Show UNOS NO GRUNING to clear up misunderstandings which seem to be pr prevalent evalene among the general public aa as evidenced by the file hundreds of inquiries received at the united states land offices each month with respect to land filings the last service bulletin issued under the administration of former corn com missioner mibs ioner clay tallman of the gener al land office is devoted principally to an explanation of the present land laws it Is noted that during the past few years there has been great actie ity in taking up public lands in 1909 the enlarged homestead law was passed tor for the reason that it was realized by congress that the public lands which inere suitable for ordin ary farming purposes such as existed 40 years ago in iowa nebraska and the dakotas had been disposed of and were in private ownership and that of the lands remaining a larger area was needed to make a success tul ful farm since july 1 1913 the general land office has patented more than acres of land the greater part of which has been taken under this enlarged homestead act entries and selections of all kinds during this same period the original which hach were allowed amounted to over acres the significance of these figures says the bulletin should not be ov er looked for the reason that it means that the western states from kansas to the pacific range have been liter ally combed for years tor for a good piece of leval land situated where there was sufficient rainfall to make a suitable homestead crop lands taken the first fact therefore which should be made clear to the land seeker is that tor for the most part the areas of public lands available on which he can make an entry are sub stant lally ly and essentially a grazing proposition and not a crop land in the ordinary sense the greater por tion of the acres of un reserved public lands that remained on july 1 I 1920 is either rough foot hill and mountainous lands or benl lands in arizona new mexico nevada or southern california which are too dry to mature crops by any dry farming method yet discovered it should not be concluded bow how ever says the article that there is no opportunity in the west for the young man of ambition and energy to get a homestead and make a success of it for the livestock business though just at present in an factory condition in the long run is bound to continue to be one of the great industries of the country con gross has recognized this situation by enacting the grazing homestead law of 1916 under which an entry of acres may be made of land chief ly IY tor for grazing but with a reservation of the minerals in the land to the government within six months after the pas sage of this law there had been gross filings to the number of 60 em bracing an area of some 24 acres under the law before an en try of this class may be made the land must be designated by the secre tary of the interior this tales tates a field examination up to july 1 1920 more than 74 acres had been examined and entries had been allowed tor for an aggregate of 13 acres several kinds of homesteads speaking of the laws under which the public lands may be acquired the article says principally there are two laws the homestead and the desert land laws there are several kinds of homesteads first the old original homestead of acres first enacted in 1862 second the enlarge ed homestead above referred to ap piles plies to non irrigable survey public lands which do not contain table timber third the grazing homestead valuable tor for grazing pur poses and the raising ot of forage crops and are of such a character that acres are reasonably required for the support of a family these are the three principal homesteads but besides these there is the reclamation homestead which is a homestead entry of irrigable lands on government reclamation projects not exceeding acres or such an area as the secretary of the interior may designate as a farm unit in this case the must pay the cost of construction op aeration and maintenance charges for the irrigation works of the project another modification ot of the acre homestead is known as the for est homestead this Is the home stead that Is allowed in the national forests of lands designated by the forest service department of agrical ture as being more valuable tor for agri culture than tor for forestry purpose purposes the land Is listed to the department of the interior after which the home stead entry Is handled much the same as any other homestead except that they may be made on lands and segregated and defined by irregular metes and bounds survey in addition to the above lands there are various indian land home which usually require the payment of a purchase price for the benefit of the indians in addition to the iI i evidence dence and cultivation ments of the homestead jaw law requirements of f law in regard to residence and tion requirements the original home stead law required residence at d cul ti for a period of five years by an amer amendment dment of the homestead law in 1912 the period of residence was as reduced to three years with five i months absence during each year on the giving of proper notice to the lo 10 cal land office the law also re quires that the must faust have a habitable house on the land before he is granted a patent these re quire ments are practically the same for all homestead laws with respect to cultivation under the acre or the acre entry the must cultivate at least one sixteenth ot of the land during the second year ot of the entry and one eighth during the third bear ear under the grazing law no cultivation Is re quiren and in lieu thereof the en tryman shall be required to make permanent improvements upon the land entered before final proofs submitted tending to increase the value of the same tor for stock raising durpos es of the value of not less than per acre and atlease at least one half of such improvements shall be placed upon the land within three years at ter date of entry thereof the on the reclamation project must cultivate at least one halt ot of his entry before he can get patent and must have paid all recia matlon charges due at the time the the government retaining a lien on his land for the payment of the bal ance of such charges extending over a period of twenty years |