212 FOREST VALUATION 



sensitive to frost, drought and excessive moisture, but the 

 young trees soon become hardy. 



205. Injurious Fumes. The physical injury caused by 

 fumes is due to human activities. The fumes from copper 

 smelters will sometimes kill timber seventy-five miles from the 

 location of the smelter.* 



206. Moral Risks: Trespass. Timber products are fre- 

 quently stolen, but the theft is easily discovered, and it is not 

 difficult to identify the trespasser. Losses from this source are 

 the result of neglect of the property, and are easily eliminated by 

 proper marking and posting of boundaries, and the employment 

 of a custodian. The expense of such protection is serious for 

 small tracts whose owners reside at considerable distances, but is 

 immaterial for larger holdings. The character of the population 

 and ease with which small quantities of timber can be transported 

 determine the degree of hazard. 



Trespass is frequent in connection with logging operations, 

 where only a portion of the stand is to be cut, or where the logger 

 attempts to enlarge his operation at the expense of adjoining 

 owners. Reputable firms incur considerable expense in relo- 

 cating boundaries not only to prevent others from trespassing, 

 but to avoid accidental encroachment on adjoining lands by 

 their own employees. 



207. Moral Risks: Fire. Some fires are started by light- 

 ning, but the great majority are due to human agencies. Most 

 of these fires are caused by careless or unintentional acts, but 

 in some regions the habit of burning is firmly fixed, and occa- 

 sionally fires are set through malice. The moral risk thus in- 

 curred is so great in some southern states that it presents 

 an almost insuperable obstacle to forest production. In other 

 localities this risk is chiefly due to avoidable factors, such 

 as railroad operation, and yields to preventive measures and 

 education. 



208. Financial Risks. The risk of excessive future taxa- 

 tion is discussed in Chapter X. Unless this risk is removed, it 

 will prevent the practice of private forestry in the regions affected. 



* Deerlodge National Forest, Anaconda, Montana, 1912. 



