been foreseen and which render it impracticable to cultivate the land, or because, subsequent to entry, the land becomes useless for agricultural purposes through no fault of the entryman. There is no specific statute authorizing the making of second entries in these classes of cases, and such entries are allowed under the general equitable power of the Land Department to grant relief in cases of accident and mistake. (e) Any person otherwise qualified, who has made final proof for less than 160 acres under the homestead laws, may make an additional entry for such an amount of public lands as will, when added to the amount for which he has already made proof, not exceed in the aggregate 160 acres. Residence, cultivation, and improvement must be performed as in the case of an original entry. (f) Each application for second or additional entry must give the date and number of the former entry and the land office at which it was made, or the section, township, and range in which the land entered was located. Any person coming within paragraphs (a), (b), or (e) must also give date when the former entry was perfected. Any person coming within paragraph (c) must show by the affidavit of himself and some other person or persons the date when his former entry was lost, forfeited, or abandoned; that it was not canceled for fraud; and the consideration, if any, received for the abandonment or relinquishment. Any person coming within paragraph (d) must, in addition to the evidence above specified, show in his corroborated affidavit the grounds on which he seeks relief, and that he used due diligence prior to entry to avoid mistake. (g) A person who has made, lost, forfeited, or abandoned an entry of less than 160 acres is not entitled to another entry unless he comes within paragraph (c) or (d) above. Such a person can not make another entry merely because his first entry contained less than 160 acres. 14. An additional homestead entry may be made by a person for such an amount of public lands adjoining lands then held and resided upon by him under his original entry as will, when added to such adjoining lands, not exceed in the aggregate 160 acres. An entry of this kind may be made by any person who has not acquired title to and is not, at the date of his application, claiming under any of the agricultural public-land laws, through settlement or entry made since August 30, 1890, any other lands which, with the land then applied for, would exceed in the aggregate 320 acres, but the applicant will not be required to show any of the other qualifications of a homestead entryman. See, however, instructions under the enlarged homestead act (par. 47). 15. An adjoining farm entry may be made for such an amount of public lands lying contiguous to lands owned and resided upon by the applicant as will not, with the lands so owned and resided upon, exceed in the aggregate 160 acres; but no person will be entitled to make entry of this kind who is not qualified to make an original homestead entry. A person who has made one homestead entry, although for a less amount than 160 acres, and perfected title thereto, is not qualified to make an adjoining farm entry. HOW HOMESTEAD ENTRIES ARE MADE. 16. A homestead entry may be made by the presentation to the land office of the district in which the desired lands are situated of an application properly prepared on blank forms prescribed for that purpose and sworn to before either the register or the receiver, or before a United States commissioner, or a judge, or a clerk of a court of record, in the county or parish in which the land lies, or before any officer of the classes named who resides in the land district and nearest or most accessible to the land, although he may reside outside of the county in which the land is situated. 17. Each application to enter and the affidavits accompanying it must recite all the facts necessary to show that the applicant is acquainted with the land; that the land is not, to the applicant's knowledge, either saline or mineral in character; that the applicant possesses all of the qualifications of a homestead entryman; that the application is honestly and in good faith made for the purpose of actual settlement and cultivation, and not for the benefit of any other person, persons, or corporation; that the applicant will faithfully and honestly endeavor to comply with the requirements of the law as to settlement, residence, and cultivation necessary to acquire title to the land applied for; that the applicant is not acting as the agent of any person, persons, corporation, or syndicate in making such entry, nor in collusion with any person, corporation, or syndicate to give them the benefit of the land entered or any part thereof; that the application is not made for the purpose of speculation, but in good faith to obtain a home for the applicant, and that the applicant has not directly or indirectly made, and will not make, any agreement or contract in any way or manner with any person or persons, corporation, or syndicate whatsoever by which the title he may acquire from the Government to the lands applied for shall inure, in whole or in part, to the benefit of any person except himself. 18. All applications by persons claiming as settlers must, in addition to the facts required in paragraph 17, state the date and describe the acts of settlement under which they claim a preferred right of entry, and applications by the widows, devisees, or heirs of settlers must state facts showing the death of the settler and their right to make entry, that the settler was qualified to make entry at the time of his death, and that the heirs or devisees applying to enter are citizens of the United States or have declared their intentions to become such citizens, but they are not required to state facts showing any other qualifications of a homestead entryman, and the fact that they have made a former entry will not prevent them from making an entry as such heirs or devisees, nor will the fact that a person has made entry as the heir or devisee of the settler prevent him from making an entry in his own individual right if he is otherwise qualified to do so. 19. All applications by soldiers, sailors, or their widows, or the guardians of their minor children should be accompanied by proper evidence of the soldier's or sailor's service and discharge and of the fact that the soldier or sailor had not, prior to his death, made an entry in his own right. The application of the widow of the soldier or sailor must also show that she is unmarried and that the right has not been exercised by any other person. Applications for the children of soldiers or sailors must show that the father died without having made entry, that the mother died or remarried without making entry, and that the person applying to make entry for them is their legally appointed guardian. 20. Applications for entry must be accompanied by the proper fee and commissions. (See par 41.) A receipt for the money is at once issued, but this is merely evidence that the money has been paid and as to the purpose thereof. If the application is allowed and the entry placed of record, formal notice of this fact is issued on the prescribed form; if the application is rejected or suspended, notice of such action is forwarded to the applicant as soon as practicable. RIGHTS OF WIDOWS, HEIRS, OR DEVISEES UNDER THE HOMESTEAD LAWs. 21. If a homestead settler dies before he makes entry, his widow has the exclusive right to enter the lands covered by his settlement. If there be no widow, the right to enter the lands covered by the settlement passes to the persons who are named as heirs of the settler by the laws of the State in which the land lies. If there be no widow or heirs, the right to enter the lands covered by the settlement passes to the person to whom the settler has devised his rights by a proper will; but a devisee of the claim will not be entitled to take when there is a widow or an heir of the settler. The persons to whom the settler's right of entry passes must make entry within the time named in paragraph 4 or they will forfeit their right to the next qualified applicant. They may, however, make entry after that time if no adverse claim has attached. 22. If a homestead entryman dies before making final proof, his rights under his entry will pass to his widow; or if there be no widow, and the entryman's children are all minors, the right to a patent vests in them upon making publication of notice and proof of the death of the entryman without a surviving widow, that they are the only minor children and that there are no adult heirs of the entryman, or the land may be sold for the benefit of such minor children in the manner in which other lands belonging to minors are sold under the laws of the State or Territory in which the minors are domiciled. If the children of a deceased entryman are not all minors and his wife is dead, his rights under the entry pass to the persons who are his heirs under the laws of the State or Territory in which the lands are situated. If there be no widow or heirs of the entryman, the rights under the entry pass to the person to whom the entryman has devised his rights by proper will, but a devisee of the entry will be entitled to take only in the event there is no widow or heir of the entryman. 23. If a contestant dies after having secured the cancellation of an entry his right as a successful contestant to make entry passes to his heirs; and if the contestant dies before he has secured the cancellation of the entry he has contested, his heirs may continue the prosecution of his contest and make entry if they are successful in the contest. In either case to entitle the heirs to make entry they must show that the contestant was a qualified entryman at the date of his death; and in order to earn a patent the heirs must comply with all the requirements of the law under which the entry was made, to the same extent as would have been required of the contestant had he made entry. 24. The unmarried widow, or, in case of her death or remarriage, the minor children of soldiers and sailors who were honorably discharged after 90 days' actual service during the War of the Rebellion, the Spanish-American War, or the Philippine insurrection may make entry as such widow or minor children if the soldier or sailor died without making entry, or failed to perfect an entry and was, at the time of his death, qualified to make another. The minor children must make a joint entry through their duly appointed guardian. RESIDENCE AND CULTIVATION REQUIRED UNDER THE HOMESTEAD LAWS. 25. A homestead entryman is required to establish residence upon the land within six months after date of entry unless an extension of time is allowed, as explained in paragraph 35, and is required to maintain residence there for a period of three years. He may absent himself, however, for a portion of each year succeeding establishment of residence, as more fully explained in paragraph 26. Residence and cultivation in the case of an adjoining farm homestead or of an additional homestead entry for a tract contiguous to an original homestead entry may be maintained either upon the original or additional farm. 26. During each year, beginning with the date of establishment of actual residence, the entryman may absent himself from the land for one period of not exceeding five months, but the law does not authorize a number of shorter absences aggregating this period. In order to be entitled to this absence the entryman need not file application therefor, but must at the time he leaves the land file, by mail or otherwise, at the proper local land office, notice of time of leaving, and upon returning to the land must notify said office of the date of his return. A second period of absence immediately following the first, though in different years of residence, is not permitted by the law; there must be some substantial term of actual continuous residence between the periods of absence. 27. (a) Cultivation of the land for a period of three years is required, and this must generally consist of actual breaking of the soil, followed by planting, sowing of seed, and tillage for a crop other than native grasses. However, tilling of the land, or other appropriate treatment, for the purpose of conserving the moisture with a view of making a profitable crop the succeeding year, will be deemed cultivation within the terms of the act (without sowing of seed), where that manner of cultivation is necessary or generally followed in the locality. During the second year not less than one-sixteenth of the area entered must be actually cultivated, and during the third year, and until final proof, cultivation of not less than one-eighth must be had; these requirements are applicable to all homesteads, under the general law and under the enlarged homestead acts, excepting those under section 6 of said acts (see paragraphs 48 and 49); they do not apply to entries under the reclamation act or under the so-called Kinkaid Act, applicable to Nebraska. (b) The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to reduce the requirements as to cultivation. This may be done, if the land entered is so hilly or rough, the soil so alkaline, compact, sandy, or swampy, or the precipitation of moisture so light as not to make cultivation of the required amounts practicable, or if the land is generally valuable only for grazing. An application for reduction upon the grounds indicated must be filed at the proper local land office on the form prescribed therefor, and should set forth in detail the special physical conditions of the land, on which claimant bases his right to a reduction. A reduction may be allowed also if the entryman, after making entry and establishing residence, has met with misfortune which renders him reasonably unable to cultivate the prescribed area. In this class of cases an application for reduction is not to be filed, but |