United States Code

217. Additional entry after commutation of former entry.

Any person who has, prior to June 5, 1900, made entry under the homestead laws and commuted same under provisions of section 173 of this title, shall be entitled to the benefits of the homestead laws, as though such former entry had not been made, except that commutation under the provisions of said section, shall not be allowed of an entry made under this section. June 5, 1900, ch. 716, 2, 31 Stat. 269.)

218. Enlarged entries of certain nonmineral, nonirri. gable lands in certain States.

(a) Lands which may be entered; by whom.

Any person who is a qualified entryman under the homestead laws of the United States may enter, by legal subdivisions, under the provisions of this section, in the States of Arizona, California, Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, three hundred and twenty acres, or less, of nonmineral, nonirrigable, unreserved, and unappropriated surveyed public lands which do not contain merchantable timber, located in a reasonably compact body, and not over one and one-half miles in extreme length: Provided, That no lands shall be subject to entry under the provisions of this section until such lands shall have been designated by the Secretary of the Interior as not being, in his opinion, susceptible of successful irrigation at a reasonable cost from any known source of water supply.

(b) Applications; affidavits; fees.

Any person applying to enter land under the provisions of this section shall make and subscribe before the proper officer an affidavit as required by section 162 of this title and in addition thereto shall make affidavit that the land sought to be entered is of the character described in subsection (a) of this section, and shall pay the fees required to be paid under the homestead laws.

Any person who has made, or shall make, homestead entry of lands of the character herein described, and who has not submitted final proof thereon, or who having submitted final proof still owns and occupies the land thus entered, shall have the right to enter public lands, subject to the provisions of this section, contiguous to his first entry, which shall not, together with the original entry, exceed three hundred and twenty acres: Provided, That the land originally entered and that covered by the additional entry shall have first been designated as subject to this section, as provided by subsection (a) of this section.

(d) Proof of cultivation; final proofs on additional entries.

At the time of making final proof, as provided in section 164 of this title, the entryman under this section shall, in addition to the proofs and affidavits required under said section prove by himself and two credible witnesses that at least onesixteenth of the area embraced in such entry was continuously cultivated for agricultural crops other than native grasses, beginning with the second year of the entry, and that at least one-eighth of

the area embraced in the entry was so continuously cultivated beginning with the third year of the entry: Provided, That any qualified person who has prior to February 19, 1909, made, or who thereafter makes, additional entry under the provisions of subsection (c) of this section to an entry upon which final proof has not been made, may be allowed to perfect title to his original entry by showing compliance with the provisions of section 164 of this title, respecting such original entry, and thereafter in making proof upon his additional entry shall be credited with residence maintained upon his original entry from date of such original entry, but the cultivation required upon entries made under this section must be shown respecting such additional entry, which cultivation, while it may be made upon either the original or additional entry or upon both entries, must be cultivation in addition to that relied upon and used in making proof upon the original entry; or, if he elects, his original and additional entries may be considered as one, with full credit for residence upon and improvements made upon his original entry, in which event the amount of cultivation herein required shall apply to the total area of the combined entry, and proof may be made upon such combined entry whenever it can be shown that the cultivation required by this section has been performed; and to this end the time within which proof must be made upon such a combined entry is extended to seven years from the date of the original entry: Provided further, That where an entry is made as additional to an entry upon which final proof has theretofore been submitted by an entryman who still owns and occupies the land thus entered, the entryman in making proof upon his additional entry shall be credited with residence maintained upon his original entry from date thereof, but the cultivation required upon entries made under this section must be shown respecting such additional entry and must be performed upon the land included therein to the extent and for the period required in connection with the original entries under this section, proof of which must be submitted within five years from and after the date of the additional entry: Provided further, That nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to require residence upon the combined entry in excess of the period of residence as required by section 164 of this title.

(e) Other rights of entry not affected.

Nothing in this section contained shall be held to affect the right of a qualified entryman to make homestead entry in the States named in subsection (a) of this section under the provisions of section 161 of this title, but no person who has made entry under this section shall be entitled to make homestead entry under the provisions of section 161 of this title and no entry made under this section shall be commuted.

(f) Lands in Utah without domestic water supply designated; residence and cultivation.

Whenever the Secretary of the Interior shall find that any tracts of land, in the State of Utah, subject to entry under this section, do not have upon them such a sufficient supply of water suitable for domestic purposes as would make continuous resi

dence upon the lands possible, he may, in his discretion, designate such tracts of land, not to exceed in the aggregate 2,000,000 acres, and thereafter they shall be subject to entry under this section without the necessity of residence: Provided, That in such event the entryman on any such entry shall in good faith cultivate not less than one-eighth of the entire area of the entry during the second year, one-fourth during the third year, and one-half during the fourth and fifth years after the date of such entry, and that after entry and until final proof the entryman shall reside within such distance of said land as will enable him successfully to farm the same as required by this paragraph.

(g) Additional entry of noncontiguous land; amount; patents.

Any person who has made or shall make homestead entry of less than three hundred and twenty acres of lands of the character described, in this section, and who shall have submitted final proof thereon, shall have the right to enter public lands subject to the provisions of this section, not contiguous to his first entry, which shall not with the original entry exceed three hundred and twenty acres: Provided, That the land originally entered and that covered by the additional entry shall first have been designated as subject to this section as provided by subsection (a) of this section: Provided further, That in no case shall patent issue for the land covered by such additional entry until the person making same shall have actually and in conformity with the homestead laws resided upon and cultivated the lands so additionally entered, and otherwise complied with such laws, except that where the land embraced in the additional entry is located not exceeding twenty miles from the land embraced in the original entry no residence shall be required on such additional entry if the entryman is residing on his former entry: And provided further, That this section shall not be construed as affecting any rights as to location of soldiers' additional homesteads under section 274 of this title. (Feb. 19, 1909, ch. 160, §§ 1-6, 35 Stat. 639-640; June 6, 1912, ch. 153, 37 Stat. 123; June 13, 1912, ch. 166, 37 Stat. 132; Feb. 11, 1913, ch. 39, 37 Stat. 666; Mar. 3, 1915, ch. 84, 38 Stat. 953; Mar. 3, 1915, ch. 91, 38 Stat. 957; Mar. 4, 1915, ch. 150, § 2, 38 Stat. 1163; July 3, 1916, ch. 220, 39 Stat. 344.)

§ 219. Enlarged entries of certain nonmineral, nonirrigable lands in Idaho.

(a) Lands which may be entered; by whom.

Any person who is a qualified entryman under the homestead laws of the United States may enter, by legal subdivision, under the provisions of this section, in the State of Idaho, three hundred and twenty acres or less of arid nonmineral, nonirrigable, unreserved, and unappropriated surveyed public lands which do not contain merchantable timber, located in a reasonably compact body and not over one and one-half miles in extreme length: Provided, That no lands shall be subject to entry under the provisions of this section until the lands shall have been designated by the Secretary of the Interior as not being, in his opinion, susceptible of successful irri

gation, at a reasonable cost, from any known source of water supply.

(b) Applications; affidavits; fees.

Any person who has made, or shall make, homestead entry of lands of the character described in this section, and who has not submitted final proof thereon, or who, having submitted final proof, still owns and occupies the land thus entered, shall have the right to enter public lands, subject to the provisions of this section, contiguous to his first entry, which shall not, together with the original entry, exceed three hundred and twenty acres: Provided, That the land originally entered and that covered by the additional entry shall have first been designated as subject to this section, as provided by subsection (a) of this section.

(d) Proof of cultivation; final proofs on additional entries.

At the time of making final proof, as provided in section 164 of this title, the entryman under this section shall, in addition to the proofs and affidavits required under section 164 of this title prove by himself and two credible witnesses that at least one-sixteenth of the area embraced in such entry was continuously cultivated for agricultural crops other than native grasses, beginning with the second year of the entry, and that at least one-eighth of the area embraced in the entry was so continuously cultivated beginning with the third year of the entry: Provided, That any qualified person who has, prior to June 17, 1910, made, or who thereafter makes, additional entry under the provisions of subsection (c) of this section to an entry upon which final proof has not been made, may be allowed to perfect title to his original entry by showing compliance with the provisions of section 164 of this title, respecting such original entry, and thereafter in making proof upon his additional entry shall be credited with residence maintained upon his original entry from date of such original entry, but the cultivation required upon entries made under this section must be shown respecting such additional entry, which cultivation, while it may be made upon either the original or additional entry or upon both entries, must be cultivation in addition to that relied upon and used in making proof upon the original entry; or, if he elects, his original and additional entries may be considered as one, with full credit for residence upon and improvement made upon his original entry, in which event the amount of cultivation herein required shall apply to the total area of the combined entry, and proof may be made upon such combined entry whenever it can be shown that the cultivation required by this subsection has been performed; and to this end the time within which proof must be made

upon such a combined entry is extended to seven years from the date of the original entry: Provided further, That where an entry is made as additional to an entry upon which final proof has theretofore been submitted by an entryman who still owns and occupies the land thus entered, the entryman in making proof upon his additional entry shall be credited with residence maintained upon his original entry from date thereof, but the cultivation required upon entries made under this section must be shown respecting such additional entry and must be performed upon the land included therein to the extent and for the period required in connection with the original entries under this section, proof of which must be submitted within five years from and after the date of the additional entry; Provided further, That nothing herein contained shall be so construed as to require residence upon the combined entry in excess of the period of residence as required by section 164 of this title.

(e) Other rights of entry not affected.

Nothing contained in this section shall be held to affect the right of a qualified entryman to make homestead entry in the State of Idaho under the provisions of section 161 of this title, but no person who has made entry under this section shall be entitled to make homestead entry under the provisions of section 161 of this title, and no entry made under this section shall be commuted.

(f) Lands without domestic water supply designated; residence and cultivation.

Whenever the Secretary of the Interior shall find any tracts of land in the State of Idaho, subject to entry under this section, do not have upon them such a sufficient supply of water suitable for domestic purposes as would make continuous residence upon the lands possible he may, in his discretion, designate such tracts of land, not to exceed in the aggregate one million acres, and thereafter they shall be subject to entry under this section without the necessity of residence upon the land entered: Provided, That the entryman shall in good faith cultivate not less than one-sixteenth of the entire area of the entry which is susceptible of cultivation during the first year of the entry, not less than oneeighth during the second year, and not less than one-fourth during the third year of the entry and until final proof: Provided further, That after six months from the date of entry and until final proof the entryman shall be a resident of the State of Idaho.

(g) Noncontiguous lands; occupancy and improvements; soldiers' additional homesteads.

Any person who has made or shall make homestead entry of less than three hundred and twenty acres of lands of the character described in this section and who shall have submitted final proof thereon, shall have the right to enter public lands subject to the provisions of this section, not contiguous to his first entry, which shall not with the original entry exceed three hundred and twenty acres: Provided, That the land originally entered and that covered by the additional entry shall first have been designated as subject to this section or section 218 of this title, as provided by subsection (a) of this section and section 218 of this title:

Provided further, That in no case shall patent issue for the land covered by such additional entry until the person making same shall have actually and in conformity with the homestead laws resided upon and cultivated the lands so additionally entered, and otherwise complied with such laws, except that where the land embraced in the additional entry is located not exceeding twenty miles from the land embraced in the original entry no residence shall be required on such additional entry if the entryman is residing on his former entry: And provided further, That this section shall not be construed as affecting any rights as to location of soldiers' additional homesteads under section 274 of this title. (June 17, 1910, ch. 298, §§ 1-6, 36 Stat. 531, 532; Feb. 11, 1913, ch. 39, 37 Stat. 666; Mar. 3, 1915, ch. 91, 38 Stat. 957; Sept. 5, 1916, ch. 440, 39 Stat. 724; Aug. 10, 1917, ch. 52, § 10, 40 Stat. 275.)

§ 220. Applications for entry of lands not designated as subject to entry and for additional entry of contiguous land.

Where any person qualified to make entry under the provisions of sections 218 and 219 of this title shall make application to enter under the provisions of said sections any unappropriated public land in any State affected thereby which has not been designated as subject to entry under the section (provided said application is accompanied and supported by properly corroborated affidavit of the applicant in duplicate, showing prima facie that the land applied for is of the character contemplated by said section), such application, together with the regular fees and commissions, shall be received by the officer designated by the Secretary of the Interior of the land district in which said land is located, and suspended until it shall have been determined by the Secretary of the Interior whether said land is actually of that character; that during such suspension the land described in said application shall be segregated by the said officer and not subject to entry until the case is disposed of; and if it shall be determined that such land is of the character contemplated by the said section, then such application shall be allowed; otherwise it shall be rejected, subject to appeal: Provided, That the provisions of this section shall apply to the application of a qualified entryman to make additional entry of unappropriated land adjoining his unperfected homestead entry, the area of which, together with his original entry, shall not exceed three hundred and twenty acres. (Mar. 4, 1915, ch. 150, § 1, 38 Stat. 1162, 1163; 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 as a note under section 481 of Title 5, Executive Departments and Government Officers and Employees.

References to "register" were changed to "officer designated by the Secretary of the Interior" and "officer" by section 403 of 1946 Reorg. Plan No. 3. See note under section 1 of this title.

§ 221. Provisions extended to South Dakota.

CODIFICATION Section, act Mar. 4, 1915, ch. 150, § 2, 38 Stat. 1163, is now set out as part of section 218 of this title.

§ 222. Additional entries by homestead entrymen on lands in national forests.

Any homestead entrymen of one hundred and sixty acres or less of lands which have been prior to March 4, 1923, or may thereafter be designated or classified by the Secretary of the Interior as subject to entry under the provisions of sections 218 and 219 of this title, who has not submitted final proof upon his existing entry, and any homestead entryman who has submitted final proof, or received patent, for such an amount of lands which have been at that time or may thereafter be designated or classified by the Secretary of the Interior as of the character described in said sections, and who owns and resides upon the said homestead entry, where said lands are within a national forest, may make an additional entry for and obtain patent to such an amount of land, of that same character, not in a national forest, and within a radius of twenty miles from said homestead entry, as, when the area thereof is added to the area of the original entry, will not exceed three hundred and twenty acres, and residence upon the original entry shall be credited on both entries; but cultivation must be made on the additional entry as required by said sections. For the purposes of this section the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to designate as subject to such sections, lands embraced, at the time of such designation, within valid subsisting entries within national forests. (Mar. 4, 1923, ch. 245, § 1, 42 Stat. 1445.)

§ 223. Preference of settler to entry under Enlarged Homestead Act.

Any settler upon lands designated by the Secretary of the Interior as subject to the provisions of subsections (a)-(e), of section 218 of this title, and section 219 of this title, shall be entitled to the preference right of entry accorded by section 166 of this title; provided he shall have plainly marked the exterior boundaries of the lands claimed as his homestead: Provided, That after the designation by the Secretary of the Interior of public lands for entry under the nonresidence provisions of sections 218 and 219 of this title, any person who shall have plainly marked the exterior boundaries of the lands claimed under said provisions of law and made valuable improvements thereon shall have a preference right to enter the lands so claimed and improved at any time within three months after the date on which such lands become subject to entry; but such right shall forfeit unless the settler or claimant under the provisions of the said sections shall annually cultivate and improve the lands in the form and manner and to the extent therein required following date of initiation of his claim hereunder. (May 14, 1880, ch. 89, § 3, 21 Stat. 141; June 6, 1900, ch. 821, 31 Stat. 683; Aug. 9, 1912, ch. 280, 37 Stat. 267.)

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§ 224. Limitation of entries within certain boundaries in Nebraska extended; exclusion of irrigable lands.

(a) Limitation of entries; boundaries; exceptions. After June 27, 1904, entries made under the homestead laws in the State of Nebraska west and north of the following line, to wit: Beginning at a point on the boundary line between the States of South Dakota and Nebraska where the first guide meridian west of the sixth principal meridian strikes said boundary; thence running south along said guide meridian to its intersection with the fourth standard parallel north of the base line between the States of Nebraska and Kansas; thence west along said fourth standard parallel to its intersection with the second guide meridian west of the sixth principal meridian; thence south along said second guide meridian to its intersection with the third standard parallel north of the said base line; thence west along said third standard parallel to its intersection with the range line between ranges 25 and 26 west of the sixth principal meridian; thence south along said line to its intersection with the second standard parallel north of the said base line; thence west on said standard parallel to its intersection with the range line between ranges 30 and 31 west; thence south along said line to its intersection with the boundary line between the States of Nebraska and Kansas, shall not exceed in area six hundred and forty acres, and shall be as nearly compact in form as possible, and in no event over two miles in extreme length: Provided, That there shall be excluded from the provisions of this section such lands within the territory herein described as in the opinion of the Secretary of the Interior it may be reasonably practicable to irrigate under the national irrigation law, or by private enterprise; and that said Secretary shall, prior to the date above mentioned, designate and exclude from entry under this section the lands, particularly along the North Platte River, which in his opinion it may be possible to irrigate as aforesaid; and shall thereafter, from time to time, open to entry under this section any 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.)

LEAVES OF ABSENCE AND EXCUSES FOR NONRESIDENCE OR NONCULTIVATION

§ 231. Optional leaves of absence; proof of commuta tion.

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 shal 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 as a note under section 481 of Title 5 Executive Departments and Government Officers 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 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.)

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United States Code, Volume 9