Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1913-07-25
THE LAW OF GROWING CROPS

JOuu okIu1oI pIduLeu d IOW VI dp-
pie trees on his own land, some six
feet from the boundary line. The
trees flourished and eventually the
branches extended over Neighbor
Wilder's property and the roots, be-
ing no respecters of legal titles,
pushed across under Wilders soil. In
fall of big fruit crops the sight
of so much fruit hanging above his
property aroused Wilder. He be-
thought himself of the principle of
law that mans property extends
indefinitely upward and indefinitely
downward, got his ladder, and lean
ing it against the branches above his
own property, picked the fruit that
dangled there He kept entirely on
and over his own land in harvesting
the fruit
Skinner sued Wilder for unlaw-
fully taking his apples and-recovered
damages The court ruled that though
the apples dangled over Wilder's
land they grew on tree the main
trunk Of which was exclusively and
entirely on SINNERS land, that it
was SINNERS tree and all of the
fruit on it SINNERS property 1t was
Wilder's right to keep limbs from
extending over his property by cut
ting them off, but he had no right
to take any of SINNERS property
because it extended past his line.
In cases where trees are planted
on the boundary or SO close that
the main limbs extend directly into
the other parcel of land, the general
rule is that the owners of the adj
Joining lands are proprietors of the
trees as tenants in common and so
must share it's produce. If either
should injure the tree the other may
have his remedy against him.
Generally speaking, whatever is at
tached to the earth Is real propre-
Nv and so remains as long as 1t Is
SO attached. This applies to grains
and grasses as we'll as. to the fruit
upon trees and bushes. This should
always be kept in mind in selling
cultivated lands qf any kind. All
crops growing thereon, being q partt
of the realty, will pass under the
deed to the new purchaser, unless
they are specially reserved In some
Jurisdictions certain annual crops
may be reserved orally, but it Is al
WAYS best. and usually absolutely
necessary, that the reservation be
written clause in the conveyance.
Crops that are unharvested at the
time of a mortgage sale, being still
attached to the land, are realty and
pass to the purchaser under the mort
gaze sale. So, too, one who recoVers
land bv ejectment secures all the
growing crops attached to the land,
as in view of the law they are part
of it and so pass to the successful
claimant of title.
When you lease land have an eye
to the title of your landlord, or you
may lose you crop while it is still
growing, You secure no better rights
than the man from whom you lease
and if there is a mortgage due AND
he does not pay it the land may be
sold and the growing crops pass to
the purchaser. So, Aoo, the landlord
might not have good title and sue
cessful claimant in ejectment would
also GUST you.
Langdon Cummings owned forty
acres on the River Road. The land
was heavily mortgaged and Cummings
was troubled with a load of other
debts Saulson, large, unsecured
creditor, secured judgment against
Cummings and sought to enforce it
by levy Cummings had fine patch
of blackberries and another of wheat.
Both the berries and the wheat
were levied upon. The levy upon the
berries was defeated; that upon the
wheat allowed. The reason was that
| the levy was effective only against
personally and the court regarded
| berries as realty and wheat as per-
| sonalty, and this though both were
| still attached to the soil.
Though all crops are realty as long
as they remain physically attached
to the land for certain purposes, as
pointed out above there are other
points of view from which certain
crops are regarded as personally anC
others as realty. This important dis
tnction is the one the law draws be
tween what it refers to as fructes
naturales and fructes industriales
and it matters not to the law tina
the fruit grower feels that his arr
rather the products of industry thai
of nature. But the law provides ;
different classification for those crop
which are produced annually year al
ter year from the same root. as tn
fruits of trees vines and bushes an