parcels, they shall be confirmed, and patents for the same shall issue to the parties entitled thereto. 19 Stat. 35. § 225. Lands within Railroad Grants Re-entered after Abandonment. When, at the time of the withdrawal, as stated in the preceding section, valid pre-emption claims existed upon any lands within the limits of any such grants which afterward were abandoned, and, under the decisions and rulings of the land department, were re-entered by pre-emption claimants who had complied with the laws governing pre-emption entries, and shall make the proper proofs required under such laws, such entries shall be deemed valid, and patents shall issue therefor to the person entitled thereto. 19 Stat. 35. § 226. Entries Made after Expiration of Land Grants.-All such pre-emption entries which may have been made by permission of the land department, or in pursuance of the rules and instructions thereof, within the limits of any land grant at a time subsequent to expiration of such grant, shall be deemed valid, and a compliance with the laws and the making of the proof required shall entitle the holder of such a claim to a patent therefor. 19 Stat. 35. § 227. Where Claimant of Entry Becomes Register or Receiver. Any bona fide settler under the homestead or pre-emption laws of the United States, who has filed the proper application to enter, not to exceed one quarter-section of the public lands in any district land office, and who has been subsequently appointed a register or receiver, may perfect the title to the land under the pre-emption laws by furnishing the proofs and making the payments required by law, to the satisfaction of the commissioner of the general land office. 17 Stat. 10; R. S. 2287. § 228. Right of Transfer of Settlers under Homestead or Preemption Laws for Certain Public Purposes.-Any person who has already settled or hereafter may settle on the public lands, either by pre-emption, or by virtue of the homestead law or any amendments thereto, shall have the right to transfer, by warranty against his own acts, any portion of his pre-emption or homestead for church, cemetery, or school purposes, or for the right of way of railroads across such pre-emption or homestead, and the transfer for such public purposes shall in no way vitiate the right to complete and perfect the title to his or their preemptions or homesteads. 17 Stat. 602; R. S. 2288. $229. Sale of Land not to be Delayed, etc.-Nothing contained in this chapter shall delay the sale of any of the public lands beyond the time appointed by the proclamation of the president. 5 Stat. 457; R. S. 2282. § 250. Stone and Timber Lands-Mode of Procedure. § 251. Notice and Publication. § 230. Demands for the Law.-The attention of congress was early called to the necessity of legislation on the treeless public domain of the west. Many of the western states, Kansas as an illustration, began, under the authority of law, a system of bounties for tree-planting. By local usage and consent of the people, a day was set apart upon which a festival was held and all planted trees; this became a holiday. Planting groves of trees became the method of providing wind-breaks against the fierce winds of the plains. The lack of fuel was the principal inducement, coupled with the belief that forest trees cause an increased rain-fall, and knowledge of the fact that wooded countries retain moisture much longer than treeless plains, and give a more equal and beneficial distribution of water. Government aid was solicited; agricultural, horticultural, arboricultural societies petitioned; state legislatures took action; and timber culture became a subject of general discussion in the west. The two timber-culture acts were passed June 3 and June 14, 1878. 20 Stat. pp. 89, 113. § 231. How Entered.-Surveyed lands in California, Oregon, Nevada, and the territory of Washington, not yet proclaimed and offered for sale, valuable chiefly for timber and stone, unfit for cultivation, and consequently for disposition under the homestead and pre-emption laws, may be entered under the first, second, and third sections of the act of congress of June 3, 1878. The quantity is limited to 160 acres to any one person, and the price is fixed at $2.50 per acre. The applicant must be a citizen, or have declared his intention to become such. He must make affidavit as to his citizenship, and produce evidence of the fact; also a sworn statement designating by legal subdivisions the particular tract of land he desires to purchase, setting forth that it is unfit for cultivation, and valuable chiefly for its timber or stone; that it is uninhabited, contains no mining or other improvements, except for ditch or canal purposes, where any such do exist, save such as were made by or belong to applicant, nor as deponent verily believes, any valuable deposit of gold, silver, cinnabar, copper, or coal; that deponent has made no other application under this act; that he does not apply to purchase the same on speculation, but in good faith to appropriate it to his own exclusive use and benefit; and that he has not directly or indirectly made any agreement or contract in any way or manner, with any person or persons whatsoever, by which the title which he might acquire from the government of the United States should inure in whole or in part to the benefit of any person except himself. The statement must be verified by the applicant before the register or receiver of the land office of the district. § 232. Notice and Publication.-A notice of the application describing the land must be posted in the office of the register for sixty days, and must be published by the applicant for sixty days in a newspaper published nearest the location of the premises for the same length of time. At the expiration of that time proof of the publication of the notice and of the character and condition of the land, as set forth in the sworn statement, must be made, after which, if no objection appear, the entry will be allowed. The character and condition of the land must be shown by the affidavits of disinterested witnesses taken before the register or receiver, or any officer using a seal, and authorized to administer oaths in the land district in which the land lies. $233. What Kinds of Lands may be Entered.-Prairie lands or other lands devoid of timber are subject to the operations of the timber-culture laws. Unless the land is naturally devoid of timber, it can not be entered under these laws. Where the timber has been cut off, the land is not subject to such entry. If saplings or young timber are found growing on the land, it can not be entered for timber culture. But it is only such trees as are valuable for timber that excludes the tract; willows, cottonwood, and other trees out of which timber can not be manufactured, do not prevent an entry under the act. Land through which passes a stream of water, upon the banks of which is a growth of scrub timber, is subject to entry under these laws if there is no other timber on the land. Copp's L. L., 1882, pp. 642, 646, 673. Where a natural growth of timber is scattered over 80 acres of a quarter-section, and the trees vary from 6 to 30 inches in diameter, such tract is not subject to timber-culture entry. Copp's L. L., 1882, p. 172. § 234. Married Women.-A married woman can not acquire title to public land under the timber-culture act of June 14, 1878. But if a single woman, after making and forwarding the required affidavit and application to make timber-culture entry, marries before the timber entry is completed at the local land office, such entry will be legal, and, if the law is fully complied with in other respects, she will be entitled to a patent. § 235. The filing of the application and affidavit, with payment of fees, is a prerequisite to the allowance of a timber-culture entry, and he who first complies with the conditions obtains priority of right. A prior verbal application, unaccompanied by the written application, etc., gives no preference right, as it is not the duty of the local officers to prepare the necessary papers. Copp's L. L., 1882, p. 653. There can be but one timber-culture entry on the same tract at the same time. A strict compliance with the requirements of the law in the matter of breaking, cultivating, etc., is required. And where timber-culture improvements were on the land prior to the entry thereof under the statute, such improvements must not be credited to the party making the entry; and in case of contests, the affidavit should contain specific charges. Copp's L. L., 1882, p. 658. The heirs or legal representatives of a deceased party, who had made a timber-culture entry, may continue the culture of |