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The following rules shall direct the determination of the judge in unforeseen cases, according to the peculiar circumstances of such cases.

ART. 513.-When two things belonging to different owners, and which have been united in such a manner as to form a whole, are nevertheless of a nature to be separated, so that one may exist without the other, the whole belongs to the owner of the thing which forms the principal part, under the obligation of reimbursing to the other the value of the thing which has been united to his own.

ART. 514.—The part which is considered as principal, is that to which the other has been united only for the use, ornament, or completion of the other.

Thus the diamond is the principal part with reference to the gold in which it is set.

The coat itself with reference to the lace, lining and embroidery.

ART. 515.-Nevertheless equity requires that there should be some exception to the preceding rule, when the thing united is much more precious than the principal thing, and when it has been made use of, unknown to the owner. In such case, the owner may demand that the thing be separated and returned to him; even though some injury should result to the thing to which it has been united.

ART. 516.—If of the two things united to form one whole, the one cannot be considered as the accession of the other, the most considerable in value or in bulk, if the value be nearly equal, shall be considered as the principal.

ART. 517.-If an artificer, or any person whatever, has employed materials which did not belong to him, in the making another article, whether the materials may or may not be brought back to their former shape, the person who was the owner of the materials, has a right

to claim the thing which was made out of them, on reimbursing the price of the workmanship.

ART. 518.-The rule established in the preceding article, does not apply when the worhmanship is so important that it greatly surpasses the value of the materials, which have been employed. Industry then is considered as the principal part, and gives the workman a right to keep the thing which he has made, on condition of reimbursing the price of the materials which were employed.

ART. 519.-When a person has employed materials, part of which did, and part of which did not belong to him, in making a thing of a new kind, without either parts of the materials being entirely destroyed, but in such a manner that they cannot be separated without inconvenience, the thing belongs in common to both proprietors, the share of the one being in proportion to the value of the materials which belonged to him, and of the other in proportion both to the value of the materials which belonged to him, and of the price of the workmanship.

ART. 520.-When a thing has been formed by a mixture of several materials belonging to different proprietors, neither of which can be considered as the principal substance, if the materials can be separated, the proprietor, without whose consent the mixture was made, may demand the separation.

If the materials cannot be separated without inconvenience, their owners acquire in common the property of the thing in proportion to the quantity, quality and value of the materials belonging to each of them.

ART. 521.—If the materials belonging to one of the proprietors, be far superior to the others, both in quantity and value, in that case the proprietor of the most valuable materials may claim the thing resulting from the mixture, on reimbursing to the other the value of his materials.

ART. 522.-When the thing remains in common to the proprietors of the materials with which it has been formed, it must be sold at auction for the common benefit..

ART. 523. In all cases where the proprietor, whose materials have been employed unknown to him in making a thing of another kind, has a right to claim the property of that thing, he is at liberty to demand either that the materials be returned to him in the same species, quantity, weight, measure and quality, or that their value be paid.

ART. 524.-Damages may also be recovered against those who have employed materials belonging to others, unknown to them, according to circumstances; and they are still liable to be prosecuted criminally, should the case require it.

TITLE III.

Of Usufruct, Use and Habitation.

CHAPTER I.

Of Usufruct.

SECTION I.

General Principles.

ART. 525.-Usufruct is the right of enjoying a thing, the property of which is vested in another, and to draw from the same all the profit, utility and advantages which it may produce, provided it be without altering the substance of the thing.

The obligation of not altering the substance of the thing takes place only in the case of a complete usufruct. ART. 526.-There are two kinds of usufruct:

Perfect usufruct, which is of things which the usufructuary can enjoy without changing their substance, though their substance may be diminished or deteriorated

naturally by time or by the use to which they are applied; as a house, a piece of land, slaves, furniture and other moveable effets:

And imperfect or quasi-usufruct, which is of things which would be useless to the usufructuary, if he did not consume or expend them, or change the substance of them, as money, grain, liquors.

ART. 527.-Perfect usufruct does not transfer to the usufructuary the property of the things subject to the usufruct; the usufructuary is bound to use them as a prudent administrator would do, to preserve them as much as possible, in order to restore them to the owner as soon as the usufruct terminates.

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ART. 528. Imperfect usufruct, on the contrary, transfers to the usufructuary the property of the things subject to the usufruct, so that he may consume, sell or dispose of them, as he thinks proper, subject to certain charges hereinafter prescribed.

ART. 529.-Usufruct is an incorporeal thing, because it consists in a right.

ART. 530.-Usufruct is divisible; for if this right is vested in several persons at a time, there is but one usufruct, which is divided among them, each having his portion. The reason is because the object of his right is the receiving the fruits of the thing, which are corporeal and divisible.

ART. 531.-Usufruct may, from its origin, be conferred on several persons in divided or undivided portions. ART. 532.-Usufruct may be established by all sorts of titles, by a deed of sale, by a marriage contract, by donation, compromise, exchange, last will and even by operation of law.

Thus the usufruct to which a father is entitled on the estate of his children during the marriage, is a legal usufruct.

ART. 533.-Usufruct may be established on every

description of estates moveable or immoveable, corporeal and incorporeal.

ART. 534.-Usufruct may be established simply; or to take place at a certain day, or under condition, in a word, under all such modifications as the person who gives such a right, may be pleased to annex to it.

ART. 535.-It may be granted to all such as may be possessed of an estate, even to communities or corporations.

SECTION II.

Of the Rights of the Usufructuary.

ART. 536.—All kinds of fruits, natural, cultivated or civil, produced, during the existence of the usufruct, by the things subject to it, with the exception of the children of slaves, belong to the usufructuary.

ART. 537.-Natural fruits are such as are the spontaneous produce of the earth; the produce and increase of cattle, and the children of slaves are likewise natural fruits.

The fruits, which result from industry bestowed on a piece of ground, are those which are obtained by cul

tivation.

Civil fruits are rents of real property, the interest of money and annuities.

All other kinds of revenue or income derived from property by the operation of the law or private agreement, are civil fruits.

ART. 538.-The natural fruits, or such as are the pro. duce of industry, hanging by branches or by roots, at the time when the usufruct is open, belong to the usufructuary.

Fruits in the same state, at the moment when the usufruct is at an end, belong to the owner, without being obliged to compensate the other, for either work or seeds.

ART. 539.-The children of slaves subject to usufruct,

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