7.  Every person entitled under the preceding paragraph to enter a homestead who, or whose deceased husband or father, in case of the widow or minor children, may have prior to June 22, 1874, entered under the homestead laws a quantity of land less than 160 acres may, if otherwise qualified, enter so much land as when added to the quantity previously entered shall not exceed 160 acres; but the party must make affidavit that the entry is made for actual settlement and cultivation, and the proof of such settlement and cultivation prescribed by existing homestead laws and regulations thereunder will be required to be produced before the issue of final certificate. (See section 2306, U.S.  Revised Statutes, and section 18 of the act of May 2, 1890, 26 U.S.  Statutes at Large, p. 90.)

8.  Parties may initiate claims under the homestead law either by settlement on the land or by entry at the district office.  In the former case the party will have three months after settlement within which to file his application for the tract at the district office; in the latter case the party will have six months after entry at that office within which to establish residence and begin improvements upon the land. (See sections 2290 and 2297, U.S.  Revised Statutes, and section 3 of the act of May 14, 1880, 21 U.S.  Statutes at Large, p. 140.)

9.  The homestead affidavits required to be filed with the application must be executed before the register or receiver of the proper district land office (see section 2290, U.S.  Revised Statutes) or before any other officer who may be found duly qualified at the time to administer such oaths, according to the provisions of the act of Congress of May 26, 1890 (26 U.S.  Statutes at Large, p. 121).

10.  Parties applying to make homestead entry will be required to tender with the application the legal fee and commissions, which are as follows:  For an entry of over 80 acres a fee of $10, and for an entry of 80 acres or less a fee of $5, and in both cases, in addition, commissions of 2 per cent upon the Government price of the land, computed at the rate of $1.25 per acre, the ordinary minimum price of public lands under the general provisions of section 2357, United States Revised Statutes. (See sections 2238 and 2290, U.S.  Revised Statutes.)

11.  Homestead applicants appearing in great number at the local office to make entry at the time of opening will be required to form in line, in order that their applications may be presented and acted upon in regular order.

12.  Soldiers’ declaratory statements can only be made by the parties entitled or by their agents in person, and will not be received if sent by mail.  A party acting as agent and appearing in line, as contemplated under the eleventh paragraph, will be allowed to make one entry or filing in his individual character, if he so desires, and to file one declaratory statement in his representative character as agent, if such he shall be, and thereupon he will be required to step out of line, giving place to the next person in order, and, if he desires to make any other filings, to take his place at the end of the line and await his proper turn before doing so, and thus to proceed in order until all the filings desired by him shall be made.