BOTANICAL GARDENS 



979 



SECTION I 



THE STATE STATUTE CREATING THE NEW YORK 

 BOTANICAL CORPORATION 



The constitution and the by-laws of the corporation are so valuable 

 as suggestions to other communities considering the establishment of botan- 

 ical gardens that they are herewith present in full. 



Act of Incorporation of the New York Botanical Garden, 

 as amended by Chapter 103 of the Laws of 1894, Chap- 

 ter 717 of the Laws of 1896 and Chapter 473 of the 

 Laws of 1914. 



Chapter 285. An act to provide for the establish- 

 ment of a botanic garden and museum and arboretum, 

 in Bronx Park, in the City of New York, and to incor- 

 porate the New York Botanical Garden for carrying on 

 the same. Approved by the Governor, April 28, 1891. 

 Passed, three-fifths being present. 



The people of the State of New York, represented in 

 Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows: 



Section I. Seth Low, Charles P. Daly, John S. New- 

 berry, Charles A. Dana, Addison Brown, Parke God- 

 win, Henry C. Potter, Charles Butler, Hugh J. Grant, 

 Edward Cooper, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Nathaniel L. 

 Britton, Morris K. Jesup, J. Pierpont Morgan, Andrew 

 Carnegie, Thomas F. Gilroy, Eugene Kelly, Jr., Richard 

 T. Auchmuty, D. O. Mills, Charles F. Chandler, Louis 

 Fitzgerald, Theodore VV. Myers, William C. Schermer- 

 horn, Oswald Ottendorfer, Albert Gallup, Timothy F. 

 Allen, Henry R. Hoyt, William G. Choate, William H. 

 Draper, John S. Kennedy, Jesse Seligman, William L. 

 Brown, David Lydig, William E. Dodge, James A. 

 Scrymser, Samuel Sloan, William H. Robertson, 

 Stephen P. Nash, Richard W. Gilder, Thomas Hogg, 

 Nelson Smith, Samuel W. Fairchild, Robert Maclay, 

 William H. S. Wood, George M. Olcott, Charles F. 

 Cox, James R. Pitcher, Percy R. Pyne and such persons 

 as are now, or may hereafter be associated with them, 

 and their successors, are hereby constituted and created 

 a body corporate by the name of the New York Botani- 

 cal Garden, to be located in the City of New York, for 

 the purpose of establishing and maintaining a botanical 

 garden and museum and arboretum therein, for the 

 collection and culture of plants, flowers, shrubs and 

 trees, the advancement of botanical science and knowl- 

 edge, and the prosecution of original researches therein 

 and in kindred subjects, for affording instruction in the 

 same, for the prosecution of original researches therein 

 and in kindred subjects, for affording instruction in the 

 same, for the prosecution and exhibition of ornamental 

 and decorative horticulture and gardening, and for the 

 entertainment, recreation and instruction of the people. 



Section 2. Said corporation shall have all such cor- 

 porate powers, and may take and hold by gift, grant or 

 devise all such real and personal property as may be 

 necessary and proper for carrying out the purposes 



aforesaid, and for the endowment of the same, or any 

 branch thereof, by adequate funds therefor. 



Section 3. Said corporation may adopt a constitu- 

 tion and by-laws; make rules and regulations for the 

 transaction of its business, the admission, suspension 

 and expulsion of the associate members of said corpora- 

 tion, and for the number, election, terms, and duties of 

 its officers, subject to the provision of this act; and may 

 from time to time, alter or modify its constitution, 

 by-laws, rules, and regulations, and shall be subject to 

 the provisions of Title 3, of Chapter 18, of the first 

 part of the Revised Statutes. 



Section 4. The affairs of the said corporation shall 

 be managed and controlled by a board of managers as 

 follows: the president of Columbia College, the pro- 

 fessors of botany, of geology and of chemistry therein, 

 the president of the Torrey Botanical Club, and the 

 president of the board of education of the City of 

 New York, and their successors in office, shall be ex 

 officio members of said corporation and of the board of 

 managers, and be known as the scientific directors; 

 they shall have the management and control of the 

 scientific and educational departments of said corpora- 

 tion and the appointment of the director in chief of 

 said institution, who shall appoint his first assistant 

 and the chief gardener, and be responsible for the gen- 

 eral scientific conduct of the institution. All other 

 business and affairs of the corporation, including its 

 financial management, shall be under the control of the 

 whole board of managers, which shall consist of the 

 scientific directors, as herein provided, and of the mayor 

 of the City of New York, the president of the board of 

 commissioners of the department of public parks, and 

 at least nine other managers to be elected by the mem- 

 bers of the corporation. The first election shall be by 

 ballot, and held on a written notice of ten days, ad- 

 dressed by mail to each of the above-named incorpora- 

 tors, stating the time and place of election, and signed 

 by at least five incorporators. Three of the managers 

 so elected shall hold office for one year, three for two 

 years, and three for three years. The term of office of 

 the managers elected after the first election, save those 

 elected to fill vacancies in unexpired terms, shall be 

 three years; and three managers and such others as 

 may be needed to fill vacancies in unexpired terms 

 shall be elected annually, pursuant to the by-laws of 

 the corporation. The number of elective managers may 

 be increased by vote of the corporation, whose terms 



