required in all states. Some states require one, but usually two
witnesses are required. The parties signing the deed are required to
appear before an official designated by statute, usually any
magistrate, justice or notary public, and acknowledge the same to be
his or her free act and deed.

A deed has no effect until delivered, and should be immediately
recorded by the purchaser. Generally an unrecorded deed is not good as
against a subsequent purchaser in good faith. It is well to note that
the laws relating to the transfer of land are those of the place where
the land lies and not necessarily those of the place where the deed is
made.

METHOD OF LAYING OUT PUBLIC LANDS

The public lands of the United States are, whenever practicable, laid
out into townships each six miles square, "as near as may be," whose
sides run due north and south and east and west. The townships are
laid off north and south of a base line which is a parallel of
latitude, and are numbered north and south from the base line: Thus,
T. 3 S., means Township No. 3 south from the base line. Each row of
townships running north and south is called a range, and is numbered
east or west of the principal meridian: Thus, R. 2 E., means Range 2
east of the given meridian.

The townships are then laid off into sections or square miles of 640
acres, "as near as may be," and these are numbered, beginning always
at the northeast section, as shown in the accompanying diagram.

N
+-----------------------------+
| 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|----+----+----+----+----+----|
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|----+----+----+----+----+----|
W | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | E
|----+----+----+----+----+----|
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
|----+----+----+----+----+----|
| 30 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 |
|----+----+----+----+----+----|
| 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 |
+-----------------------------+
S

Each quarter section is referred to as the northeast or southwest
quarter of the section, and each forty acres as the northwest or
southeast quarter of a particular quarter. For example, an eighty-acre
field may be referred to as the west half of the southwest quarter of
Section 3, Township 5 North, Range 3, west of ----. Base line and
meridian, or in some cases merely the meridian is mentioned.

The curvature of the earth'