any legal subdivision of 80 acres, or 2 acres on any legal subdivision of 40 acres or less, shall be entitled to a patent for the whole of said quarter-section, or of such legal subdivision of 80 or 40 acres, or fractional subdivision of less than 40 acres, as the case may be, at the expiration of said eight years, on making proof of such fact by not less than two credible witnesses, and a full compliance of the further conditions as provided in the next section; provided, that not more than one quarter of any section shall be thus granted, and that no person shall make more than one entry under the provisions of this law. 20 Stat. 113, 114, 115. § 271. Oath on Application for Entry.-The person applying for the benefits of this law shall, upon application to the register of the land district in which he or she is about to make such entry, make affidavit, before the register or the receiver, or the clerk of some court of record, or officer authorized to administer oaths in the district where the land is situated; which affidavit shall be as follows, to wit: I,, having filed my application number, for an entry under the provisions of an act entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An act to encourage the growth of timber on the western prairies,"" approved 18-, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am the head of a family (or over twenty-one years of age), and a citizen of the United States (or have declared my intention to become such); that the section of land specified in my said application is composed exclusively of prairie lands, or other lands devoid of timber; that this filing and entry is made for the cultivation of timber, and for my own exclusive use and benefit; that I have made the said application in good faith, and not for the purpose of speculation, or directly or indirectly for the use or benefit of any other person or persons whatsoever; that I intend to hold and cultivate the land, and to fully comply with the provisions of the law; and that I have not heretofore made an entry under the timber-culture laws. 20 Stat. 113, 114, 115. § 272. Number of Acres to be Broken and Planted Annually.Upon filing said affidavit with the register and receiver, and on payment of ten dollars, if the tract applied for is more than eighty acres, and five dollars if it is eighty acres or less, he or she shall thereupon be permitted to enter the quantity of land specified; and the party making an entry of a quarter-section shall be required to break or plow five acres covered thereby the first year, five acres the second year, and to cultivate to crop or otherwise the five acres broken or plowed the first year; the third year he or she shall cultivate to crop or otherwise the five acres broken the second year, and to plant in timber, seeds, or cuttings the five acres first broken or plowed, and to cultivate and put in crop or otherwise the remaining five acres, and the fourth year to plant in timber, seeds, or cuttings the remaining five acres. All entries of less quantity than one quarter-section shall be plowed, planted, cultivated, and planted to trees, treeseeds, or cuttings, in the same manner and in the same proportion as hereinbefore provided for a quarter-section; provided, however, that in case such trees, seeds, or cuttings shall be destroyed by grasshoppers, or by extreme and unusual drought for any year or term of years, the time for planting such trees, seeds, or cuttings shall be extended one year for every such year that they are so destroyed; provided further, that the person making such entry shall, before he or she shall be entitled to such extension of time, file with the register and the receiver of the proper land office an affidavit, corroborated by two witnesses, setting forth the destruction of such trees, and that, in consequence of such destruction, he or she is compelled to ask an extension of time, in accordance with the provisions of this law. 20 Stat. 113, 114, 115. $273. Proof of Cultivation, Final Certificate, and Patent.-No final certificate shall be given, or patent issued, for the land so entered until the expiration of eight years from the date of such entry; and if, at the expiration of such time, or at any time within five years thereafter, the person making such entry, or, if he or she be dead, his or her heirs or legal representatives, shall prove by two credible witnesses that he, or she, or they have planted, and, for not less than eight years, have cultivated and protected such quantity and character of trees as aforesaid; that not less than twenty-seven hundred trees were planted on each acre, and that at the time of making such proof there shall be then growing at least six hundred and seventy-five living and thrifty trees to each acre, they shall receive a patent for such tract of land. 20 Stat. 113, 114, 115. $274. Right to be Forfeited on Failure to Comply with the Law.— If at any time after the filing of said affidavit, and prior to the issuing of the patent for said land, the claimant shall fail to comply with any of the requirements of this law, then and in that event such land shall be subject to entry under the homestead laws, or by some other person under the provisions of this law; provided, that the party making claim to said land, either as a homestead settler, or under this law, shall give, at the time of filing his application, such notice to the original claimant as shall be prescribed by the rules established by the commissioner of the general land office; and the rights of the parties shall be determined as in other contested cases. 20 Stat. 113, 114, 115. § 275. Land not Liable for Prior Debts.-No land acquired under the provisions of this law shall, in any event, become liable to the satisfaction of any debt or debts contracted prior to the issuing of the final certificate therefor. 20 Stat. 113, 114, 115. § 276. Commissioner to Make Regulations.-The commissioner of the general land office is required to prepare and issue such rules and regulations, consistent with this law, as shall be necessary and proper to carry its provisions into effect; and the registers and receivers of the several land offices shall each be entitled to receive two dollars at the time of entry, and the like sum when the claim is finally established and the final certificate issued. 20 Stat. 113, 114, 115. § 277. False Oath Constitutes Perjury.-The fifth section of the act entitled "An act in addition to an act to punish crimes against the United States, and for other purposes,” approved March 3, 1857, shall extend to all oaths, affirmations, and affidavits required or authorized by this act. 11 Stat. 250; 20 Id. 113, 114, 115; R. S. 5392. § 278. Entries under Former Laws, how Perfected.-Parties who have already made entries under the acts approved March 3, 1873, and March 13, 1874, shall be permitted to complete the same upon full compliance with the provisions of this chapter; that is, they shall, at the time of making their final proof, have had under cultivation, as required by this chapter, an amount of timber sufficient to make the number of acres required by this chapter; and all laws and parts of laws in conflict with the provisions of this chapter are hereby repealed. 17 Stat. 605; 18 Id. 21; 20 Id. 113, 114, 115. § 279. Publication of Notices of Contest.-The notices of contest provided by law under the tree-culture laws shall be printed in some newspaper printed in the county where the land in contest lies; and if no newspaper be printed in such county, then in the newspaper printed in the county nearest to such land. 20 Stat. 91. § 280. Lands Relinquished by Timber-culture Claimants Subject to Entry at Once.-When any timber-culture claimant shall file a written relinquishment of his claim in the local land office, the land covered by such claim shall be held as open to settlement and entry, without further action on the part of the commissioner of the general land office. Act of May 14, 1880. § 281. Contestant of Timber-culture Entry Allowed Thirty Days after Notice of Cancellation to Make Entry.-In all cases where any person has contested, paid the land office fees, and procured the cancellation of any timber-culture entry, he shall be notified by the register of the land office of the district in which such land is situated of such cancellation, and shall be allowed thirty days from date of such notice to enter said lands; and the register shall be entitled to a fee of one dollar for the giving of such notice, to be paid by the contestant, and not to be reported. Act of May 14, 1880. § 290. Municipal Pre-emption Act of May 23, 1844. Trus § 293. General Circular, October 1, 1880. § 297. Surveyed and Unsurveyed Lands. § 282. First Method.-There are two methods of acquiring title to town sites on public lands. By one method, under sections 2382, 2383, 2384, and 2385 of the revised statutes of the United States, the area of the city or town is limited to 640 acres. The founders are to lay it off in lots. A map is to be made, describing its exterior boundaries, according to the lines of the public surveys, where such lines are executed, giving the name of the city or town, exhibiting the streets, squares, blocks, lots, etc., the lots not to exceed 4,200 square feet, with a statement of the extent and general character of the improvements; the map and statement to be verified under oath by the party acting for and in behalf of the persons proposing to establish the city or town. The map and statement must be filed with the recorder for the county in which the town is situated, and if it is in an organized land district, a verified copy must be filed with the register and receiver. Within a month after the filing in the recorder's office, a similar verified copy must be filed in the general land office, with the testimony of two witnesses that the city or town has been established in good faith. The lots may then be offered for sale at a minimum of ten dollars for each lot. § 283. Second Method.--Where it is preferred, as it usually is, the other method may be adopted. Sections 2387, 2388, and |