CHAPTER XIII 



LAND TENURE, PERMIT AND TRESPASS PRACTICE; 

 INSURANCE; PATENTS. 



A general knowledge of the laws relating to trespass is extremely 

 important to those engaged in geophysical field operations. Rarely does 

 a field party complete its exploratory work without trespassing on the 

 property of others. Covering, as a field party does, a very wide range 

 of territory, with operations in states and localities in which the principal 

 business of its concern is not located, it becomes of prime importance 

 that the geophysical field party be instructed in certain basic principles 

 of law relating thereto and the medium through which the employer can 

 be protected from vexatious quarrels and litigation. Good-will of the pub- 

 lic, and particularly of landowners, is essential to efficient geophysical 

 prospecting w^th its allied leasing operations. In fact, it is only with the 

 good-will and consent of landowners and lessees that most field operations 

 can be carried on. It is the surface landowner's natural right to expect 

 to be consulted before his fences are let down or fields crossed and if 

 damage is done to his crops or other surface rights, he is entitled to just 

 compensation for such loss. It is therefore necessary for every member 

 of a party to be mindful at all times of the individual rights of others, not 

 only because it pays to maintain the good-will of the public but from the 

 legal standpoint such consideration prevents expensive and ofttimes pro- 

 tracted litigation. 



The nature of this volume on geophysics prevents any extended dis- 

 cussion of the manner in which permission to enter upon lands of another 

 is obtained or an oil and gas lease is acquired prior to making a survey. 

 Of necessity this chapter is limited to a brief treatment of the more general 

 procedures followed, and a consideration of principles which should serve 

 to guide field parties when operating in various localities. 



Land Tenure 



There is a fundamental difiference between the manner in which mineral 

 claims and petroleum leases are acquired. This should be appreciated at 

 the outset, since it has a bearing on the procedures followed in conducting 

 surveys over these lands. The difiference arises from the nature of the 

 mining laws of our country, which require that mineral be discovered in 

 place in order to file a valid discovery notice ; the geophysical anomaly does 

 not fulfill the requirements of discovery on the public domain. The prin- 



