assumes that any knowledge acquired by an agent concerning his principal's business, will be communicated to his principal, who is bound thereby. This rule though is often difficult to apply. Thus, if a cashier of a bank should learn that a note was defective, which was afterward discounted by his bank, it would be regarded as having knowledge of the defect, because it was the cashier's duty to inform the proper officials before they discounted it.

The death of either agent or principal terminates the agency except in cases of personal interest. And when an agent has appointed a substitute or subagent without direct authority, and for his own convenience, the agent's death annuls the authority of the subagent or substitute, even though the agent was given the right of substitution. But if the subagent's authority is derived directly from the principal, it is not affected by the agent's death.

Agistment.-An agistor is one who takes the animals of another into his own grounds to pasture for a compensation. Though not an insurer of their safety like an innkeeper or carrier, he must exercise ordinary and reasonable care, and if they are injured or killed through his negligence, he will be responsible. But he is not liable for the negligence of others. Thus if he imprudently allows strangers to enter his stable at night, or leaves his gate open or fences down, whereby the animals escape and are lost, he is liable for the loss. In like manner he must employ reliable servants and must respond for any loss resulting from their negligence. A contract for "good care" means ordinary care. And if explicit terms of keeping are stated in the agreement relating to food,

shelter, etc., these must be executed, and if they are, and injuries arise, he is not responsible for them. Thus if he agrees to stable a horse and, instead of doing so, turns the animal out of doors and it, catching cold, is injured, the agistor is liable. Or, if contrary to the agreement, he uses a horse committed to his care, which is thereby foundered. Of course, he should not sell animals entrusted to him; should he do so, the owner could recover them from the buyer.

His contract implies that he shall keep the animals in a pasture not exposed to the danger of contracting disease, either by supplying them with insufficient or unwholesome food, or by infection from diseased animals kept in the same enclosure. Consequently, if he knows of any animals kept within his grounds that are affected with a contagious disease, and remains silent, he is responsible for the loss caused by his neglect. He must also keep his grounds properly enclosed; nor is he excused by the failure of an adjoining owner to keep his portion of a division fence in proper repair.

The owner of animals must notify the agistor of any known vicious trick or habit, or he will be responsible for the consequences. With respect to animals that are not usually mischievous or dangerous, the agistor is not supposed to know of any defect, but if he does know of any, for example that a horse has a vicious disposition, he is responsible for the consequences. Furthermore, an agistor is liable for all damage done to third persons by animals under his charge caused by his negligence. In some cases, however, both the owner and agistor have been held liable, though the more general rule releases the owner, because he is not in possession of his animals, unless he has selected

a careless or irresponsible agistor, or knows or believes that his animals are likely to commit injury.

Again, a stranger who wrongfully injures animals while they are in the agistor's possession, is liable to him, and he may maintain an action to recover for the loss. Lastly, though by the common law an agistor has no lien on the animals for his services, he may have by agreement and in most states by statute. See Bailor and Bailee.

Agreement to Purchase Land.-An agreement to purchase land must be in writing to be valid. Oral or parol agreements may be made to do many things, but everywhere the law makes an exception of agreements relating to land purchases. A statute that is quite similar in the states requires this agreement to be in writing and signed by the party against whom it is to be enforced. Thus if the seller wishes to enforce such an agreement, he must produce a writing signed by the purchaser; if the latter wishes to hold the seller, he must do the same thing. The better way is to have the writing signed by both parties.

How complete must the writing be? It need not mention the sum to be paid for the land; it can be signed with a lead pencil: a stamp signature will suffice. The entire agreement need not be on one piece of paper. If it can be made out from written correspondence between the two parties this will be enough.

To this rule of law there are some exceptions. Therefore if an oral agreement for the sale of land is followed by putting the buyer into possession, the law will compel the seller to give him a deed. The proceeding would consist of a petition addressed to a court of equity, which would inquire into the

facts, and if they were true, would compel the seller to give the purchaser a deed of the land. The reason for making this exception is, the purchaser would be a trespasser had he no right to be there: to justify his possession the law permits him to prove, if he can, his purchase of the land; and if he has bought it, of course he ought to have a deed of his title.

Once, a purchaser who made an oral agreement and paid part of the purchase money could compel the seller to give him a deed, and many still think such action is sufficient to bind the bargain. This is no longer the law. The practice gave rise to much fraud: A would assert that he gave money to B to pay for land when in truth it was given for some other purpose. So the courts abandoned the rule founded on the part payment of the purchase price. A can however get back his money.

An option to purchase land, contained in an agreement to sell, must be exercised within a reasonable time, if none is fixed in the agreement. See Deed.

Animals.-Wild animals, when reclaimed by the art and power of man, become qualified property, which is protected by law. A person who is chasing a wild animal and wounds it acquires a property therein so long as he remains in pursuit, and is the owner if successful in securing it. And if game is started on B's ground, and it escapes to the ground of C and is there killed, it becomes the property of the killer. By hiving and reclaiming bees a qualified property in them is acquired, and an unreclaimed swarm, like other wild animals, belongs to the first one who hives them. Again, if a swarm fly from the owner's hive, his qualified property in them continues so long as he can see

and pursue them. The finder of bees in a tree on another's land has no right either to the bees or to the tree; they belong to the owner of the land. Furthermore, should the finder obtain a license from him to carry them away, a later licensee who actually carries them away acquires a legal right to them.

A young buffalo captured, tamed, and reared with domestic cattle, becomes property, also doves when feeding on one's own land, wild geese that have been domesticated, fish enclosed in a net, parrots and singing birds, and when clams or oysters are reclaimed from nature and transplanted to a bed where none grew naturally, and the bed is so marked out by stakes as to show that they are in the possession of a private owner, they are personal property and may become the subject of larceny. "Mussels, having a practically fixed habitat and little ability to move, are as truly in the possession of the owner of the land in which they are sunk as would be a prehistoric boat discovered underground." Wild animals within the borders of a state are, so far as they are capable of ownership, owned by the state for the common benefit of all the people. The state may therefore regulate their taking and control.

In domestic animals one may have an absolute property, because they are always in possession of the owner; or, if they stray away from him, this is by accident, or wrongful taking. While larceny may be committed of all domestic animals, horses, swine, poultry, and the like, dogs are not included by the common law. By statute in many states Bruno's status has been raised to the same level as other domestic animals possessing a real value. Dogs are property within the fifteenth amendment to the federal constitution, which