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tract; or a new agreement substituted for the former, which it sets aside; or that the time when, or the place where, certain things were to be done, had been changed by the parties; or that a new contract, which was additional and supplementary to the original contract, had been made, or that damages had been waived, or that a new consideration, in addition to the one mentioned, has been given, if it be not adverse to that named in the deed. And if no consideration be named, one may be proved.

We have already said that a receipt for money is peculiarly open to evidence. It is only primâ facie evidence either that the sum stated has been paid, or that any sum whatever was paid. It is in fact not regarded as a contract, and hardly as an instrument at all, and has but little more force than the oral admission of the party receiving. But this is true only of a simple receipt. It often happens that a paper which contains a receipt, or recites the receiving of money or of goods, contains also terms, conditions, and agreements, or assignments. Such an instrument, as to everything but the receipt, is no more to be affected by extrinsic evidence than if it did not contain the receipt; but as to the receipt itself, it may be varied or contra dicted by extrinsic testimony, in the same manner as if it contained nothing else.

Lastly, no contract will be enforced, as a contract, if it have no plain and natural or legal meaning, by itself; and if admissible, extrinsic evidence can only show that the intention of the parties was one which their words do not express. But the supposed contract being set aside for such reasons as these, the parties will be remitted to their original rights and obligations.

CHAPTER XLII.

LEGAL RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF FARMERS.

SECTION I.

HIS TITLE TO HIS FARM.

This right may arise from and rest upon possession, inheritance, purchase, or hiring.

I. POSSESSION.-If the farmer or they from whom he inherits have possessed the land without disturbance or adverse claim for a sufficient number of years, it is his by what is called prescription. The meaning of this is, that the law does not allow any adverse claimant to set up an old and stale claim to the farm, and on the strength of it deprive a man of property which he has held in peace for a long period. This law was founded upon the probability that they who have held quiet possession of land for a long time must have held it by right; and that no one would be likely to lie by and make no claim to the land if he had a good title to it. Ages ago, the period required to give title by mere lapse of time was a very long one. Gradually it became shorter, and is now in this country quite short. Exceptions to the rule are always made in favor of those who by reason of absence, infancy, or imbecility have been unable to assert their claims the principle being that no one should lose his land by suffering another to possess it quietly for a long time but he who could have made claim, and was therefore properly punished for his neglect.

In Chapter 22, on limitations, and in the abstract of the statutes of limitations, beginning on page 284, the reader will find stated the periods of time within which, in the several States, an action must be brought to recover real estate-that is, land. If brought afterwards, the lapse of time is a sufficient defense, unless the plaintiff who seeks to recover the land can justify his delay in bringing his suit by showing that he or she was an infant, or absent from the State, or imbecile, or a married woman, or under some other disability; and that he or she

brought his or her action within the prescribed period, if that began after his disability was removed.

2. INHERITANCE.-In this country there is not only an entire absence of the right of primogeniture, but no other difference between the inheritance of real estate or land, and of personal property in goods and chattels, than that which arises necessarily from the difference in the nature of these two kinds of property. We retain, generally, the phraseology of the English law. The word "inheritance" applies in law only to real property, and the statutes by which it is determined how such property passes to the issue or relatives of the deceased, are commonly called statutes of inheritance. Whereas those which determine how and where the personal property shall go are called statutes of distribution. But in all the States these two statutes are nearly alike; that is to say, the persons entitled to the real estate of a deceased man are almost always those to whom the personal property would go as to the next of kin to the deceased.

A person who takes a farm by inheritance (using the word in its common meaning), must take it either under the will of the deceased, or by force of law as the heir of the deceased. On this subject we refer to what we have said in our chapters on wills and on executors and administrators.

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3. PURCHASE. In this country land can only be transferred by DEEDS.

If a man makes a bargain to buy a farm and is so unwise as to take possession without having a sufficient deed duly executed, his bargain gives him no title to his farm, which still remains the property of the man who agreed to sell it. But if the bargain be in writing and sufficiently distinct, the law may help him and compel the owner to carry his bargain into effect by giving a sufficient deed.

The wiser way, if for any reason the parties are not ready to give and receive a deed, is for the intended buyer to take from the intended seller a bond for a deed, of which he wil' find several forms. See forms 27, 28, and 29, in this book.

For offers made on time, see the third section of the sixth chapter.

For the law of deeds we refer to our chapter on deeds. In that chapter will also be found what it is most important to know, remember, and practice-that is the legal requirements concerning the signing, sealing, acknowledgment, delivery, and recording of deeds. Ignorance or neglect of any of these matters may destroy a man's title to his farm and deprive him of it.

It is now so common to sell a farm at auction that it is well to give some of the rules of law about sales at auction.

4 SALES OF LAND AT AUCTION.-Every bid by any one present is an offer by him. It may be withdrawn before the hammer falls; but if not withdrawn, then the offer is accepted and the bargain made.

If a farm be sold the plan or description offered at the sale must give true information, or the purchaser is not bound to take the estate. If the descriptions are written or printed and circulated among the bidders, they cannot be contradicted by verbal declarations made by the auctioneer at the time of the sale.

If land is sold in several lots, and each is bought by itself, there is a separate bargain for each lot; and therefore if the seller can make good title to only one or more of the lots, the buyer must take them though he cannot have the other lots he bought; unless he can show that the buying of the whole was a valid part of the inducement or motive for buying any, and that the part he could have would not answer his purpose unless he could have the other lots.

Whether by-bidders for the seller authorize a purchaser to abandon a sale has been much disputed. Of course any fraudulent act of the seller would have that effect; but it seems to be law that by-bidding is not necessarily fraudulent, if the seller wishes only to avoid sacrifice. But the honest way would be to put the land up at a price. And if the seller or auctioneer declares at the sale that there is no by-bidding, or makes any declaration to that effect, and then employs by-bidding, the buyer is not bound to take the land.

An agreement among many persons that one should bid for all is not necessarily illegal.

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An auctioneer of real or personal property who does not give the name of the owner is himself liable to the buyer for the completion of the sale, and for any warranty he makes; and so he is if he sold and warranted without authority. But if he has authority from the owner and states who the owner is, he puts the liability for the sale and the warranty upon the owner.

SECTION II.

WHAT ONE TAKES BY THE DEED OF A FARM

1. BOUNDARIES AND DESCRIPTIONS.-The first question is what land does he take; and this question is answered by the boundaries. These cannot be stated too carefully, and cases where difficulties and law-suits have arisen from their inaccu racy or insufficiency are very frequent.

One rule to be remembered is, that evidence of what the parties meant and intended cannot be used to contradict what they have said in writing. See page 74 This rule sometimes works great injustice; but the reason of it is obvious, for if, after parties had agreed upon a matter, and put it in writing in the most formal manner, either of them could put the writing aside by evidence that he meant something else, nobody would be safe in his contracts or secure in his rights.

But evidence is receivable to show that either of the parties used language to defraud the other; for fraud can always be exposed, and whenever shown gives the defrauded party the right to avoid the contract. Words and conversation about the farm amount to nothing in law.

The intending seller may say how much stock it will feed, or what crops it will produce, and if he deceives the buyer this man has no remedy, for he must judge of these matters for him· self, or get disinterested advice. But if he should state falsely and fraudulently that the farm had in fact fed so much stock or produced such crops, the deceived buyer would have his remedy, and could avoid the sale if he thought fit.

Evidence is always admissible to show what the contract or instrument means, as who the parties are, or where the farm or land is. The rule is, that evidence cannot contradict but may explain a written contract. If a deed says John Smith sells the

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