Facts in Relation to the History of the Albany Medical College Museum, together with a Comparative Review of the Museums of Great Britain. THE INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS OF THE COURSE OF 1879-80 AT THE Albany Medical College, Delivered October 7, 1879, BY ALBERT/VAN DERVEER M. I).. Professor of Principles and Practice of Surgery. PUBLISHED BY THE CLASS. J. MUNSELL, PRINTER, 82 STATE STREET. ALBANY: 1819. CORRESPONDENCE. Albany, October 8,1879. Prof. A. Vanderveer— Albany, N. Y.; Dear Sir —At a meeting of the Students of the Albany Medical College held this morning, the following resolution was unanimously adopted, viz : “ Whereas, The Students of the Albany Medical College have listened with deep interest to Prof. Yanderveer’s opening address and, consequently, desire to conform to an established custom of the college ; therefore, be it hereby “Resolved, That a committee of five be appointed to wait upon Prof. Vander- veer and request the manuscript for publication. ” In conformity with the above resolution the following committee has been appointed and would respectfully request said manuscript for publication. S. Edward Ullman, John W. Gould, William C. Wood, Theodore W. Nellis, Alyin H. Eccleston, Committee. 28 Eagle Street, Albany, N. Y., October 14, 1879, Gentlemen : In reply to your kind letter of the Bth, I herewith transmit the manuscript of my introductory address. To yourselves, Gentlemen, I would tender my thanks for the friendly terms in which you have communicated the resolution of the class. With my best wishes, believe me to be, Your sincere friend, A. VANDERVEER. To John W. Gould, S. Edward Ullman, William C. Wood, Alvin H. Eccleston, Theodore W. Nellis, Committee, etc. ADDRESS. Young Gentlemen : I wish to confess that after receiving the appointment to deliver to you the introductory address, I felt very much like a Uriah placed in the front of the battle. While gathering material to pre- sent to you I seemed a victim decking myself for the sacrifice. I remembered, “ whom the Gods would destroy they first make mad and I knew some spell must have been oast over the mind of him who offered the resolution by virtue of which I now stand before you, and of the faculty who approved of that resolution ; while I reflected there was some comfort in the thought that they to whom I was indebted for the honor, would be compelled to listen while I spoke. But then arose another question, in which you, young gen- tlemen, are more particularly interested. It is this : “Why should the many be made to suffer for the ill doing of the few ?” This question is one which has often puzzled me. I have never been able to answer it satisfactorily. I will not now attempt it ; but can only say that in the tax which is about to be made upon your patience you have my sincere sympathy. What to say to you upon this occasion has given me serious thought. Were Ito point out to you the course of study you should pursue, or speak of the character and extent of hospital instruction within your reach, or tell you of the sins and moral dangers to which many of you are exposed in coming to a large city, I ,should be doing only what others have so ably done before. It may suffice forme to re- mind you that our hospitals, dispensaries, almshouse and the peni- tentiary, afford the most ample means for practical instruction in every department in the profession you have chosen. The clinical cases furnished by Albany with its population of 100,000 and the assistance furnished from neighboring cities and villages, justify our city in the claim that she can offer as good oppor- tunities to the medical student as can the larger cities of the Union, or even those of the old world. In the teaching of histology and 4 pathology the college has long been foremost in presenting the best methods of study. In 1869 I was elected to the chair of General and Special Anatomy and, aided by Dr. James H. Armsby, we were the first to procure a set of the celebrated slides prepared by Dr. J. J. Woodward, of Washington ; and by means of the magic lantern, ours was the first college in the state to make use of that method of teaching histology and pathology. It is now upwards of forty-one years since this college was incor- porated. In that time public opinion has come to recognize the necessity of a well educated medical profession. In the attainment of this education, it is the earnest desire of the faculty of our col- lege to assist you in every possible way. At the ancient feasts, a skeleton was sometimes introduced to ad- monish the careless reveller of his mortality. In this address I mean to present to you in history many skeletons, not only the bony structure, but each and every portion of the soft parts as well, from health to disease, from the latter to death. I desire to-day to call your attention to some facts connected with the birth, life and pre- sent condition of the Museum of the Albany Medical College. In front of you, gentlemen, hang the portraits of the early founders of this well known Museum. Drs. Alden March, James H. Armsby and James MacNaughton, as the records show, were the agents in bringing to this building most of the material that has gone to make its museum famous. In the catalogue of the Vermont Aca- demy of Medicine, November, 1828, appears a notice that the col- lection of anatomical preparations is equal, if not superior, to any other private one in the State. At that time the late Alden March was Professor of Anatomy, Physiology and Operative Surgery in that institution, and at the same time, as well as a year earlier, we find from the circular of the Albany Medical Seminary that he was teaching a class of private pupils in this city. It is interesting in looking over this circular for 182 V, to see the names of those who have since taken foremost rank in the profession I trust I may be pardoned for mentioning the name of one—our worthy dean —Dr. Thomas Hun. The Museum of the College may be said to have had its origin as early, as when in 1820, Dr. March began practice in this city. In 1821 he began to lecture to a class of fourteen medical students, his demonstration being made from specimens already mentioned and now in the museum. In 1830 at the begin- ning of his ninth course of lectures to a class of nearly thirty stu- 5 dents, in his introductory, lie urged that a medical school and hos- pital be established in Albany. And when, largely through his ex- ertions, nine years later this college came into existence, no one was more keenly alive to the fact that the early formation of a mu- seum, would be a leading feature, in which by judicious effort the College might excel. “It was afterwards feared (Albany having but 20,000 inhabitants) that there might be a want of clinical material, in which case the museum with its numerous specimens, would prove invaluable ; its rapid growth, therefore need not be a matter of wonder. The museum has been a good teacher, indeed, not only to students but also to thousands of its non-jwofessional visitors. The first attempt to found a medical school in the state of New York was made in 1767, and to-day its representative institution cannot boast as good a museum as we possess. Does not this fact form a standing proof of the energy and will of its founders ? The more medical museums we have and the better they are studied, the sooner will we as a profession be enabled to do away with the practice of profuse medication. In the first introductory lecture by Prof. Reese delivered in the Anatomical Theatre, January 2, 1839, on the opening of the college, special reference is made to the museum, with its vast collection of anatomical and morbid speci- mens. The museum is fully spoken of, and mention is made in most complimentary terms, of the ladies of the city for the interest they manifested in aiding in many ways ; also for their attendance upon the public meetings held when the friends of the infant college were seeking assistance from the generous public. In the first cir- cular issued by the faculty of the college we find a printed list of the anatomical and pathological specimens belonging to the Professors of surgery and anatomy, Drs. March and Armsby. The morbid anatomical specimens, which were certainly very numerous, having been collected by Dr. March during an extensive practice and public course of dissection are capable of illustrating a great variety of surgical diseases. This circular contained also the names of the donors of specimens to the college, and we read there names that were destined to become house-hold words in Albany. These dona- tions extended through a number of years, and I can see no reason why with our present enlargement of the museum this plan of en- couraging members of the profession, alumni of the college and layman, to deposit rare and valuable specimens here should not be brought out more prominently. In the early records of the college we find the faculty making provision in the building of glass cases, 6 etc., for specimens in the museum, also for lighting the room during the delivery of introductory lectures in the evening. In 1841 the charge for lighting for eighteen evenings amounted to thirty dollars. Appropriations were also made in sums ranging from twenty to five thousand dollars for purchasing plaster casts of morbid specimens, French and German preparations in wax and various other specimens. Most of this money was secured by Dr. Armsby, aided by the board of trustees, from the state, as a dona- tion to the young college. Nearly thirty thousand dollars were made use of in this way. Thus we find items like the following : For wax preparations S2BO ; a second appropriation for same $535 ; For foetal skeletons SBO ; foi cases in museum SIOO ; for one pre- paration of the lymphatics $875 ; for female'model for obstetrical work S2OO ; for other preparations in pathological anatomy S3OO ; and for Dr. March to purchase books, surgical apparatus and ana- tomical preparations $250. The preparation of the lymphatics was subsequently sold and the money used to purchase other specimens with. The skeleton of the elephant was purchased from Mr. John Thomas for $l5O. December 17, 184], a resolution was passed that 100 copies of the catalogue of the morbid specimens recently added to the museum be printed for the use of the faculty. At the same time many new cases were added to the museum, and Drs. Mac- Naughton and Armsby were appointed a committee to present a plan for the regulation of the same. Eighty dollars were also ap- propriated for the purchase of the skeletons of the bull and horse. July 15, 1842, the committee on regulations recommended, that after the first day of September the museum should be open to the public only from 1 to 2 o’clock daily, except Saturday and Sundays ; but that respectable strangers, and persons introduced by any of the stockholders or officers connected with the college, or by any re- spectable citizen, should be allowed to visit the museum upon ap- plication to the janitor, after entering their names upon the register to be kept for the purpose. The committee further recommend, that during the sessions of the college, the museum should be closed during the lecture hours ; but that any student wishing to be ad- mitted for the purpose of study should be allowed admittance on application to the janitor for permission. The committee also re commmend that a descriptive catalogue be forthwith prepared to render the museum of more jmactical value than it is at present, both to students and practitioners of medicine. The museum is now open to the students and public from 8 a, m. until 5 p. m., Sun- 7 days excepted, and it is lioped that ere long a printed copy of the catalogue will be accessible to all. July 21,1842, it was resolved that a purchase of specimens be made from Dr, Armsby to an amount not exceeding five hundred dollars. The following is a list of specimens referred to : One full sized male vascular prep, of human body, dried. One full sized female vascular prep, of human body, dried. One prep, of distorted spine with bones and ligaments of the trunk. One prep, of the arteries of the head and trunk, exhibiting several anomalies. One prep, of the head, exhibiting the process of the Dura Mater. One prep, of the nerves of the arm. Sept. 5, 1842, a resolution was passed to pay $4 for cleaning and preparing the skeleton of a turtle presented to the college by John McArdle. ISTov. 26, 1842, it was resolved that Dr. Emmons be appointed a committee to receive and take charge of Dr. Lawyer’s collection of Zoology; also resolved that a catalogue of museum be prepared. In 1843, $2OO of the state appropriation of $l,OOO was expended on the museum and in the following year $250 from the same fund was used for a like purpose. In 1844, the faculty recommended the purchase, which was afterwards made, of Dr. March’s and Dr. MadSTaughton’s anatomical collections. An inventory of the property in the museum and of the furniture belonging to the trustees was also prepared under Dr. Armsby’s direction. The specimens of morbid anatomy brought from London by Mr. Whittaker were bought in 1844, and in the following two years the sums of $l5O and $2OO respectively were de- voted to the museum. At a meeting held Sept. 17, 1846, Dr. Henry F. Greene was thanked by the facility for the presentation of a set of obstetric plates. In March, 1847, Drs. Armsby and Hun were appointed a com- mittee to examine the museum and other property of the college. For the past twenty years the expense of keeping the specimens in good order has averaged about sixty dollars per annum. Dr. Alden March at his death left $l,OOO to the college, the interest of which was to be used for this purpose, and, under the able man- agement of his son, Dr, Henry March, as curator, it has been found sufficient. 8 I have given you in brief the early history of the museum con- nected with this college, not speaking in detail of the many addi- tions that have been made to it during the past thirty years. What of its condition to-day ? We believe we speak the truth in asserting that there are but few other museums in this country equal to it. You have but to examine the large collection of fractured bones— that of the long ones and of the skull unexcelled ; the specimens that go to show the nervous and the arterial systems ; the specimens illustrating the development, chemical composition, structure, growth, and physical properties of the bones ; the individual bones of the entire skeleton during the different periods of life ; and the naturally and artificially articulated skeletons, as well as the wet preparations of the individual articulations, in order to recognize its completeness. In specimens of temporary and permanent cartilages illustrating their structure, relations, and functions, the museum is particularly rich. There is also a good display of ligaments, showing their natural connections and relations, and of specimens of the synovial membranes. The slides exhibited by Prof. Hailes in giving the history of the muscles as well as those also picturing every part of the human frame, cannot be excelled. The specimens of the dried muscles illustrating their forms, connections, relations, and functions, especially the muscles of the hand and foot ; the specimens of the brain, spinal cord and membranes ; of the heart and its pathological changes ; of the abnormal distribution of the arteries ; those of the thoracic duct, of the veins ; the mercurial injections of the arteries and veins and of the testes ; the very many specimens of the entire viscera of the human body, of the develop- ment of the embryo from conception upwards to full growth ; spec- imens of monstrosities and malformations ; wet preparations for il- lustration in the obstetrical department ; also, casts in plaster and wax for the same purpose ; variously prepared specimens of the male and female organs of reproduction ; specimens to show the parts concerned in the operation of lithotomy, hernia and many other special operations ; specimens of the skin, its layers and appendages ; preparations of the organs of voice and respiration, and of the eye and ear, together with others too numerous to mention, all go to show that the claim we make regarding this museum is not an idle one. And then a word or two as to the pathological specimens. You will find here specimens of caries, necrosis, exostosis, exfoliation, periostitis, abscess, strumous affections, syphilitic diseases, nodes of 9 the bones, etc., hydro-rachitis, curvatures of the spine, interstitial absorption of the head of the femur, anchylosis of the different artic- ulations, the most exquisite; also, specimens illustrating the reproduc- tion and restoration of the various bones. Specimens to show bony union of the clavicle, ribs, and many of the irregular bones are numer- ous. The various dislocations, pseudo arthrosis, diseases of the hip joint, inflammation of the cartilages, inter-articular cartilaginous concretions, all are well illustrated. The skill of Dr. March in the diagnosis of morbid growths and of tumors was well known through- out tliis country, and the museum abounds with his wet specimens illustrating this subject. We might go on and formulate a catalogue before we could begin to do justice to the specimens left in the museum by its founders. Right gladly would I mention the particularly special and separate specimens of great interest in this vast collection. To speak in de- tail of the life and death of Calvin Edson, M. D., whose body occu- pies the case standing in the south-west corner of the museum would be an address in itself. In early life while in full health, for a con- siderable time he practiced medicine, until, for some hidden reason he began to emaciate, and at last in order to continue the support of his wife and children he was compelled to exhibit himself as the Living Skeleton, clad in tights to show fully his actual bony form. While in Albany some time previous to his death, he paid a visit in company with Drs. J. 11. Armsby and Alden and Henry March, to tlie museum, in which he was very much interested. When asked what he would have done with his body after death he remarked that he would not object to its being placed here, carefully prepar- ed for exhibition. Not long after, his death occurred ; and if I were to give you an ac- count of the contest that ensued between this institution and the New York colleges to gain possession of his body, it would seem incredible. I can only say that Dr. Alden March, aided by an old and tried friend of the college Mr. Arnold Nelson, a neighbor of Dr. Edson, finally overcame all obstacles, and to-day this musem has proof in this body of the loss of flesh that will result from the closure of the thoracic duct. The vicera alone were removed, and with the exception of some change of color you see him to-day with the skin stretched over his bony skeleton as he appeared for years previous to his death. I should like to go on and speak of the crania that occupy one portion of the north side of the museum ; of their principal donor 10 Prof. Reese, and others. Also of the fine collection of vesica, calculi that represent but a part of the life work of Dr. March To speak of the 1900 specimens deposited in the museum by that great surgeon representing in as many operations, moments of anxiety, care and skill, is quite beyond my power. I can call your attention only briefly to these and other interesting cases, as for instance that of extra-uterine pregnancy, when the ossified foetus was carried for fifty years by the mother, said specimen having been secured by Dr. Parkhurst of Frankfort, and Dr. James H. Armsby, I trust that in the years to come a printed volume enumerating the contents of this vast collection may be completed and thus form a fitting monument to the memory of its founders. It is said “ comparisons are odious but in order that I may sub- stantiate somewhat the assertions I have made in this address, I would like briefly to call your attention to facts relating to some of the anatomical and pathological museums visited by myself but re- cently in the old world, from notes taken at the time. Regarding Ireland, Dublin may be said to be the great center for medical in- struction. There are excellent hospitals, medical schools, colleges, and museums at Cork, Belfast, and Galway, and many local dispen- saries throughout the country ; but the museum connected with the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin undoubtedly surpasses all others. It contains a most excellent collection in comparative ana- tomy, and also exhibits a fine variety of well preserved mummies in their various positions as brought from Egypt and Peru. I did not find a better collection anywhere else than here of wet specimens, showing the various developments of the hermaphrodite. The wet specimens exhibiting stricture of the urethra and the oesophagus as well as those of diseases of the bladder, prostate gland, and kid- neys, were also particularly good. But few good specimens are presented of diseases and fractures of the bones. At Glasgow, I visited the Andersonian University, an institution strictly medical, which has a good but not lai*ge museum attached. I was fortunately admitted into the private museum of its professor of anatomy, Dr. George Buchanan, and to see the wonderful dissec- tions he has made and preserved, was a great pleasure. The build- ings of the Glasgow University, in outward appearance and internal arrangement for its various museums, are the finest I have ever seen. Here I saw nearly all of the valuable specimens left by the celebrated Dr. Wm. Hunter, brother of the great Mr. John Hunter. I was amazed to see the specimens exhibiting the gravid uterus. The em- bryo and foetus, perfect in its membranes, can be seen at any age. 11 The collection in monstrosities is also wonderful. This museum has a good collection in every department. The janitor was a physician who had resided for many years in this country and who spoke very flatteringly of our own museum. Dr. Win. Hunter made his museum to be of great service to him in giving medical evidence in the courts of England, where he often appeared as an expert, and for many years judges continued to avail themselves of his writings in their rulings and charges. The museum connected with the University of Edinburgh ex- cels in its department of comparative anatomy, but is not remarka- ble otherwise. One great peculiarity is that each professor has his own private collection to illustrate his lectures. It is here you find the immense collection of vesical calculi left by the great surgeon, Abernethy. They are well worth one’s study. In the splendid new pathological building connected with St. Thomas Hospital, London, they have a well arranged but not large museum. It is made up mostly of wet specimens well bottled and labelled, of diseased testicles and dissections and operations of her- niie, left by Sir Astley Cooper. It has also a fine array in compara- tive anatomy. The museum connected with St. Bartholomew’s Hospital is a fine affair, particularly in its arrangement. It has an excellent collec- tion in dissections of the human body, also in comparative anatomy, and a large cabinet in materia medica. Here are exhibited some remarkable specimens of renal stones, some very large, and showing, the imprint or cast of the pyramids and pelvis of the kidney. There are many fine specimens of vesical calculi. Also preserved as wet specimens are transverse sections of the arm, forearm, thigh and leg* showing the skin, muscles, injected vessels, the nerves, and bones as perfectly as in the frozen specimen. I may also mention exceed- ingly truthful dissections of the brachial plexus of nerves, and of the elbow ; all the vessels of the hand, popliteal space, and sole of the foot ; other-sections showing the origin of the cranial nerve and the anatomy of the base of the brain ; transverse sections showing the posterior openings of the pharynx, the base of the skull inter- nally, also the carotid artery injected, as well as the other vessels of the neck. There are many sections of the face showing the ante- rior openings of the pharynx, the mouth, the nose, of the eye, and many others of the joints. The dissections showing the female bladder, vagina, urethra, uterus and its attachments, the rectum, and a triangular section of the inner anterior surface of the uterus 12 showing the rugae of the cervix and vagina, the ovary and fallopian tube laid open, all are excellent and clear, as is also a very valuable specimen in which the uterus is laid open, showing a three months’ foetus enclosed in its membranes and still attached. All of these specimens are mounted in plaster casts, surrounded by alcohol, covered with good, clear glass and made air tight as nearly as pos- sible. In this manner they may be seen and studied by the students who are admitted under the care of the janitor. At the museum connected with Guy’s Hospital, they have the fin- est collection in wax preparations showing the normal anatomy of the entire human body. Also casts in wax of tumors and diseases of the skin, and of other abnormal conditions of the body in such number and variety as to render it impossible for me to do justice to them. They have here many pathological specimens showing the work of Sir Astley Cooper during his life. At the Middlesex Hospital, the museum, though not large, has in it many and excellent specimens. In wax models, the development of the chick and human ovum, also of the foetus, is shown clearly and to the best advantage. There is a large number of well selected casts of tumors of the body, of broken arms and legs and of tumors of the penis and scrotum. The models in wax showing the muscles and methods of tying various arteries are very good. In wet path- ological specimens, cysts of the kidneys, hypertrophy of the prostate gland some of the latter enormous diseases of«the urethra, in- testinal canal showing ulceration, abscess of the lungs, the various kinds of tumors of the vascular, nervous, and osseous structures, &c., one can say the collection is simply grand. The wax models showing the various kinds of ulceration, the diseases and tumors connected with the os uteri, and forms of carcinoma about the face, are of the best. Some very curious monstrosities and hydrocephalic heads, the latter large, are preserved in alcohol, and the dried skulls of hydrocephalic heads are excellent. There is here a large collec- tion of skeletons, and separated pelves, showing rickets, and one very remarkable skeleton of a youth, showing deposits upon almost every bone, the result of periostitis. There is a good number of bones and dried arterial specimens. In common with so many of the London museums, this has a large collection of vesical calculi, a peculiarity here being some enormous ones from the horse. Here the students are allowed many of the anatomical specimens to study and the bones of the skeleton are mounted for that purpose; all un- der the observation of the curator. There is an excellent written 13 catalogue of the specimens, but, as is the case in so many other pathological museums, no printed one. They have the neatest museum, dissecting and lecture rooms, con- nected with St. Mary’s hospital that can be found in all London. The museum is not large but in complete order, and contains a number of wet specimens of great interest, especially as regards sacculated bladder with and without stone, diseases of the joints, especially the shoulder and knee, stricture of the urethra, and cystic disease of tbe kidneys. Drs. Jones and -Suevekiny, the authors of the excellent work on pathological anatomy, were both lecturers in this institu- tion. At the museum connected with the London Hospital, one of the hospitals with which Dr. Jon. Hutchinson is connected, they have a most excellent collection of skulls, showing syphilitic caries and specimens of diseases of the liver, perforation and ulceration of the intestines, diseases of the heart, eye, brain and nervous system, blad- der, testes, prostate gland, urethra and various kinds of hernise. They have a good number of casts showing deformities of the feet, &c. A large number of biliary calculi are shown, one very large stone removed from female bladder by dilation of the urethra, age 54. A number of models show the anatomy of the ear, and the nor- mal and pathological condition of the ovum, and female organs of generation. There are some fine dissections of monstrosities, show- ing misplaced viscera and points of union; also specimens of frac- tured bones and an excellent exhibit of plates, showing diseases of the skin, including the new Sydenham Society publications. There is one plate quite peculiar in that it goes to show the eruption on the mucous membrane of the stomach in a case of confluent small- pox, the pustules being filled with pus. In comparative anatomy there is the skeleton of a lion remarkable in showing a great amount of exostoses of nearly every bone. In this museum there is a great want of labels on the specimens. There is a written catalogue but no printed one. They have a small but vrell arranged museum at the Charing Cross Hospital. It contains some fine specimens of enlarged pros- tate and diseases of the urethra. The museum of King’s College Hospital is very good in fractured bones preserved in spirits, and, in diseases of the arteries and veins. I was especially interested in one specimen of an aneurism of the middle cerebral artery the size of an hen’s egg. Diseases of the urethra, testes, prostate gland and of the uterus are fairly shown. 14 Some fine specimens of calculi embedded in the pyramids of the kidney. A few good wax preparations and a number showing dis- tortions of the skeleton are seen. There is a rich collection in ma- teria medica and botany. No catalogue, and room and specimens very dusty. In the museum of University College, everything appears in good order. There is a good collection of wax models showing diseases of the skin, and wet specimens exhibiting diseases of the brain, the va- rious joints, bladder, cystic degeneration of the kidneys, stricture of the urethra, and cancerous and polypi growths of the uterus. The usual number of human monsters and distorted skeletons from dis- eased bone are shown; also a large number of vesical calculi very nicely arranged. There are some exquisite dissections of the arte- ries and nerves shown here and a good collection of broken bones. In connection with the cases of disease of the bladder, I heard Sir Henry Thompson remark that he had never seen but two cases of true scirrhus of that organ. The specimens here showing diseases of the bones and tumors are numerous. There are some fine wet preparations showing hernise, the inguinal sack and track of scrotal rupture. Also fibrinous bands and slits in the mesentery, showing internal strangulation of the intestine. There is here quite a won- derful specimen of scirrhus of the thyroid gland, and a number of specimens of gall bladder, showing gall stones in situ;, besides a case of rupture of the liver that is quite interesting. In the musuems I have mentioned, there is as with us, a great want of a printed catalogue. In arrangements and completeness, the museum at St. George’s Hospital seems to me to rank next to that of the Royal College of Surgeons. It has a very full and complete printed catalogue, the work of John W. Ogle, M. D., F. R. C. S. and Mr, Timothy Holmes, F. R. C. S. I can speak of but one specimen there and that is the skin of the cow from which Jenner took his first vaccine scab. It is pre- served in a room almost by itself, and when we consider that pre- vious to the great discovery of Jenner, it was computed that forty thousand persons died annually from smallpox in Great Britain and Ireland, that in twenty-five years Europe had lost fifteen million of inhabitants by the same disease; and that in this country the rav- ages had been even more severe, we will not object to giving such honor to anything connected with the discovery that gave us a safe- guard in vaccination. Of the great museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, England, 15 and of the Army Medical Museum at Washington, I cannot attempt to speak. The catalogue of each, with that of St. George’s Hospi- tal, may be found in our State Library. The excellent and grand museums in Vienna, Berlin, Leipsic and Paris I have hardly time to mention. But to return to our own museum. I have dwelt upon the facts relating to it because of the deep interest I take and ever have taken in its welfare. In proof of this feeling I wish to call your attention to the work that has been done and is now doing in the extension. During the past year the faculty have put in readiness what was formerly the lecture room of Professors MacNaughton and Townsend. In it I have placed many of my private specimens, to which I shall add others, amounting in all to something over five hundred. There you will find a complete set of Beck’s Anatomical Models, also all the plates of skin diseases published by the New Sydenham Society, together with many from other sources. In wet specimens are a large number of pathological ones illustrating almost every form of disease to be met with in the human body; a collection of renal and vesical calculi, and a large number of gall stones. These are to be arranged so as to make them of the greatest possible use to the students. In another year I hope to have the cata- logue completed, when due credit will be given not only to my old students who have assisted me so much, but to all in the profession who have so kindly aided in forming this addition to the Museum of the Albany Medical College. In passing I wish to say that other arrangements are in progress for adding still more to the museum. The permanent prosperity of any institution must of necessity depend upon the character and intelligence of its teachers. In the new life that has been given this college, we hope as a faculty to demonstrate our ability to maintain and increase its standard of excellence. As to medicine, there will never be any lack of theories. As a science it is not yet perfect—only progressive. As new light breaks in upon it, new things may be revealed, new principles developed. Not so with pathological studies—there your researches lead you into the domain of facts, which, when mastered, give you an anchor of security such as will steady you in the turbulent waters of actual practice. To arrest and cure disease is the aim of our profession, and the diagnosis reached by the study of symptoms can only be safe as we make complete our pathological studies. This may be done in 16 great part by judicious use of a good, well filled museum. The day has gone by when to practice medicine was to mark a symptom and prescribe a remedy. The successful practitioner of to-day must first acquaint himself with the structure and functions of the human body in a state of health, and then with the changes which are ef- fected in them by disease. I cannot leave this topic or close this address without paying a tribute of gratitude to those to whom our institution is largely indebted for its past success and its present honorable position. Many worthy and able men have lent it their aid; but as I stand here and recall my first connection with this col- lege, there are three whom memory brings before me with peculiar vividness, and whose voices still echo upon my ear. Those of you who are familiar with the history of our college, will hardly need to be told to whom I refer; their names I have already mentioned. The fame of Dr. Alden March is too wide spread to need an extend- ed notice now. His indomitable will, faithful devotion, and unre- mitting labor gave to our college its high position through the many years he was its honored head. The record of his operations during his connection with the college, tells more than could any words of mine of his undaunted energy. I would that time permitted me to speak at length, of what Dr. March was and did. I would recom- mend to every aspirant for fame or success who hears me to-day, to study the record of his whole life. You will find in it encourage- ment. You will see how perseverance can overcoihe obstacles and wring success from the most untoward circumstances. And you will see more than this. You will see how the simple child-like faith in the principles of Christianity, is not (as many would have you be- lieve), inconsistent with the highest attainments of medical science. As I pronounce the name of Dr. James MacNaughton I seem again to see the stalwart form and stately bearing of him who for more than thirty years filled the chair of Theory and Practice of Medicine in this college. Born in Scotland, and educated at her best university, we cannot doubt that when in his early manhood he turned his face toward the new world, and landing upon its shores chose our city as his home, he brought to the practice of his profession all the lore and learning which those times had to give, to the seeker after knowledge. Strong, intellectually and physically, for more than fifty years he performed the arduous duties of his profession. Indentified not only with the college to which he was much attached, and for which he labored faithfully, but with all the varied interests of our city, his name is one which Albany holds in reverence and delights to honor. Early in life he made a profession 17 of religion, and it was his consistent Christian character as well as his professional skill which endeared him to his patients. He was a progressive man in his profession yet thoroughly conservative, the former illustrated in his early, earnest study of the teachings of Hanneman, hoping to find progress there; the latter shown in his clinging tenaciously to old things, such as his yellow manuscript remembered by many of us in his lectures. In many homes in our city there are to-day hearts which cherish tender and grateful re- collections of him who was the faithful physician and friend. Hr. James H. Armsby was for many years Professor of Anatomy, and in the youthful life of the college for some time he occupied a room in this building, early and late working out his dissections. He was a man of earnest culture and with a talent rarely equalled, could so clothe the dry skeleton of a didactic lecture with the graces and beauties of eloquence and rhetoric, as to make it a perfect form, symmetrical and comely, instinct with life and radiant with beauty. He was of an aesthetic nature and loved beauty in every form. Ar- dent and enthusiastic, he gave the devoted service of the best years of his life to the advancement of this institution, with which he was so long connected. In our museum to-day may be seen hundreds of specimens which bear testimony to his skill as an anatomist and from a careful examination of which you as students will derive both pleasure and profit. He united with the church about the same time as did Hr. March. On the death of Hr. MacNaughton he was elected president of the college faculty. Thus have I rapidly sketched and brought before you some of the prominent character- istics in the lives of the first three presidents of this institution. Men whose virtues it would be well for you to emulate.