Page:North Dakota Reports (vol. 48).pdf/94

 amount, when added to the flat tax, to cover the losses on all land actually cultivated and cropped and not withdrawn from the operation cf the act. The duty of determining the tillable acreage for the purpose of applying the flat tax devolves upon the assessor. In other words, it is made his duty to classify the lands as tillable and nontillable. This classification is required to be certified to the county auditor on or before June 1st of each year. In addition to the certification of the tillable acreage, the assessor is required to return the number of acres in crop or to be sown or planted to crop during the year (§9). The owner, however, his agent, occupant, or tenant is required to make an affidavit as to the number of acres actually cultivated and in crop, or intended to be cultivated and put into crop (§11). And the owner ts bound, in case of loss by hail, to abide by the acreage stated in his affidavit. The assessor is required to file the original with the county auditor and to leave the copy with the owner. It constitutes his policy of insurance. In the absence of the owner the return of the assessor as to the crop acreage, description, etc., is filed with the auditor, and the owner is bound by that return unless by a certain time, June 15th, he withdraws his land from the operation of the law (§§ 11, 12). The county auditor is required to keep the file of the affidavits presented by the assessors and forward duplicates to the Insurance Commissioner, with a tabulated statement showing the number of acres classified as tillable land and cropped land (§ 13). Section 5 of the law provides:

“The crops insured: under this act shall consist of all crops grown on cultivated land actually cropped, subject to and paying the taxes herein specified.”

Under this law cropped land is only rendered subject to the payment of the taxes specified through the return made either by the owner or the assessor. The primary duty of returning the statement of cultivated acreage devolves upon the owner. The assessor cannot exercise any discretion or independent judgment when the owner complies with the law and makes a return. The law has provided no method for increasing the acreage returned by him, and in case of loss he is bound by the number stated in his affidavit. It seems clear that the affidavit is equally conclusive for the purpose of applying the premium or indemnity tax; for a copy of it is certified to the hail insurance department and the tax imposed by that department is an “acreage