LEGAL VALUE OF SHADE TREES 233 



ger of injury from horses, street traffic and kindred ele 

 ments. The existence of numerous water and gas pipes, 

 sewers and conduits is apt to necessitate much digging, 

 and this interferes with tree values. Manufacturing dis 

 tricts, with their atmosphere of smoke and gases, are not 

 good tree locations, and although trees are desirable in 

 such districts, they do not attain the maximum of value 

 against these handicaps. Similar disadvantages accrue to 

 the tree so located as to suffer from sun-scorch or drought. 



Character and quality of soil enter largely into the 

 value of the individual shade tree. If a tree is located in 

 favorable soil, its value is much increased. Cultivated 

 soil is better than a lawn, of course, but, next to cultiva 

 tion, lawn conditions are most favorable to proper growth 

 and development. Abnormal soil conditions and unsuit 

 able soil texture work against a tree and its value. The 

 distance from a residence and its direction in relation 

 thereto, involve a tree's worth in terms of shade and, 

 therefore, play a part in its general appraisal. There is on 

 oiled roads also a possibility of injury to the roots them 

 selves, if the oil filters through the soil. 



Shade tree valuation has been approached in various 

 ways by students of the question. The methods followed 

 may be summed up under seven headings, as follows: 



(i) The Arbitrary Method. This is an elemental 

 basis for providing penalties for damage to trees, with an ef 

 fort to establish some relationship between the penalty and 

 the value of the tree itself. In Massachusetts, a state law 

 authorizes the court to place a fine of not less than $5.00, 

 nor more than $150 for injury or destruction of an in 

 dividual tree. The assessment of actual damage is left 

 to the discretion of the court. The earliest application of 

 this principle in American records was the action of the 

 town meeting of Newark, New Jersey, on February 6, 



