PECULIUM (Lat.). In Civil Law. The most ancient kind of peeulium was the peculiar& profectitium of the Roman law, which signi fied that portion of the property acquired by a son or slave which the father or master allowed him, to be managed as he saw fit. In modern civil law there are other kinds of peculium, viz.; peculium castrense, which in cludes all movables given to a son by rela tives and friends on his going on a campaign, all the presents of comrades, and his military pay and the things bought with it ; peculium guasi-castrense, which includes all acquired by a son by performing the duties of a public or spiritual office or of an advocate, and also gifts from the reigning prince; peculium ad ventitium, which includes the property of son's mother and relatives on that side of the house, and all which comes to him on a second marriage of his parents and, in gene ral, all his acquisitions which' do not come from his father's property and do not come under castrense or guasi-castrense peculium.
The peculium profectitium remains the pro perty of the father. The peculium castrenst and guasi-castrense are entirely the property' of the son. The peculium adventitium belongs to the son ; but he cannot alien it nor dis pose of it by will ; nor can the father, unless under peculiar circumstances, alien it with out consent of son. Mackeldy, Civ. Law. a 557-559 ; Vicat, Voc. Jur. ; Inst. 2. 9. 1 ; Dig. 15. 1. 5. 3 ; Pothier, ad_Pand. lib. 50, tit..17, c. 2, art. 3.
A master is not entitled to the extraordi nary. earnings of his apprentices which do not interfere with his services so as to affect the master's profits. An apprentice was therefore decreed to be entitled to salvage, in opposition to his master's. claim for it. 2 Cranch, 270.