55 
IDENTIFICATION OF PERSONS. 
Forest officers usually know local incendiaries, but 
they may need to spot persons unknown to themselves, 
such as hunters or campers responsible for fires. 
The face, of course, is most relied upon. The main 
point of the identification method used by experts, and 
the one most often overlooked by laymen, is careful 
study of details. Not only color of hair and eyes, general 
shape of head and face, whether clean shaven or other¬ 
wise, must be noted, but also contour of ears, rims, fleshi¬ 
ness and amount of lobes, and angle made with head 
(including aspect from behind); contour of chin and jaw 
from front, protrusion or recession in profile, “double” 
chin or otherwise; type of mouth, peculiarities of teeth, 
thickness of lips, peculiar twists and habitual surround¬ 
ing lines, if any, and characteristic expression; contour 
of nose, both front and profile, especially character of 
its point, and width, flare, and exposure of nostrils; eyes 
close or wide apart, how framed in head, size, external 
peculiarities—such as character of lids, appearance of 
cornea, size of pupil, and especially behavior and expres¬ 
sion of the eye; color, thickness, length, and disposition 
of the eyebrows, especially how nearly they meet across 
the nose; contour and slope of forehead, especially any 
prominent bulges over eyes, etc., and characteristic 
wrinkle marking; outline of edge of hair and its manner 
of growth; moles, warts, wens, scars, or other peculiar 
markings. These, of course, are in addition to the manner 
of carrying the head and other individualities, which 
give much aid in identification. 
When it is a question of identification from an indistinct 
photograph or one several years old, the most unchanging 
items are the following: Angle of spread of ears and con¬ 
formation of their lobes; type character of mouth and 
lips; conformation of end of nose, spread and exposure of 
nostrils; width apart of eyes; degree of approach of eye¬ 
brows across the nose; characteristic bulges of the fore¬ 
head, if any; and the peculiarities of the hair line (barring 
change by baldness, which is usually discernible if 
