8 
Leidy, Pennsylvania; J. P. Lesley, Pennsylvania; M. F. 
Longstreth, Pennsylvania; D. H. Mahan, United States 
Military Academy, Virginia; J. S. Newberry, Ohio; H. A. 
Newton, Connecticut; Benjamin Peirce, Massachusetts ; 
John Rodgers, United States Navy, Indiana; Fairman 
Rogers, Pennsylvania; R. E. Rogers, Pennsylvania; W. B. 
Rogers, Massachusetts; L. M. Rutherfurd, New York ; 
Joseph Saxton, at large; Benjamin Silliman, Connecticut ; 
Benjamin Silliman, Jr., Connecticut; Theodore Strong, New 
Jersey; John Torrey, New York; J. G. Totten, United 
States Army, Connecticut ; Joseph Winlock, United States 
Nautical Almanac, Kentucky; Jeffries Wyman, Massachu- 
setts ; J. D. Whitney, California; their associates and suc- 
cessors duly chosen, — are hereby incorporated, constituted, 
and declared to be a body corporate, by the name of the 
National Academy of Sciences. 
Sect. 2. And be it further enacted, That the National 
Academy of Sciences shall consist of not more than fifty 
ordinary members, and the said corporation hereby consti- 
tuted shall have power to make its own organization, in- 
cluding its constitution, by-laws, and rules and regulations ; 
to fill all vacancies created by death, resignation, or other- 
wise ; to provide for the election of foreign and domestic 
members, the division into classes, and all other matters 
needful or usual in such institutions, and to report the same 
to Congress. 
Sect. 3. <And be it further enacted, That the National 
Academy of Sciences shall hold an annual meeting at such 
place in the United States as may be designated, and the 
Academy shall, whenever called upon by any department 
of the Government, investigate, examine, experiment, and 
report upon any subject of science or art, the actual expense 
of such investigations, examinations, experiments, and re- 
