1 82 TRANSACTIONS OF ROYAL SCOTTISH ARBORICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



of the Commission followed familiar lines. The Selby Smelt- 

 ing & Lead Co. set up large works in Solano County, in the 

 State of California, for the smelting of ores. After a time the 

 inhabitants of the surrounding districts alleged that the works 

 were giving off fumes and smoke detrimental to vegetation and 

 to the health of the people. 



In 1908 the "people of the State of California " brought an 

 action against the Selby Smelting Co., which was tried before 

 a judge in the usual manner. Both sides brought forward 

 expert evidence to support their claims and to disprove the 

 statements made by their opponents. As a result, judgment 

 was given against the Smelting Company, who were required 

 by the Court to carry on their operations in such a manner as 

 not to cause damage to the vegetation or annoyance to the 

 inhabitants of the district. The Smelting Company twice 

 appealed against this decision, but the judgment of the first 

 Court was confirmed in the Supreme Court of the State in 191 2. 



During the progress of these legal proceedings the Smelting 

 Company made considerable alterations at their works and in 

 their methods, with the object of complying with the above 

 decree and abating the nuisance which undoubtedly appears 

 to have existed. 



In 1913, however, trouble broke out afresh, the inhabitants 

 of the country near the works alleging that a nuisance still 

 existed, and that the terms of the interdict were not being 

 observed. Both sides were again faced with the prospect of 

 further costly legal proceedings, with no guarantee that, at the 

 end, the case would be finally or equitably settled, or that either 

 side would be satisfied with the result. 



As the result of consultation between the parties, it was 

 agreed to appeal to the Court to appoint a Scientific Com- 

 mission to investigate the whole question and to carry out the 

 necessary experimental work to enable an equitable judgment 

 to be given. In appointing the Commission the Court clearly 

 recognised that much experimental work would be necessary, 

 inasmuch as sufficient data did not exist to enable the question 

 to be settled. The Court therefore appointed a Commission, 

 consisting of Mr J. A. Holmes, Director of the U.S. Bureau 

 of Mines (chairman), Mr Edward C. Franklin, Professor of 

 Organic Chemistry in the Stanford University, and Mr Ralph 

 A. Gould, Chemical Engineer, San Francisco, secretary of the 



