Legal Definitions - plowbote

Plowbote refers to a historical legal right, typically granted to a tenant of agricultural land, allowing them to take a reasonable amount of timber or wood from the leased property. This wood is specifically designated for the purpose of repairing or maintaining agricultural implements and machinery, such as plows, carts, harrows, and other tools essential for farming the land. It ensures the tenant can continue their agricultural activities by providing the necessary resources for equipment upkeep directly from the property.

• Example 1: A farmer, under a long-term lease for a large estate that includes a small forest, discovers that the wooden axle of his hay wagon has split and needs replacement. The lease agreement, or established common law in that historical period, grants him the right of plowbote. He is therefore permitted to fell a suitable tree from the designated forest on the leased land to obtain the timber needed to craft a new axle for his wagon, ensuring he can continue transporting harvested crops.

  Explanation: This illustrates plowbote because the farmer is taking wood from the leased property specifically to repair an agricultural implement (the hay wagon) that is vital for his farming operations, without having to purchase the timber elsewhere.

• Example 2: In the 18th century, a tenant farmer cultivating a landlord's fields finds that the wooden frame of his seed drill, a crucial tool for planting, has rotted and become unusable. His tenancy agreement includes the right of plowbote. He exercises this right by cutting down a specific type of timber from a woodlot on the leased land to rebuild the frame of his seed drill, allowing him to complete the planting season on schedule.

  Explanation: Here, plowbote enables the tenant to source materials directly from the property to repair a fundamental piece of farm equipment (the seed drill), which is essential for his agricultural productivity.

• Example 3: A tenant managing a dairy farm in a historical context needs to repair the wooden shafts of his manure spreader, which have become dangerously weak. His lease explicitly grants him plowbote. He is allowed to select and cut down a small, appropriate tree from the non-cultivated portion of the leased land to fashion new, sturdy shafts for the spreader, thereby maintaining an important piece of equipment for fertilizing his fields.

  Explanation: This example demonstrates plowbote by showing the tenant's right to use timber from the leased property to mend an agricultural implement (the manure spreader) that is integral to the farm's operation and upkeep.