July 20. and the plants were 2 ft. high by 
There is, however, a lot of satisfaction in knowing 
that the nuisance of replacing rotten posts is over. 
Wayne Co., O. c. m. baker. 
of fruit when conditions, are right. The fading 
away of older orchards is proof that trees must be 
sprayed and fed and pruned carefully. 
