Against the objection of plaintiff's counsel, who excepted to the ruling and assigns error upon it in this court, the defendant served an amended answer, which, among other allegations, contained the following: “That said abbreviations and combination of letters and figures were in general use in Barnes County, North Dakota, and throughout the State of North Dakota, and throughout those parts of the United States where the government system of survey is used, for the description of parts of sections of land, and were generally understood by the people and tax- payers of said Barnes County, and the State of North Dakota, and in those portions of the United States where the government system of survey of lands is used, and where, when applied to descriptions of lands, abbreviations of said descriptions of halves and quarters of sections and smaller subdivisions. That the said figure two placed at the right, and opposite the upper portion of the proper letter indication, east, west, north, or south, is generally used and generally understood throughout the State of North: Dakota, and throughout those portions of the United States in which said government system of survey is used, as. meaning ‘one half’ when applied to descriptions of land; and the said figure four placed at the right, and opposite the upper righthand portions of the abbreviations N. E.,S. E.,S. W.,or N. W., when applied to descriptions of land, is generally used and understood throughout the State of North Dakota, and those portions of the United States where the said government system of survey is used, as meaning ‘one-quarter,’ and the said figure “two” and the said figure “four” are so as aforesaid used and understood in place of the fractions one-half and one-fourth. That said abbreviations and combinations of letters and figures are uniformly used by this plaintiff in describing parts of sections of land, and were at the time of said assessment well understood by him. That said abbreviations and combinations of letters and figures are in general use in the general land offices of the United States, and in the land office in the district in which said Barnes County is situated, and in the offices of the various auditors, treasurers, and
