Sanford

Plaintiffs and defendants are applicants for the purchase of the subdivisions of land described in the complaint, aggregating two hundred and sixty-eight and eighty hundredths acres, all of which have been listed to the state; and upon the demand of the plaintiff the contest thus arising was referred to the lower court. It is alleged in the complaint, and in the affidavit filed in the surveyor general’s office and attached to the complaint as part thereof, among other things: (1) That ever since June 17, 1901, “plaintiff has been and now is an actual ~bona fide settler thereon”; (2) that the land “is, and at all times herein mentioned was, suitable for cultivation”; and (3) that “more than one-half of each legal subdivision thereof was and is suitable for cultivation,” etc. In the answer, besides denials, it is alleged: (1) That the plaintiff is not now and never has been in the actual possession of said land; (2) that “said land is not suitable for cultivation”; and (3) “that no legal subdivision of said land is, or at any time has been, suitable for cultivation within the meaning of section 3495 of the Political Code.” The applications of the parties are in due form and…