Page:Transactions of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia (ser 03 vol 05).djvu/46

xxxvi at once riveted the attention and informed the minds of his audience. "His lectures in this department," says Dr. Hunt, "were truly superb. They were most profusely illustrated by the finest specimens that could be obtained. Every species of medicinal plant that could be grown in this climate and in his conservatories, was shown in the living state for the benefit of the class. Some of the Fall preliminary lectures were made gorgeous with the foliage of the Tropics. The strictest attention was paid to the professor by the huge classes. A syllabus furnished gratuitously, and generally interleaved for notes, was in the hands of every student."

Much of what he thus taught from his Chair in the University was happily available for more general use; and, in pursuance of his rule to make utility a prominent design in all his labors, he now compiled and published, in conjunction with his friend, Dr. Franklin Bache—who had succeeded him in the chemical department of the College of Pharmacy—The United States Dispensatory. The venerable Daniel B. Smith, President of the College, was originally a party to the undertaking; the first meetings were held at his house, and several papers were contributed by him; but other engagements, engrossing all his time, compelled his early withdrawal.

To form a just estimate of the necessity and value of this important work, some acquaintance with the previous condition of things is required. Many substances hitherto unknown, touched by the magic wand of chemistry, had been compelled to reveal their ultimate principles. Investigation of the medicinal properties of articles belonging to the