ing consideration is a condition precedent. Such deeds may be ratified by the party upon restoration to reason, and if not then set aside within a reasonable time, the transaction will be deemed to have been affirmed. On becoming of age a person may disaffirm his contract made during minority, but this must be done within a reasonable time after attaining majority, and the remaining consideration received must be returned. What is a reasonable time depends on the circumstances of each case. Three and one-half months has been held not to to be an unreasonable delay when the party was on the ground and the relation of the parties had not materially changed. The same rules apply to conveyances made by a grantor under fraud or duress; these should be set aside within a reasonable time after the duress or the discovery of the fraud.

It is not necessary that one should have the power to make a contract in order to be a grantee in a deed. Any person, including infants, persons of unsound mind, corporations, etc., may be grantee in a deed, but if the grant is on condition, such condition, of course, must be performed according to the terms of the deed. The grantee should be so designated that he may be ascertained.

Consideration.-Every deed should state a consideration. The consideration may be good or valuable. (See Section 4 in the chapter on Contracts.) A seal is presumptive evidence of a sufficient consideration. If the real consideration is not to become known, it is customary to express a consideration of one dollar.

Estate to be conveyed.-The estate or interest sought to be conveyed should be definitely described. This is usually done by giving a lot number in a certain recorded subdivision, or by designating a certain portion of a section in a certain township, or by describing the premises by metes and bounds. Every deed passes all the estate or interest of the grantor in the premises conveyed, unless the contrary appears. Thus, if the grantor sell lands adjoining a water-course, the grantee takes to its center, although nothing is said about the water-course in the deed. If nothing is said as to the nature of the estate conveyed and the grantor owns a fee, the grantee will receive a fee. By conveying the land, all that belongs to it is also conveyed. Thus, an easement over the land of another which is necessary and had been enjoyed by the

previous owner of the land conveyed, passes to the grantee; also, houses and standing crops and timber. Everything which belongs to or is necessary to the complete enjoyment of the property passes to the grantee as an appurtenance. Our supreme court has held growing grasses to be an appurtenance, also rails lying on the land about to be put into a fence. Standing timber can only be conveyed by deed.

Attestation. This is only necessary to entitle the deed to record. A deed is valid as between the parties though not witnessed. Two witnesses are required to entitle a deed to record. When the grantors sign in different places, there should be two witnesses for each signature and a separate acknowledgment for each grantor, unless the witnesses and acknowledging officer are present when each signature is made. A minor may be a witness. Such witnesses are required as would be competent to testify for the grantor. A husband cannot witness the deed of his wife or vice versa.

Acknowledgment.-This is also only necessary to entitle a deed to record; as between the parties a deed is valid though not acknowledged. The officer should state when his commission expires. Notaries are responsible for false acknowledgments. The person taking the acknowledgment should affix his seal if he has one. (See chapter on Notaries Public.)

Delivery and acceptance.-A deed is not operative until there has been a delivery after due execution of the same by the grantor with intent to give it effect, to the grantee, who has assented, expressly or impliedly, to receive the same. After a deed has once been delivered, its re-delivery to the grantor and destruction by him, does not affect the title, and where a deed was stolen from the grantor, before delivery, by the grantee, no title passed to the latter. A re-delivery is not necessary to make a deed or mortgage properly executed good after anything has been inserted therein at the direction of the grantor or mortgagor although such authority was given by parol. Accordingly, where a mortgage was delivered to an agent with directions to fill in as mortgagee the name of the person from whom he could make the loan, such agent could fill in any name, and no re-delivery or new execution was necessary.

There need be no particular form of delivery. Thus, where the minds of the parties had fully met, and the deed was fully executed by the grantor, and handed by the scriv

ner to the grantee, who received it, this was a good delivery. The legal presumption is that a deed in the hands of the grantee was delivered at the date of its execution. A deed may also be delivered to a third person to be delivered to the grantee on the happening of some event or the performance of some condition, but in such cases the final delivery must take place before the grantor's death. Such deposit makes a deed an escrow. We quote the following from a Wisconsin case: "To constitute a good delivery for any purpose the grantor must divest himself of all power and dominion over the deed. To do this he must part with the possession of the deed and all right and authority to control it, either finally and forever, as where it is given over to the grantee himself or to some person for him, which is called an absolute delivery, or otherwise he must part with all present or temporary right of possession and control, until the happening of some future event or the performance of some future condition, upon the happening or not happening or performance or non-performance of which, his right of possession may return and his dominion and power over the deed be restored, in which case the delivery is said to be contingent or conditional. A conditional delivery is and can only be made by placing the deed in the hands of a third person, to be kept by him until the performance of some condition or conditions by the grantee or some one else, or until the happening of some event, when, upon the performance or happening of which, the deed is to be delivered over by the depositary to the grantee." It has frequently occurred that a person executed a deed without the knowledge of the grantee and kept same, thinking that it would take effect on his death, but such a conveyance is of no effect, even if recorded, as there was no delivery during the lifetime of the grantor. Where a deed is duly executed and delivered by the grantor to a depositary in the presence of the grantee and without any reservation or control, with the intention and understanding that such depositary is to retain the custody thereof until the grantor's death and then deliver the same to the grantee, it is the grantor's deed in praesenti from the time of such deposit and the depositary thereby becomes the trustee of the grantee. By the weight of authority, acceptance by an infant or person under disability will be presumed if the conveyance is beneficial to him.

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Recording. The object of the recording statutes is to

furnish reliable information as to the title to real estate and thus protect subsequent purchasers in good faith and for a valuable consideration. Our statute provides:

Effect of recording.-"Every conveyance of real estate within this state hereafter made (except patents issued by the United States or this state, or by the proper officers of either) which shall not be recorded as provided by law shall be void as against any subsequent purchaser in good faith and for a valuable consideration of the same real estate or any portion thereof whose conveyance shall first be duly recorded."

Bonds and contracts.-"Every bond or contract for the sale or purchase of lands or concerning any interest in lands, made in writing, under seal, attested by two witnesses and acknowledged, may be recorded in the office of the register of deeds of the county where the lands lie."

Recording takes effect from the time the deed is left with the register of deeds and proper entry thereof made in the general index. The general index is a book required by law to be kept by every register of deeds, in which, among other things, there is to be an alphabetical index of grantors and grantees. If the name of the grantor is not written in this index, there is no recording. Proper entry in this index furnishes constructive notice of the matters contained therein from its date and also of the instrument itself until it is recorded in full, that is, the registration of the conveyance in extenso relates back to the time of entry in the index. If there is some discrepancy between the entry in the index and the instrument as recorded, each supplies the defects of the other in the constructive notice thereby given. Thus, where the general index properly described the land, but the record at large omitted part of the description, this was nevertheless a good registration. If there is an error in the description in the general index, such error is cured from the time the description is properly recorded in the registration of the instrument at large, and an omission to make proper entry in the general index may be remedied after the deed has been recorded and the record is good from such time. There need not be a new recording. A subsequent purchaser is charged with such knowledge as the proper index entries afford, as well as the notice of those facts derived from the record of the instrument itself; he is presumed to have ex

amined the whole record. But in order that a recorded instrument be notice to a subsequent purchaser, it must be entitled to record, and in order to entitle it to record, it must be executed as required by the statute. The instrument must be signed, sealed, attested by two competent witnesses and acknowledged. If not entitled to record, it will not be constructive notice to subsequent purchasers although recorded, unless they have actual notice of it. Thus, where the reception of a mortgage was duly noted in the general index, but the attestation was not copied when recording the deed in extenso this was not constructive notice, and where there were no witnesses to a deed, it was not entitled to record. The instrument must be recorded where the land lies in order to be of any effect. An unrecorded deed is, of course, good between the parties and subsequent purchasers who have notice of the prior conveyance.

The purchaser is bound to examine his deed and the recitals therein contained will be presumed to be known to such purchaser and "where a purchaser cannot make out a title but by a deed which leads him to another fact, he will be presumed to have knowledge of that fact."

A purchaser will be charged with notice if the recitals in a deed are such as to put a man of reasonable prudence upon inquiry as to the truth, and if such inquiry would have resulted in ascertaining the true state of affairs. Accordingly, it was held that a purchaser is chargeable with what appeared in his chain of title, there being a clause in the deed to his grantor that the premises "are clear and free from all incumbrances except a mortgage to the La Crosse Railroad Company which I am to save the said B harmless from," although the mortgage was not recorded. But the registry law is intended for the protection of those only who purchase in good faith, after making all reasonable examination as to the real condition of the title, and actual, open and visible occupation, whether known to the purchaser or not, is sufficient notice to a purchaser of the rights and equities of such occupant, that is, possession under an unrecorded deed is constructive notice to a subsequent purchaser, although such occupation was unknown to the purchaser and the occupants deed was not recorded.

Covenants and conditions.--In Wisconsin, no covenants are implied in any conveyance of real estate and the instru