of the lands, so excluded, which, upon further investigation, he may conclude cannot be practically irrigated in the manner aforesaid.

(b) Limit of additional entry of contiguous land.

Entrymen under the homestead laws of the United States within the territory above described who owned and occupied the lands heretofore entered by them prior to April 28, 1904, may, under the provisions of this section and subject to its conditions, enter other lands contiguous to their said homestead entry, which shall not, with the land so already entered, owned, and occupied, exceed in the aggregate six hundred and forty acres; and residence continued and improvements made upon the original homestead, subsequent to the making of the additional entry, shall be accepted as equivalent to actual residence and improvements made upon the additional land so entered, but final entry shall not be allowed of such additional land until five years after first entering the same, except in favor of entrymen entitled to credit for military service.

(c) Fees and commissions on entries; commutation. The fees and commissions on all entries under this section shall be uniformly the same as those charged for a maximum entry at the minimum price. The commutation provisions of the homestead law shall not apply to entries under this section, and at the time of making final proof the entryman must prove affirmatively that he has placed upon the lands entered permanent improvements of the value of not less than $1.25 per acre for each acre included in his entry: Provided, That a former homestead entry shall not be a bar to the entry under the provisions of this section of a tract which, together with the former entry, shall not exceed six hundred and forty acres: Provided, That any former homestead entryman who shall be entitled to an additional entry under subsection (b) of this section shall have for ninety days after April 28, 1904, the preferential right to make additional entry as provided in said subsection.

(d) Benefits of section extended to certain entries. All qualified entrymen who, during the period beginning on the 28th day of April 1904, and ending on the 28th day of June 1904, made homestead entry in the State of Nebraska within the area affected by this section, shall be entitled to all the benefits of this section as if their entries had been made prior or subsequent to the above-mentioned dates, subject to all existing rights.

(e) Benefits of military service extended to entries.

The benefits of military service in the Army or Navy of the United States granted under the homestead laws shall apply to entries made under this section, and all homestead entries hereafter made within the territory described in this section shall be subject to all the provisions thereof.

(f) Sale of isolated tracts.

Within the territory described in this section, it shall be lawful for the Secretary of the Interior to order into market and sell under the provisions of the laws providing for the sale of isolated or disconnected tract or parcels of land any isolated or disconnected tract not exceeding three quarter

sections in area: Provided, That not more than three quarter sections shall be sold to any one person. (g) Qualifications of entrymen making additional entries.

The qualifications of a former homestead entryman who has been permitted to make an additional or another entry under this section, prior to August 24, 1912, shall be determined by the qualifications, except as to citizenship, possessed on the date of his first entry in all cases where the rights of third persons shall not have intervened and the additional or second entry has not been canceled. (Apr. 28, 1904, ch. 1801, §§ 1-3, 33 Stat. 547, 548; Mar. 2, 1907, ch. 2527, §§ 1-3, 34 Stat. 1224; May 29, 1908, ch. 220, § 7, 35 Stat. 466; Aug. 24, 1912, ch. 371, 37 Stat. 499.)

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in section 164 of this title; title 16 section 493.

LEAVES OF ABSENCE AND EXCUSES FOR NONRESIDENCE OR NONCULTIVATION

§ 231. Optional leaves of absence; proof of commutation.

The entryman mentioned in section 164 of this title upon filing in the local land office notice of the beginning of such absence at his option shall be entitled to a leave of absence in one or two continuous periods, not exceeding in the aggregate five months in each year after establishing residence: Provided, That the officer designated by the Secretary of the Interior of the local land office under rules and regulations made by the Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may designate may, upon proper showing, upon application of the homesteader, and only for climatic conditions, which makes residence on the homestead for seven months in each year a hardship, reduce the term of residence to not more than six months in each year, over a period of four years, or to not more than five months each year over a period of five years, but the total residence required shall in no event exceed twenty-five months, not less than five of which shall be in each year; proof to be made within five years after entry; and upon the termination of such absence, in each period, the entryman shall file a notice of such termination in the local land office; but in case of commutation the fourteen months' actual residence, as now required by law, must be shown, and the person commuting be at the time a citizen of the United States. (Aug. 22, 1914, ch. 270, 38 Stat. 704; Feb. 25, 1919, ch. 21, 40 Stat. 1153; Oct. 28, 1921, ch. 114, § 1, 42 Stat. 208; Mar. 3, 1925, ch. 462, 43 Stat. 1145; 1946 Reorg. Plan No. 3, § 403, eff. July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7876, 60 Stat. 1100.)

TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS

All functions of all other officers of the Department of the Interior and all functions of all agencies and employees of that Department were, with two exceptions, transferred to the Secretary of the Interior, with power vested in him to authorize their performance or the performance of any of his functions by any of those officers, agencies, and employees, by 1950 Reorg. Plan No. 3, §§ 1. 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

Words "officer designated by the Secretary of the Interior" were substituted for "register" and "Secretary of the

Interior or such officer as he may designate" for "Commissioner of the General Land Office" by 1946 Reorg. Plan No. 3. See note under former section 1 of this title.

§ 232. Settlers on unsurveyed land.

Any qualified person who has prior to July 3, 1916, or shall thereafter in good faith make settlement upon and improve unsurveyed unreserved unappropriated public lands of the United States with intention, upon survey, of entering same under the homestead laws shall be entitled to a leave of absence in one or two periods not exceeding in the aggregate five months in each year after establishmnet of residence: Provided, That he shall have plainly marked on the ground the exterior boundaries of the lands claimed and have filed in the local land office notice of the approximate location of the lands settled upon and claimed, of the period of intended absence, and that he shall upon the termination of the absence and his return to the land file notice thereof in the local land office. (July 3, 1916, ch. 214, 39 Stat. 341.) § 233. Persons receiving treatment for wounds.

Every person who, after discharge from the military or naval service of the United States during the war against Germany and its allies, is furnished any treatment by the Government for wounds received or disability incurred in line of duty, and who before entering upon such treatment, shall have made entry upon or application for public lands of the United States under the homestead laws, or who has settled or shall hereafter settle upon public lands, shall be entitled to a leave of absence from his land for the purpose of undergoing such treatment, and such absence, while actually engaged in such training shall be counted as constructive residence: Provided, That no patent shall issue to any homestead settler who has not resided upon, improved, and cultivated his homestead for a period of at least one year. (Sept. 29, 1919, ch. 64, 41 Stat. 288; Apr. 6, 1922, ch. 122, § 2, 42 Stat. 491.)

CODIFICATION

As originally enacted, this section also provided for leave of absence for purpose of undergoing vocational training by the Department of the Interior. Vocational training for veterans of World War I was discontinued after two years from June 30, 1926.

§ 234. Destruction or failure of crops, sickness, or unavoidable casualty.

Whenever it shall be made to appear to the officer designated by the Secretary of the Interior of any public land office, under such regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe, that any settler upon the public domain under existing law is unable by reason of a total or partial destruction or failure of crops, sickness, or other unavoidable casualty, to secure a support for himself, herself, or those dependent upon him or her upon the lands settled upon, then such officer may grant to such settler a leave of absence from the claim upon which he or she has filed for a period not exceeding one year at any one time, and such settler so granted leave of absence shall forfeit no rights by reason of such absence: Provided, That the time of such actual absence shall not be deducted from the actual residence required by law: Provided further, That if any such settler has, prior to Decem

ber 29, 1894, forfeited his or her entry for any of said reasons, such person shall be permitted to make entry of not to exceed a quarter section on any public land subject to entry under the homestead law, and to perfect title to the same under the same conditions in every respect as if he had not made the former entry. (Mar. 2, 1889, ch. 381, § 3, 25 Stat. 854; Dec. 29, 1894, ch. 14, 28 Stat. 599; Oct. 28, 1921, ch. 114, § 1, 42 Stat. 208; Mar. 3, 1925, ch. 462, 43 Stat. 1145; 1946 Reorg. Plan No. 3, § 403, eff. July 16, 1946, 11 F.R. 7876, 60 Stat. 1100.)

TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS

All functions of all other officers of the Department of the Interior and all functions of all agencies and employees of that Department were, with two exceptions, transferred to the Secretary of the Interior, with power vested in him to authorize their performance or the performance of any of his functions by any of those officers, agencies, and employees, by 1950 Reorg. Plan No. 3, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F. R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

References to "register" were changed to "officer designated by the Secretary of the Interior" and "officer" by 1946 Reorg. Plan No. 3. See note under former section 1 of this title.

CROSS REFERENCES

Entry after forfeiture of prior entry without fault, see section 182 of this title.

§ 235. Destruction or injury to crops by grasshoppers. It shall be lawful for homestead and preemption settlers on the public lands, and in all cases where preemptions are authorized by law, where crops have been or may be destroyed or seriously injured by grasshoppers, to leave and be absent from said lands, under such rules and regulations, as to proof of the same, as the Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may designate shall prescribe; but in no case shall such absence extend beyond one year continuously; and during such absence no adverse rights shall attach to said lands, such settlers being allowed to resume and perfect their settlement as though no such absence had occurred. (July 1, 1879, ch. 63, § 1, 21 Stat. 48; 1946 Reorg. Plan No. 3, § 403, eff. July 16, 1946, 11 F. R. 7876, 60 Stat. 1100.)

TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS

All functions of all other officers of the Department of the Interior and all functions of all agencies and employees of that Department were, with two exceptions, transferred to the Secretary of the Interior, with power vested in him to authorize their performance or the performance of any of his functions by any of those officers, agencies, and employees, by 1950 Reorg. Plan No. 3, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F. R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

"Secretary of the Interior or such officer as he may designate" was substituted for "Commissioner of the General Land Office" by 1946 Reorg. Plan No. 3. See note under former section 1 of this title.

§§ 236 to 237c. Omitted.

CODIFICATION

Section 236, act Dec. 20, 1917, ch. 6, 40 Stat. 430, allowed persons who filed applications for homestead entry prior to Dec. 20, 1917, a leave of absence from their land during pendency of war with Germany for purpose of performing farm labor.

Section 237, act July 24, 1919, ch. 26, 41 Stat. 271, excused entrymen from residence during drought in 1919. Section 237a, act Mar. 2, 1932, ch. 69, 47 Stat. 59, excused entrymen from residence during drought period of 1929 to 1932.

Section 237b, act May 21, 1934, ch. 320, 48 Stat. 787, excused entrymen from compliance with requirements of homestead laws as to residence, cultivation, improvements, expenditures or purchase money where the absence was due to economic conditions in 1932, 1933 or 1934.

Section 237c, act May 22, 1935, ch. 135, 49 Stat. 286, excused entryment from compliance with requirements of homestead laws as to residence, cultivation, improvements, expenditures or purchase money where the absence was due to economic conditions in 1935.

§ 237d. Cultivation requirement restricted.

Exclusive of Alaska, the provisions of the homestead laws requiring cultivation of the land entered shall not be applicable to homestead entries existing August 19, 1935, and made prior to February 5, 1935, or thereafter if based upon valid settlement or application made prior to said date, and no patent shall be withheld for failure to cultivate such lands: Provided, That this section shall not be construed to affect any provision of law requiring the cultivation of lands subject to the reclamation laws, nor to apply to entries made under sections 506 to 508 and 509 of Title 16. (Aug. 19, 1935, ch. 560, 49 Stat. 659; Mar. 31, 1938, ch. 57, 52 Stat. 149.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

Sections 506 to 508 and 509 of Title 16, referred to in the text, were repealed by Pub. L. 87-869, § 4, Oct. 23, 1962, 76 Stat. 1157.

§ 237e. Absence due to economic conditions in 1936.

CODIFICATION

Section, act Apr. 20, 1936, ch. 239, § 1, 49 Stat. 1235, excused entrymen from compliance with requirements of homestead laws as to residence, cultivation, improvements, expenditures or purchase money where the absence was due to economic conditions in 1936.

§ 237f. Absence during 1956 to 1959 due to economic conditions; protection of entryman's rights; filing of notice of intention and grant to United States. Any person who holds a homestead entry on public lands which was allowed and subsisting on March 1, 1956, or which, based on an application on file on March 1, 1956, was allowed and subsisting on July 30, 1956, is granted leave of absence from the lands until March 1, 1959, and any person who holds a homestead or desert land entry which was allowed and subsisting on March 1, 1956, or which, based on an application on file on March 1, 1956, was allowed and subsisting on July 30, 1956, is granted permission to suspend until March 1, 1959, further operations looking to the cultivation and improvement of the lands: Provided, That such entryman shall forfeit no rights and shall not otherwise be excused from full compliance with the applicable public land laws by reason of such absence or of such suspension of cultivation and improvement operations: And provided further, That the rights of such entrymen shall not be protected by this section and sections 237g and 237h of this title unless they file with the land office having jurisdiction over the area in which the land is located, (a) a notice of their intention to absent themselves from the land or to suspend cultivation and improvement operations and accompanying such notice information as to location and extent of present cultivation or improvement placed on the entry, and (b) a grant to the United States, for itself and for its lessees, licensees, and permittees, of a right to enter upon and occupy the lands which have

not been prepared for cultivation or which have not had improvements placed on them, without recourse, for any purpose authorized by the public land laws, except that such grant need not include a right to construct permanent improvements on the land or to permit a substantial change in its character. (July 30, 1956, ch. 778, § 1, 70 Stat. 715.)

CODIFICATION

Section is also set out as section 336a of this title.

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in section 237h of this title.

§ 237g. Same; applications on file as of March 1, 1956; filing of notice of intention; date of entry; rights of United States.

Any person who on March 1, 1956, had on file a homestead or desert land application which application shall be allowed on its merits subsequent to July 30, 1956, and prior to March 1, 1959, shall not be required to enter upon the lands and commence residence thereon, or cultivate and improve the lands prior to March 1, 1959: Provided, That said person files with the land offices having jurisdiction over the area in which the land is located, (a) within sixty days after the date of allowance of his entry, a notice of his intention to delay initiation of his residence, cultivation, or improvements, and (b) at least ninety days prior to initiation of his residence, cultivation, or improvements, a notice of his intention to initiate said activity. For the purposes of the homestead and desert land laws, March 1, 1959, may be treated as the date of the entry, if an actual entry has not been made prior to that date. If an actual entry is made prior to March 1, 1959, the date of such actual entry shall be the date of entry for the purposes of the homestead and desert land laws. Until an actual entry by a person subject to the provisions of this section has been made, or until March 1, 1959, whichever first cccurs, the United States, for itself and for its lessees, permittees, and licensees, shall retain the right to enter upon and occupy the lands in each such entry, without recourse, for any purpose authorized by the public land laws: Provided, That the United States, its lessees, permittees, and licensees, shall not construct permanent improvements on the lands or otherwise substantially change such lands in their character. (July 30, 1956, ch. 778, § 2, 70 Stat. 716.)

CODIFICATION

Section is also set out as section 336b of this title. SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in sections 237f, 237h of this title.

§ 237h. Same; lands to which applicable.

Sections 237f to 237h of this title shall apply only to applications filed for, or entries made on, public lands in the continental United States, exclusive of Alaska, pursuant to the Act of May 20, 1862, as amended and supplemented, and pursuant to Act of March 3, 1877, as amended and supplemented. Nothing in sections 237f to 237h shall apply to applications filed for, or entries made on, public lands pursuant to the Act of June 17, 1902, as amended and supplemented. (July 30, 1956, ch. 778, § 4, 70 Stat. 716.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

Act of May 20, 1862, as amended and supplemented, referred to in the text, is classified generally to this chapter.

Act of Mar. 3, 1877, as amended and supplemented, referred to in the text, is classified generally to chapter 9 of this title.

Act of June 17, 1902, as amended and supplemented, referred to in the text, is classified generally to chapter 12 of this title.

CODIFICATION

Section is also set out as section 336d of this title.

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in section 237f of this title.

§ 238. Residence and cultivation, etc., by disabled veterans excused.

Any bona fide settler, applicant, or entryman under the homestead laws of the United States, or any desert-land entryman whose entry is subject to the provisions of sections 372, 381, 383, 391, 392, 411, 416, 419, 421, 431, 432, 434, 439, 461, 476, 491, and 498 of this title, who, after settlement, application, or entry, and prior to November 11, 1918, enlisted or was actually engaged in the United States Army, Navy, or Marine Corps during the war with Germany, who has been honorably discharged and because of physical incapacities due to the service is unable to return to the land, may make final proof, without further residence, improvement, cultivation, or reclamation, at such time and place as may be authorized by the Secretary of the Interior, and receive patent to the land by him so entered or settled upon, subject to the provisions of the Act or Acts under which such settlement or entry was made: Provided, That no such patent shall issue prior to the conformation of the entry to a single farm unit, as required by sections 435 and 443 of this title: And provided further, That this section shall not be construed to exempt or relieve such applicant or entryman from payment of any lawful fees, commissions, purchase moneys, water charges, or other sums due to the United States, or its successors in control of the reclamation project, in connection with such lands. (Mar. 1, 1921, ch. 102, § 1, 41 Stat. 1202; Apr. 7, 1922; ch. 125, 42 Stat. 492.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

Section 381 of this title, referred to in the text, was repealed by Pub. L. 89-554, § 8(a), Sept. 6, 1966, 80 Stat. 649.

Section 476 of this title, referred to in the text, was repealed by act Dec. 16, 1930, ch. 14, § 1, 46 Stat. 1029.

CROSS REFERENCES

Conforming entries under reclamation projects to single farm unit, see section 435 of this title.

§ 239. Service in Army or Navy, etc., as equivalent to residence.

Where a party at the date of his entry of a tract of land under the homestead laws, or subsequently thereto, was actually enlisted and employed in the Army or Navy of the United States, his services therein shall, in the administration of such homestead laws, be construed to be equivalent, to all intents and purposes, to a residence for the same length of time upon the tract so entered. And if his entry has been canceled by reason of his absence from such tract while in the military or naval service of the United States, and such tract has not been disposed of, his entry shall be restored; but if such

tract has been disposed of, the party may enter another tract subject to entry under the homestead laws, and his right to a patent therefor may be determined by the proofs touching his residence and cultivation of the first tract and his absence therefrom in such service. (R. S. § 2308.)

DERIVATION

Act June 8, 1872, ch. 338, § 4, 17 Stat. 333.

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in sections 173, 184, 191, 201, 211, 255, 271 of this title.

§ 240. Service in time of war as equivalent to residence and cultivation.

In every case in which a settler on the public land of the United States under the homestead laws enlists or is actually engaged in the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States as private soldier, officer, seaman, or marine, during the war with Spain or during any other war in which the United States may be engaged, his services therein shall, in the administration of the homestead laws, be construed to be equivalent to all intents and purposes to residence and cultivation for the same length of time upon the tract entered or settled upon; and after June 16, 1898, no contest shall be initiated on the ground of abandonment, nor allegation of abandonment sustained against any such settler, unless it shall be alleged in the preliminary affidavit or affidavits of contest, and proved at the hearing in cases thereafter initiated, that the settler's alleged absence from the land was not due to his employment in such service: Provided, That if such settler shall be discharged on account of wounds received or disability incurred in the line of duty, then the term of his enlistment shall be deducted from the required length of residence without reference to the time of actual service: Provided further, That no patent shall issue to any homestead settler who has not resided upon, improved, and cultivated his homestead for a period of at least one year after he shall have commenced his improvements.

The above provisions of this section shall be applicable in all cases of military service rendered in connection with operations in Mexico, or along the borders thereof, or in mobilization camps elsewhere, whether such service be in the military or naval organization of the United States or the National Guard of the several States now or hereafter in the service of the United States. (June 16, 1898, ch. 458, 30 Stat. 473; Aug. 29, 1916, ch. 420, 39 Stat. 671.)

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in section 272a of this title. §§ 241, 242. Repealed. Oct. 17, 1940, ch. 888, article V, § 503 (3), 54 Stat. 1187.

Sections, act July 28, 1917, ch. 44, §§ 1, 2, 40 Stat. 248, related to residence requirements of entrymen in military Reservice during war and their widows and children. pealing provision is set out as section 563 (3) of Title 50, Appendix, War and National Defense.

§ 243. Military service in certain Indian wars as equivalent to residence and cultivation.

In every case in which an entryman or settler upon the public lands of the United States under the homestead laws has established, or may hereafter establish, military service in accordance with the

provisions of sections 381 to 381b of Title 38, the military service of such entryman or settler so established shall, in the administration of the homestead laws, be construed to be equivalent to all intents and purposes to residence and cultivation for the same length of time upon the tract entered or settled upon; except that (1) if any such entryman or settler was discharged on account of wounds received or disability incurred in line of duty, then the term of his enlistment shall be deducted from the required length of residence without reference to the time of actual service; and (2) no patent shall issue to any such entryman or settler who has not resided upon, improved, and cultivated his homestead for a period of at least one year. (Apr. 7, 1930, ch. 108, 46 Stat. 144.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

Sections 381-381b of Title 38, referred to in the text, were repealed by Pub. L. 85-56, title XXII, § 2202 (114), (144), (216), June 17, 1957, 71 Stat. 167, eff. Jan. 1, 1958. SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in section 243a of this title.

§ 243a. Same; extension of credits to widows; patents to minor children on death of mother.

The provisions and limitations of section 243 of this title are extended to the widow of any person who would be entitled to make homestead entry or settlement and receive credit in connection therewith for military service under the provisions of said section, if such widow is unmarried and otherwise qualified to make entry of public lands under the provisions of the homestead laws of the United States and has heretofore made or shall hereafter make such entry: Provided, That in the event of the death of any such widow prior to perfection of title, leaving only a minor child or children, patent shall issue to the said minor child or children upon proof of death, and of the minority of the child or children, without further showing or compliance with law. (Mar. 3, 1933, ch. 198, 47 Stat. 1424.)

FINAL PROOF GENERALLY § 251. Notice of intention to make final proof.

Before final proof shall be submitted by any person claiming to enter agricultural lands under the laws providing for preemption or homestead entries, such person shall file with the officer designated by the Secretary of the Interior of the proper land office a notice of his or her intention to make such proof, stating therein the description of lands to be entered, and the names of the witnesses by whom the necessary facts will be established. Upon the filing of such notice, the officer shall publish a notice, that such application has been made once a week for the period of thirty days, in a newspaper to be by him designated as published nearest to such land, and he shall also post such notice in some conspicuous place in his office for the same period. Such notice shall contain the names of the witnesses as stated in the application. At the expiration of said period of thirty days, the claimant shall be entitled to make proof in the manner provided by law. The Secretary of the Interior shall make all necessary rules for giving effect to the foregoing provisions. (Mar. 3, 1879, ch. 192, 20 Stat. 472; 1946 Reorg.

Plan No. 3, § 403, eff. July 16, 1946, 11 F. R. 7876, 60 Stat. 1100.)

TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS

All functions of all other officers of the Department of the Interior and all functions of all agencies and employees of that Department were, with two exceptions, transferred to the Secretary of the Interior, with power vested in him to authorize their performance or the performance of any of his functions by any of those officers, agencies, and employees, by 1950 Reorg. Plan No. 3, §§ 1, 2, eff. May 24, 1950, 15 F.R. 3174, 64 Stat. 1262, set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees.

References to "register" were changed to "officer designated by the Secretary of the Interior" and "officer" by 1946 Reorg. Plan No. 3. See note under former section 1 of this title.

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS This section is referred to in section 252 of this title.

§ 252. Time of taking testimony for final proof in case of unavoidable delay.

Section 251 of this title shall not be construed to forbid the taking of testimony for final proof within ten days following the day advertised as upon which such final proof shall be made, in cases where accident or unavoidable delays have prevented the applicant or witnesses from making such proof on the date specified. (Mar. 2, 1889, ch. 381, § 7, 25 Stat. 855.)

§ 253. Notice of contest; publication.

The notices of contest now provided by law under the homestead, preemption and tree-culture laws of the United States 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. (June 3, 1878, ch. 152, 20 Stat. 91.)

REPEALS

Repeal of "act to encourage the growth of timber on the western prairies" not to affect valid rights accrued or accruing under that law and claims to be perfected in same manner as if act had not been repealed, see section 1181 of this title.

§ 254. Officers before whom affidavits or proofs may be made; perjury; fees.

All proofs, affidavits, and oaths of any kind whatsoever required to be made by applicants and entrymen under the Homestead, Preemption, Timber Culture, Desert Land, and Timber and Stone Acts, may in addition to those now authorized to take such affidavits, proofs, and oaths be made before any United States commissioner or commissioner of the court exercising Federal jurisdiction in the Territory or before the judge or clerk of any court of record in the county, parish, or land district in which the lands are situated: Provided, That in cases where because of geographic or topographic conditions there is a qualified officer nearer or more accessible to the land involved, but outside the county and land district, affidavits, proofs, and oaths may be taken before such officer: Provided further, That in case the affidavits, proofs, and oaths hereinbefore mentioned be taken outside of the county or land district in which the land is located, the applicant must show by affidavit, satisfactory to the Secretary of the Interior, or such officer as he may