324 CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS. 



for horticultural and agricultural purposes and experiments; which ground may be 

 taken and appropriated out of that part of the public ground in the city of Washing- 

 ton called the Mall, lying west of Seventh street; and the sites and grounds 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 president 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. And J>e 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 geo- 

 logical and mineralogical cabinet; also a chemical laboratory, a library, and the 

 necessary lecture rooms; and the said board shall have authority, by themselves, 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 to the Treasurer of the United States 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 horti- 

 cultural and agricultural purposes to be enclosed 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 be necessary 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 hcuises and other buildings, of plain and substantial 

 workmanship and materials, to be without unnecessary ornament, as may be wanted: 

 Provided, however, That the whole expense of the buildings and enclosures aforesaid 

 shall not exceed the amount of the interest which will have accrued on the principal 

 sum and fund on the first day of July next, to wit, the sum of $242,129; which sum 

 is hereby appropriated, payable out of money in the Treasury not otherwise appro- 

 priated; together with such sum or sums out of the annual interest accruing to the 

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

 expenses of the Institution : And provided, further, That the expenditure for enclos- 

 ing and securing grounds, and erecting buildings to prevent plants from exposure, 

 shall not exceed the sum of $20,000. And all such contracts as may be made by said 

 board of managers shall be deposited with the Treasurer of the United States; and 

 all questions which may arise between the United States and any person claiming 

 under and by virtue of any such contract shall be heard and determined by said 

 board of managers, and such determination shall be final and conclusive upon all 

 parties; and all claims on any contract made as aforesaid shall be allowed and certi- 

 fied 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 settle- 

 ment and payment at the Treasury of the United States. And the 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 property in the city of Washington shall apply to, 

 and be in force for, the protection of the lands, buildings, and other property of said 

 Institution; and all prosecutions for trespasses upon said property, and all civil suits 

 on behalf of said Institution, shall be prosecuted in the name of the United States in 

 any court having competent jurisdiction of the same. 



SEC. 5. And be it further enacted, That, in proportion a. suitable arrangements can 



