1. _#Educational Grants.#_—­Congress from the very first provided liberally for the establishment of common schools through grants of public lands for this purpose.  As each township is surveyed one quarter section of 640 acres is set apart for common schools.  This has continued from the beginning down to the present time.  In addition, large grants have been made specially for the endowment of universities.  Within later years land has been given to every State to found State military and agricultural colleges.  Up to the year 1888, there had thus been granted for educational purposes 77,448,192 acres.

2. _#Land Bounties for Military and Naval Service.#_—­There have been granted by different acts bounties of public land, in the nature of pensions, to the soldiers and sailors of the United States Army, on their honorable discharge, for their service to the Government.  The amount of land thus granted (1880) has been 61,028,430 acres.

3. _#To the States for Internal Improvement.#_—­There was granted to the States during the years from 1828 to 1846, for the improvement of rivers, building of canals, wagon roads, railroads, etc., 162,230,099 acres.

4. _#Sale of Public Land.#_—­Under this head there are two classes of public land—­first, that which may be bought for the minimum rate of $1.25; and, secondly, the alternate sections along the railroads (the other alternate sections being granted to the railroads), the minimum price of which is $2.50.  There have been sold in all 192,584,116 acres, realizing $233,000,000.

5. #_Under the Pre-emption Acts._#—­These acts, passed at various times, provide that where a man, a citizen of the United States, settles upon and cultivates for a certain length of time, a tract of land not greater than 160 acres, the United States will give him such tract.

6. #_Under the Homestead Acts._#—­The homestead laws have created a better and more certain manner for settlers to acquire land than under the pre-emption acts.  By these acts it is provided that any citizen who will select either 160 acres of the $1.25 land, or 80 of the $2.50 land, can then get a permit from the land office, settle on his land, and acquire a title to it.

7. _#Under the Timber Culture Act.#_—­This act gives to any one the right to 160 acres of the $1.25 land if he will plant 10 acres in timber, or 80 acres of the $2.50 land if he will plant 5 acres in timber.

8. _#Certain Lands to States.#_—­Quite a large quantity of the public land has been given to the States on account of its quality, as swamp or overflowed land, and for various reasons, to the extent of 158,417,514 acres.

9. _#Grants to Pacific and other Railroad Companies.#_—­The nature of these grants have already been spoken of in another chapter.  From 1850 to 1872 a total of 150,504,994 acres was given for railroad construction.

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