Bava Batra 81 – Buying Trees

If someone purchases two trees in his neighbor's field, he has not acquired any land - he has merely purchased the rights to their produce. Thus, if a tree dies, the buyer takes the dead wood, but he may not plant a tree on that site. Rabbi Meir, however, says that he has acquired land.

Therefore, if the branches of the trees grow until they extend over the seller's land, the seller may not trim them, even if they block sunlight and thus damage his crops. Since the buyer gets no land, it is understood that the seller pledges his own land to provide for the tree's needs.

If someone purchases three trees, he has acquired land since he surely intended to buy a field of trees. Therefore, if the branches grow over the seller's land, the seller may trim them.

Art: Part at Monsieur Wall by Corot