21, 1884, except what he obtained by examining "the day-book that was kept in pencil by the man in the mill" Immediately upon the development of the source from which this witness obtained his information the appellant requested that his testimony on this point be stricken out. This request was refused. We think it should have been granted. Respondent introduced no other evidence of the value of the wheat, and the testimony of Mr. Fisher was widely variant from that of appellant's witnesses; hence it cannot be said that Fisher's evidence was not prejudicial to appellant. Courts have gone to great lengths in admitting testimony of this character. Information gained from inspection of invoices showing actual sales has been admitted as evidence of value. Lush v. Druse, 4 Wend. 313. In Finerstein's Champagne, 3 Wall. 145, the supreme court of the United States-three judges dissenting-admitted letters of third parties to show the value of certain imported wines. The letters, however, were written by large importing houses dealing in the same class of goods, and with a view to making sales. It has also been held that men engaged in the business and having large experience may testify as to value, although their information comes chiefly from price current lists and returns of sales furnished daily. Whitney v. Thatcher, 117 Mass. 527. In Sisson v. Railroad Co., 14 Mich. 489, and Railroad Co. v. Perkins, 17 Mich. 300, the market reports contained in commercial papers were admitted in evidence to establish values. We certainly are not warranted in going further in this direction than some of the foregoing cases have gone. To do so would be to disturb those ordinary conditions of safety and certainty which the law has always deemed essential in judicial investigations, and none of these cases would sustain the ruling of the trial court in this case. The witness obtained his information entirely from a pencil entry found in a book called the day-book at the mill. It is not shown when this entry was made, or by whom it was made, or that it was made by any party having any knowledge of the market. Under these circumstances, and the entry being strictly res inter alios acta, it would hardly be contended that the entry itself could be introduced in evidence against appellant, and yet the entry would certainly be more
