Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1885

Commonwealth v. Perry

Commonwealth v. Perry
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court · Decided March 25, 1885 · Holmes
139 Mass. 198; 29 N.E. 656; 1885 Mass. LEXIS 64

Commonwealth v. Perry

Opinion of the Court

Holmes, J.

A piggery in which swine are kept in such numbers that their natural odors fill the air thereabouts, and make the occupation of the neighboring houses and passage over the adjacent highways disagreeable, or worse, is a nuisance. Commonwealth v. Kidder, 107 Mass. 188, 192. Regina v. Wigg, 2 Salk. 460; S. C. 2 Ld. itaym. 1163. See Commonwealth v. Oaks, 113 Mass. 8; Commonwealth v. Upton, 6 Gray, 473. The indictment was sufficient, and the instructions asked were erroneous. See further Commonwealth v. Rumford Chemical Works, 16 Gray, 231; Commonwealth v. Sweeney, 131 Mass. 579; Commonwealth v. Brown, 13 Met. 365. No defect has been pointed out in the instructions given. It would have been well if they had impressed more fully on the jury that the question was one of degree; but that was implied by what was said, and the defendant asked for nothing more specific.

Evidence of the practice throughout the Commonwealth was inadmissible. See Cutter v. Howe, 122 Mass. 541, 549.

Exceptions overruled.

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.