SG2 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS. 



session thereof, a report of the operations, expenditures, and condition of 

 the institution. 



Sec. 3. And be it further enacted, That after the hoard of managers shall 

 have met, and become organized, it shall he their duty forthwith to proceed 

 to select suitable sites for such buildings as may he necessary for the institu- 

 tion, and suitable ground for horticultural and agricultural purposes and 

 experiments ; which ground may be taken and appropriated out of that 

 part of the j)ublic ground in the city of "Washington called the Mall, lying 

 west of Seventh street ; and the sites and ground so selected shall be set out 

 by proper metes and bounds, and a description of the same shall be made 

 and recorded in a book to be provided for that purpose, and signed by the 

 said managers, or so many of them as may be convened at the time of their 

 said organization ; and such record, or a copy thereof, certified by the presi- 

 dent of the board of managers, shall be received in evidence in all courts of 

 the extent and boundaries of the lands appropriated to the said institution ; 

 and upon the making of such record, such sites and lands shall be deemed 

 and taken to be appropriated by force of this act to the said institution. 



Sec. 4. Atid be it further enacted, That, so soon as the board of managers 

 shall have selected the site for the buildings of the institution, they shall 

 cause to be erected a suitable building, of plain and durable materials and 

 structure, without unnecessary ornament, and of sufficient size, and with 

 suitable rooms, or halls, for the reception and arrangement, upon a liberal 

 scale, of objects of natural history, including a geological and raineralogi- 

 cal cabinet; also a chemical laboratory, a library, a gallery of art, and the 

 necessary lecture rooms ; and the said board shall have authority, by them- 

 selves, or by a committee of three of their members, to contract for the 

 completion of such building, upon such plan as may be directed by the 

 board of managers, and shall take sufficient security for the building and 

 finishing the same according to the said plan, and in the time stipulated in 

 such contract. And the board of managers shall also cause the grounds 

 selected for horticultural and agricultural purposes to be inclosed and 

 secured, and suitable buildings erected to preserve such plants as will not 

 bear exposure to the weather at all seasons ; and so soon as it may bo nec- 

 essary for the accommodation of the persons employed in said institution, 

 the said board of managers may cause to be erected, on the grounds of the 

 institution, such dwelling-houses and other buildings, of plain and substan- 

 tial workmanship and materials, to be without unnecessar}' ornament, as 

 may he wanted : Provided, however, That the whole expense of the build- 

 ings and inclosures aforesaid shall not exceed the amount of the intere-st 

 which will liave aacrued on the principal sum and fund on the first day of 

 July next, to wit : the sum of two hundred and forty-two thousand one 

 hundred and twenty-nine dollars; which sum is hereby appropriated, pay- 

 able out of money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated ; together 

 with such sum or sums out of the annual interest accruing to the institu- 

 tion, as may, in any year, remain unexpended, after paying the current 

 expenses of the institution: And provided, further, That the expenditure 

 for inclosing and securing grounds, and erecting buildings to prevent plants 

 from exposure, shall not exceed the sum of twenty thousand dollars. And 

 duplicates of all such contracts as may be made by the said board fo man- 

 agers shall be deposited with the Treasurer of the United States ; and all 

 claims on any contract, made as aforesaid, shall be allowed and certified by 

 the board of managers, or a committee thereof, as the case may be, and, 

 being signed by the president of the board, shall be a sufficient voucher for 

 settlement and payment at the Treasury of the United States. And tho 

 board of managers shall be authorized to employ such persons as they deem 

 necessary to superintend the erection of the buildings and fitting up the 

 rooms of the institution. And all laws for the protection of public prop- 

 erty in the city of Washington, shall apply to, and be in force for, the pro- 

 tection of the lands, buildings, and other property of said institution. And 

 all moneys recovered by, or accruing to, the institution shall be paid into 



