The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1852-02-10 00:00:00

ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS

" T.S."—The fault of green petals is common to some
Hyacinths, and we know of no means of preventing it, as
the bulbs are rarely used a second year; therefore we
cannot tell until the plant is in flower what it will turn
out—most likely it arises from too liberal a supply of nu-
triment to the bulb.

" Rusticus."—Certainly, we shall give sketches of gar-
dens as formerly, and shall be obliged by any notices of
new plants or vegetables cultivated in the neighbourhood.

THE LAND SYSTEM IN THE STATES.

(From Colton's Western Tourist.)

Our land system has gradually grown up to its present
perfection, having been modified from time to time, as the
condition of the country and the wants of the people re-
quired. The system, the work of our republican fore-
fathers,—so simple in its theory and practice, so certain
in its results,—is now operating upon the organised land
districts of the United States, as found In the states of
Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, lowa, Mis-
souri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida,
and in the newly-found territory of Minesota.
The principles of surveying are uniform, and very easy
of comprehension. Meridian lines are established and
surveyed in a line due north from some important point,
generally from the junction of some important water-
courses. These are intersected at right angles with a
base line. On the meridians, the " townships" are num-
bered north or south from the base lines, and on the base
line " ranges" are numbered east and west of the meri-
dian. There are six principal meridians used in the sur-
veys of the western states and territories.
When a meridian and base lines have been laid out,
township lines are run, at a distance of six miles, parallel
to the meridian and base line. These form townships of
six miles square, containing an area of 36 square miles.
Each square mile is a " section," and contains 640 acres.
The sections are numbered from 1 to 36, beginning at the
north-east corner of the township.
Sections are subdivided into half-sections of 320 acres ;
into quarter-sections of 160 ; and half-quarter-sections of
80. Prior to the year 1820 no person could purchase less
than a quarter ; but in that year legal authority was given
for the division and sale of sections into eighths. In 1832,
as a further accommodation to settlers, they were divided
into sixteenths, or 40-acre lots. In all the new states, the
sixteenth section of each township, or one near the cen-
tre, is set apart for school purposes. The corners of
townships, sections, and quarter-sections, are designated
by monuments established by the surveyors on the field.
After the lands have been thus surveyed, they are pro-
claimed by the President for sale, and offered at public
auction at not less than per acre ; and such as then
remain unsold are subject to be purchased by private sale
at that rate. As only a small portion of the lands thus
offered are disposed of at public sales, our own citizens,
as well as emigrants from all parts of the world, have at
all times an opportunity of selecting and purchasing, at
private sale, rich and fertile tracts possessing every requi-
site for desirable farms.

The security of titles emanating under this system, has
greatly contributed to the rapid settlement of public
lands. The positions of all tracts are shewn by the sur-
veys on the ground, in strict conformity with legislative
direction; so that even when the monuments by which
they are indicated perish under the consuming influence
of time, they can still be identified, and their boundaries
determined with unerring accuracy.
In conveying these lands to purchasers, the brief desig-
nation of the number of the lot, or its position on the sec-
tion, with the number of the section, township, and range,
will as fully and certainly convey the title as could be
done by the most critical detail of boundaries, and the
most laboured description of courses and distances. This
is fully shewn by the fact, that although this system has
been extended over hundreds of millions of acres, includ-
ing every variety of soil and climate, occupied by people
from almost every civilised portion of the world, litigation
as to boundaries has been so inconsiderable as to place the
superiority of this national system in striking contrast
with those of the older states of the confederacy. Indeed,
where there has been litigation, it has been mainly caused
by frauds, and not by any defect in the plan of operation.