Las Vegas age. [volume] (Las Vegas, Nev.) 1905-1947, 1907-10-26
LAND LAWS
How to Acquire Public Lands
in Nevada and Other States

In view of the fact that certain lands
in Nevada are to be thrown open to
entry shortly, or have already been
thrown open to entry, information is
asked as to what laws are now in force,
governing the obtaining of title to the
public land.
No very material changes have been
made in the public land laws relating to
agricultural lands since the sweeping
amendments to the law made by the
act OF March 3, 1891. BY that act, the
old pre-emption and timber culture
laws were repealed and the homestead
and desert land laws were amended in
many particulars. These are the two
elases of laws under which title to nom
mineral lands in Nevada must be OBJ
tanned, in addition to such lands as may
be located with scrip.
Under the Act of 1891, desert land
entry can be made for as much as 800
acses OF land by any citizen OF the
United States, including a married wo-
man. Only land which will not pro-
duce ordinary crops at a profit, one year
with another, without artificial irriga-
ton is subject to desert land entry.
The making OF one entry exhausts the
desert land right whether for the full
amount to which the party is entitled
or not, so that person should be care
ful to satisfy himself that he can obtain
sufficient water to irrigate the land he
intends to enter and that the land lies
in such shape that the water can be APP
piled to the entire tract. The pamphlet
issued by the general land office, known
as the General Circular of the General
Land Office" should be obtained either
by writing to the commiss oner of the
general land office, Washington, d. c.,
or to the proper register OF the local
land office OF the district in which the
party lives, in order to learn just what
is required by the desert land law.
Any citizen OF the United States over
/ the age Of q years, or the head OF a
family, is qualified to enter lG0 acres
of land or less, under the homestead
laws, provided such person has never
made homestead entry or has not
taken since August 80, 1890, 80 acres
under the agricultural laws of the
United States, or is not the owner Of
more than l60 acres OF land in any
state or territory. This statement is
subject to the limitation that on lands
within any reclamation project OF the
government, the area that can he en-
tered may be less than 100 acres but not
less than 40, the amount to be fixed by
instructions issued by the secretary OF
the interior. Lands in reclamation
projects are not subject to the desert
land entry nor, indeed, to any other
form of entry except homestead. All
lands subject to homestead entry, except
Indian lands, are, rs Il rule subject also
to script location.
In addition to the homestead and
desert land laws, land which is chiefly
valuable for its timber or its stone may
be entered under the timber and stone
law by the payment OF $3.50 per acre.
The general circular referred to above
gives information on all these classes OF
entry.
Parties wanting specific information
with regard to any complications or
particular tracts of land should write to
Messrs. Copp x Luckett, Washington,
d. c., whose charges for advice are
reasonable.