TWENTY-NINTH CONGRESS, 1845-1847. 329 



payable out of money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated; 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 inclosing and securing grounds, and 

 erecting buildings to prevent plants from exposure, shall not exceed the sum of 

 $20,000. And duplicates of all such contracts as may be made by the said board 

 of managers 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 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 

 moneys recovered by, or accruing to, the Institution shall be paid into the Treasury 

 of the United States, to the credit of the Smithsonian bequest, and separately 

 accounted for, as provided in the act approved July 1, 1836, accepting said bequest. 



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

 be made for their reception, all objects of art and of foreign and curious research, 

 and all objects of natural history, plants, and geological and mineralogical specimens 

 belonging or hereafter to belong to the United States, which may be in the city of 

 Washington, in whosesoever custody the same may be, shall be delivered to such 

 persons as may be authorized by the board of managers to receive them, and shall 

 be arranged in such order, and so classed, as best to facilitate the examination and 

 study of them, in the buildings so as aforesaid to be erected for the institution; and 

 the managers of said institution shall afterwards, as new specimens in natural his- 

 tory, geology, or mineralogy may be obtained for the museum of the institution, by 

 exchanges of duplicate specimens belonging to the institution (which they are hereby 

 authorized to make), or by donation, which they may receive, or otherwise, cause 

 such new specimens to be also appropriately classed and arranged. And the min- 

 erals, books, manuscripts, and other property of James Smithson, which have been 

 received by the Government of the United States and are now placed in the Depart- 

 ment of State, shall be removed to such institution, and shall be preserved separate 

 and apart from the other property of the institution. 



SEC. 6. And be it further enacted, That the managers of said institution shall appoint 

 a superintendent, whose duty it shall be to take charge of the grounds, buildings, 

 and property belonging to the institution, and carefully preserve the same from 

 injury; and such superintendent shall be the secretary of the board of managers, 

 and shall, under their direction, make a fair and accurate record of all their pro- 

 ceedings, to be preserved in said institution; and the said superintendent shall also 

 discharge the duties of librarian and of keeper of the museum, and may, with the 

 consent of the board of managers, employ assistants; and the said managers shall 

 appoint a professor of agriculture, horticulture, and rural economy; and the said 

 professor may hire, from time to time, so many gardeners, practical agriculturists, 

 and laborers as may be necessary to cultivate the ground and maintain a botanical 

 garden ; and he shall make, under the supervision of the board of management, such 

 experiments as may be of general utility throughout the United States, to determine 

 the utility and advantage oi' new modes and instruments of culture, to determine 

 whether new fruits, plants, and vegetables may be cultivated to advantage in the 

 United States; and the said officers shall receive for their services such sum as may 

 be allowed by the board of managers, to be paid semiannualiy on the first day of 

 January and July; and the said officers, and all other officers of the institution, shall 



