The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1884-04-16
The Law of the Farm.

Ii Is an old saying, that a farmer who
Is his own lawyer tas a fool for a client.
But because every farmer should be ware
of trusting his necessarily small knowl-
edge OF law, that Is poor reason for not
knowing as much law a. he can liup-
dreds of farmers are ruined every year BY
their blind ignorance of laws which they
might understand, at least well enough
to know when they are treading upon
doubtful ground aud when il is time 10
seek the advice of their counsel. 1t Is
proposed in this article to state some OF
the more useful rules oflaw applicable TO
the farm. Ii must te understood that
these rules may differ somewhat in diff
ferent States and may be altered by leeis-
lation but the principles underlying
most of them are so reasonable as TO be
almost universal applied.
Buying or Leasing the Farm.-lf a
contract to sell land is not in writing it is
practically void. No action can be
brought to enforce it. Therefore, if you
wish to make a binding bargain for land,
let it be written and signed. A good
lease may be made without any writing
for a term of not more than one year in
most States and in Georgia, North Caro-
lima, and South Carolina it may be made
for three years. or in Florida for two. If
the unwritten lease is for a longer time
than thus allowed, it is worthless as be-
fore. However, if the proposed tenant
takes possession of the land and is recog
nized as a tenant by the landlord, he will
thus become a tenant ordinarily from
year to year, and can be turned out only
after the expiration of the year aud after
receiving proper notice to quit.
Ordinary letters may contain a legal
contract to buy and sell or lease land, as
well as more formal writings. But when
an offer to sell or lease is made by letter.
it must be accepted just as it was made
and without any modification. And here
it may be stated generally that, when a
contract of any kind is reduced to writ
ing by the parties, the terms of the con-
tract must be sought for only in the writ
ing. The testimony of the contracting
parties, or other persons, as to what the
contract was really intended to mean, will
not be heard in a court in which the con-
trace is sought to be enforced. If a mrs
take was made in drawing up the writing
the mistake may indeed be corrected by
a court of equity but if the writing was
agreed to by the contracting parties as
truly setting forth their contract. then it
can not be explained or contradicted by
witnesses. The writing is said to be ''the
best evidence of what the contract was
intended TO be. But although the testi-
mony of witnesses will not be admitted to
show that the contract actually made was
different from that stated In the writing,
such testimony will be admitted to show
that the written contract was 0fter1c0rd
changed or abandoned by the unwritten
agreement of the parties. Such testi-
mony does not contradict the writing.
Admitting that the writing truly sets
forth the contract as itIonce existed, il
shows that such contract has since been
changed or abandoned by the parties.
If the buyer of land receives a deed
from the seller, the title to the land is
presumed to pass at once to the buyer.
| Serious trouble often results from thus
taking a deed before one is ready to take
the land. Every deed conveying land,
and every written lease for a Term of five
years or more Tor, in some States, ever
for a shorter time), should at once be re
corded. Otherwise another buyer from
| the same seller, or another tenant, may
get a better right to the land than yours.
Boundaries. IF a deed conveying land
describes it as bounded by a public road,
the land will extend to the middle of the
road unless a contrary intent appear. So,
if the deed describes the land as bounded
by a creek or other stream, not navigable
or public, or by a fence, the land will
usually be considered as extending to the
middle of the stream or fence.
Fixtures.-It is often a delicate ques-
ton what movable things upon a farm
will be considered part of the land, and
pass by a conveyance of it.. Houses,
barns, fences, trees, growing crops, ma
nure, ordinarily do. But decisions vary.
Perhaps no better rule can be stated than
that, where a movable thing is placed
upon the land with the actual or fairly
inferred intention that it hal remain
there after the occupants possession is
ended, the thing will be treated as part
of the land, and will pass by a deed con-
veying the land. Thus, if timber upon
a farm be cut to build a fence on it, it
will pass with the land but not if cut to
build a fence on other land. So, if the
thing, although movable, is SO unwieldy
Gas a barn., or so firmly set into the
eIounu NaS hl.ehlnR postj, as 10 De
practically a permanent structure, the
prevailing opinion is that it will be ordi-
narily presumed to have been intended
to remain upon the land, and it will pass
under a conveyance Of the land. This
presumption, however, will not apply
where, from peculiar circumstances, it is
apparent that the person putting the
thing upon the land expected (or, had he
thought about it, must have expected
to remove it when he left. Upon this
principle tenants Especially tenants for
short termsl are generally entitled to re-
move their improvements and growing