notice of the misfortune and of its nature must be submitted to the register of the local land office, under oath, within 60 days after its occurrence; upon satisfactory proof regarding the misfortune at the time of submitting final proof a reduction in area of cultivation during the period of disability following the misfortune may be permitted.

(c) The homestead entryman must have a habitable house upon the land entered at the time of submitting proof. Other improvements should be of such character and amount as are sufficient to show good faith.

(d) By paragraph 16 of the instructions of November 1, 1913, the Secretary of the Interior (under his statutory authority to reduce the requirements as to cultivation) has prescribed the following rule to govern action on proofs submitted under the new law, where the homestead entry was made prior to June 6, 1912:

Respecting cultivation necessary to be shown upon such an entry, in all cases where, upon considering the whole record, the good faith of the entryman appears, the proof will be acceptable if it shows cultivation of at least onesixteenth for one year and of at least one-eighth for the next year and each succeeding year until final proof, without regard to the particular year of the homestead period in which the cultivation of the one-sixteenth was performed.

(e) Entries made prior to June 6, 1912, may be perfected either by showing compliance with the requirements of the three-year act of June 6, 1912, or with the provisions of the old homestead law. The former law required five years' residence, there being no specific provision regarding the extent to which the entryman might absent himself; it made no requirement of cultivation of a specific proportion of the area of the entry, but the claimant was obliged to show such cultivation as was reasonable under the circumstances of the case.

(f) Where a qualified person settled upon a tract of unsurveyed public land, subject to settlement, prior to the passage of the act of June 6, 1912, but made entry after its enactment or shall hereafter make entry, he may elect to submit proof under said act or under the law existing when he established his residence upon the land. The filing of a formal election is not required, but the designation of three-year or five-year proof, in the notice to submit same, may constitute such election.

28. A soldier or sailor of one of the classes mentioned in paragraph 5 who makes entry as such must begin his residence and cultivation of the land entered by him within six months from the date of filing his declaratory statement, but if he makes entry without filing a declaratory statement he must begin his residence within six months after the date of the entry. Thereafter he must continue both residence and cultivation for such period as will, when added to the time of his military or naval service (under enlistment or enlistments

covering war periods), amount to three years; but if he was discharged on account of wounds or disabilities incurred in the line of duty, credit for the whole term of his enlistment may be allowed; however, no patent will issue to such soldier or sailor until there has been residence and cultivation by him for at least one year, nor until a habitable house has been placed upon the land. If the soldier's military service was sufficient in duration to require only one year's residence and improvement upon the claim, the entryman must perform such an amount of cultivation as to evidence his good faith as a homestead claimant. If his military service was of such limited duration as to require more than one year's residence upon the claim he will be required to perform cultivation to the extent of one-sixteenth of the area of the entry, beginning with the second year thereof, and not less than one-eighth, beginning with the third year of the entry and thereafter until final proof.

No credit can be allowed for military service where commutation proof is offered.

29. A soldier or sailor making entry during his enlistment in time of peace is not required to reside personally on the land, but may receive patent if his family maintain the necessary residence and cultivation until the entry is 3 years old or until it has been commuted; but a soldier or sailor is not entitled to credit on account of his military service in time of peace. If such soldier has no family, there is no way by which he can make entry and acquire title during his enlistment in time of peace.

30. Widows and minor orphan children of soldiers and sailors who make entry based on the husband's or father's military or naval service must conform to the requirements specified for the soldier or sailor in paragraph 28.

31. Persons who make entry as the widow, heirs, or devisee of settlers are not required to reside upon the land entered by them, but they must improve and cultivate it for such period as, added to the time during which the settler resided on and cultivated the land, will make the required period of three years, and the cultivation must be to the extent required by the law under which the proof is offered. Commutation proof may, however, be made upon showing 14 months' actual residence and cultivation had either by the settler or the heirs, devisee, or widow, or in part by the settler and in part by the widow, heirs, or devisee. 32. Persons succeeding as widow, heirs, or devisees to the rights of a homestead entryman are not required to reside upon the land covered by the entry, but they must cultivate it as required by law for such period as will, added to the entryman's period of compliance with the law, aggregate the required term of three years. They are allowed a reasonable time after the entryman's death within which

to begin cultivation, proper regard being had to the season of the year at which said death occurred. If they desire to commute the entry, they must show a 14 months' period of such residence and cultivation on the part of themselves or the entryman, or both, as would have been required of him had he survived.

33. Homestead entrymen who have been elected to Federal, State, or county offices after making entry and establishing their actual residence on the land are not required to continue such residence during their term of office if the administration of their bona fide official duties necessarily requires them to reside elsewhere than on the land, but they must continue the improvement and cultivation of the land for the statutory period. Such officeholder can not commute his entry unless he can show at least 14 months' actual residence on the land preceding date of final proof. A person who makes entry or establishes residence after he has been elected to office is not excused from maintaining residence, but must comply with the law in the same manner as though he had not been elected. Persons holding appointive offices are not entitled to the foregoing privileges. 34. Neither residence nor cultivation by an insane homestead entryman is necessary after he becomes insane, if such entryman made entry and established residence before he became insane and complied with the requirements of the law up to the time his insanity began. Proof on the entry may be submitted by his duly appointed guardian or committee after the expiration of three years from its date. If the entryman is an alien and has not been fully naturalized, evidence of his declaration of intention to become a citizen is sufficient. 35. (a) Where, for climatic reasons, or on account of sickness, or other unavoidable cause, residence can not be established on the land within six months after the date of the entry, additional time, not exceeding six months, may be allowed. An application for such extension must include the affidavits of the entryman and two witnesses acquainted with the facts, which may be executed before any officer authorized to administer oaths and having a seal of office, though outside of the county or land district where the entry is situated. The application should set forth in detail the grounds upon which it is based, including a statement as to the probable duration of the hindering causes and the date when the claimant may reasonably expect to establish his residence.

If the extension is granted, it protects the entry from contest on the ground of the homesteader's failure to establish residence within the first six-months' period, unless it be shown that the order for extension was fraudulently obtained. But the failure of the entryman to apply for an extension of time does not forfeit his right to show, in defense of a contest, the existence of conditions which might have been made the basis for such an application.

(b) Leave of absence for one year or less may be granted by the register and receiver of the local land office to entrymen who have established actual residence on the lands in cases where total or partial failure or destruction of crops, sickness, or other unavoidable casualty has prevented the entryman from supporting himself and those dependent on him by cultivation of the land. Applications for such leave of absence must be sworn to by the applicant and corroborated by at least one witness in the land district or county within which the entered lands are located before an officer authorized to administer oaths and having a seal. Applications must describe the entry and show the date of establishing residence on the land and the extent and character of the improvements and cultivation performed by applicant. It must also set forth fully the facts on which the claimant bases his right to leave of absence, and where sickness is given as the reason a certificate signed by a reputable physician should be furnished if practicable.

COMMUTATION OF HOMESTEAD ENTRIES.

36. All original, second, and additional homestead, and adjoining farm entries may be commuted, except such entries as are made under particular laws which forbid their commutation.

The entryman or his statutory successor submitting such proof must show substantially continuous residence upon the land, and cultivation thereof, for a period of at least 14 months immediately preceding submission of proof or filing of notice of intention to submit same, and the existence of a habitable house upon the claim. Where the entry was made after June 6, 1912, the proof must show cultivation of at least one-sixteenth of its acreage.

A person submitting commutation proof must, in addition to certain fees, pay the price of the land; this is ordinarily $1.25 per acre, but is $2.50 per acre for lands within the limits of certain railroad grants. The price of certain ceded Indian lands varies according to their location, and inquiry should be made regarding each specific tract.

Where the entry was made after June 6, 1912, the claimant must show full citizenship, as in case of three-year proof; if the entry was made before that date, it is sufficient if the claimant has declared his intention to become a citizen.

The provisions of law explained in paragraph 27 (ƒ) apply to commutation proof also.

Commutation proof can not be made on homestead entries allowed under the act of April 28, 1904 (33 Stat., 547), known as the Kinkaid Act; entries under the reclamation act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat., 388); entries under the enlarged homestead acts (post, par. 43 et

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seq.); entries allowed on coal lands under the act of June 22, 1910 (36 Stat., 583), so long as the land is withdrawn or classified as coal; additional entries allowed under the act of April 28, 1904 (33 Stat., 527); second entries allowed under the act of June 5, 1900 (31 Stat., 267); or second entries allowed under the act of May 22, 1902 (32 Stat., 203), when the former entry was commuted.

FINAL PROOFS ON HOMESTEAD ENTRIES.

37. Either final or commutation proof may be made at any time when it can be shown that residence and cultivation have been maintained in good faith for the required length of time and to the required extent. Proof under the act of June 6, 1912, must be submitted within five years after the date of the entry, while proof submitted under the law in force before that date must be made within seven years after the date of the entry. Failure to submit proof within the proper period is ground for cancellation of the entry unless good reason for the delay appears; satisfactory reasons being shown, final certificate may be issued, and the case referred to the board of equitable adjudication for confirmation. See also paragraph 27e.

38. (a) Final proof must be made by the entrymen personally or their widows, heirs, or devisees, and can not be made by agents, attorneys in fact, administrators, or executors, except as explained in paragraphs 8, 9, 22, and 34. Final proof can be made only by citizens of the United States.

(b) Where entries are made and proof offered for minor orphan children of soldiers or sailors the minors may be represented by their guardian.

39. How proofs may be made.-Final or commutation proofs may be made before any of the officers mentioned in paragraph 16 as being authorized to administer oaths to applicants.

Any person desiring to make homestead proof should first forward a written notice of his desire to the register and receiver of the land office, giving his post-office address, the number of his entry, the name and official title of the officer before whom he desires to make proof, the place at which the proof is to be made, and the name and postoffice addresses of at least four of his neighbors who can testify from their own knowledge as to facts which will show that he has in good faith complied with all the requirements of the law.

40. The register will furnish a notice naming the time and place for submission of proof to the claimant, who must cause same to be published at his expense once a week for five consecutive weeks preceding submission of proof in the newspapers designated by the register.