ART. 96.] UNITED STATES—CONDEMNATION. 1435

writing to the circuit court for the county where the land lies
which petition shall be filed with the clerk of said court, to have
the said land condemned for the use and benefit of the United.
States; and any such agent of the United States may, for the
purpose of ascertaining its bounds and quantity, enter upon the
lands, without injury thereto, which the United States may desire
to purchase for any of the purposes aforesaid.

1874, ch. 395, sec. 2

6. Said petition shall state the bounds and quantity of the
land to which the United States desire to obtain title and the
public purposes for which said land is desired; and the names of
the owner or owners thereof, and where they respectively reside,
and whether they are adults or under age, and whether married,
or single, or non compos mentis / if said facts are known to the
agent filing said petition, or if said agent does not know any fact
which he is hereinbefore required, if known to him, to state, he
shall state in said petition that he does not know said fact.

Ibid, sec 3.

7. Every such petition must be verified by an affidavit to be
taken before the clerk of said court, and annexed thereto, of the
said agent of the United States, that the statements therein con-
tained are true to the best of his knowledge and belief; and
where said petition shall state that it is unknown where any such
owner resides or whether he is an adult or under age, married,
single, or non compos mentis, the said agent shall further make
affidavit that he has used all reasonable efforts to ascertain the
fact or facts stated in said petition to be unknown by him, and
has failed to ascertain them.

Ibid sec 4.

8. Upon the said petition, verified as aforesaid, being filed in
the office of said clerk, it shall be the duty of said clerk to give
notice of the substance and object of said petition by printed
notice, to be published once a week for three months in some
newspaper printed in the city of Baltimore, and also by like
notice, to be published as aforesaid, in one newspaper printed
and published in the county where the land lies, if any news