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: 
(1) 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, 
