MEMWIE 
OF 
JOSEPH CARSON, M.D.. 
LATE ONE OF THE CENSORS OF THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF 
PHILADELPHIA, EMERITUS PROFESSOR OF MATERIA 
MEDICA AND PHARMACY IN THE UNIVERSITY 
OF PENNSYLVANIA, ETC. 
BY 
JAMES DARRACH, M.D. 
Read before the College, May 7,1879. 
[Extracted from the Transactions, Third Series, Volume IV.] 
PHILADELPHIA: 
COLLINS, PRINTER, 705 JAYNE STREET. 
18 7 9. MEMOIR 
OP 
JOSEPH CARSON, M.D.. 
LATE ONE OP THE CENSORS OF THE COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS OF 
PHILADELPHIA, EMERITUS PROFESSOR OF MATERIA 
MEDICA AND PHARMACY IN THE UNIVERSITY 
OF PENNSYLVANIA, ETC. 
BY 
JAMES DARRACH, M.D. 
Read before the College, May 7,1879. 
[Extracted from the Transactions, Third Series, Volume IV.] 
PHILADELPHIA: 
COLLINS, PRINTER, 705 JAYNE STREET. 
187 9. M EMOIR 
OF 
JOSEPH CARSON, M.D. 
The College of Physicians has assigned me the duty of 
preparing a memoir of our late and distinguished Fellow, 
Dr. Joseph Carson ; and while I am grateful for this oppor- 
tunity to pay a tribute to his memory, I undertake the task 
with much fear of my ability to perform it aright, and I 
cannot but feel that abler hands than mine should have been 
selected for this sacred duty. We all must lament the death 
of Dr. Carson, and it is a melancholy thought that all that 
is left of his mortality lies hidden in the grave; yet, while 
his body mingles with the dust, his good deeds live with us 
as a part of his immortality, a lamp to illumine our paths. 
In tracing his lineaments, I would avoid becoming either the 
critic or the eulogist, and it will be my endeavor to draw 
his portraiture as truthfully as the bias of warm friendship 
will admit. To say that our friend was without faults, would 
be to say that he was more than human; but whatever they 
may have been, we are safe in leaving them to be weighed 
and judged by the Higher Power, while we try to do justice to his merits, with the assurance that if we follow in his 
footsteps, and are guided by his principles, we shall have 
fairly earned the praise of “ Well done, good and faithful 
servants,” remembering that a well spent life like his results 
not only in satisfaction and benefit to ourselves, but in good 
to others while that life lasts, and, when our work is done 
and the Master sees fit to call us home, serves as an ensample 
to those whom we leave behind. 
Dr. Joseph Carson was born in Philadelphia, on Easter 
Monday, the 19th of April, 1808, and died December 30,1876, 
in his sixty-ninth year. His paternal ancestors were origin- 
ally from Scotland, and belonged to that rigid and staunch 
Presbyterian denomination which has made its deep impress 
upon the politics and institutions of our country. They left 
Scotland during the tyrannical reign of the Stuarts, and 
passed over to the north of Ireland. In 1735, three brothers, 
Andrew, William, and Joseph, emigrated to this country. 
Joseph (the grandfather of the subject of our notice) settled 
in Philadelphia, and was one of its old shipping merchants, 
who, like Robert Morris, loaned his credit to the Continental 
Congress during the struggle for independence of his adopted 
country. His son (also named Joseph), a highly respected 
merchant, though unsuccessful in business, was united in 
marriage to Elizabeth Laurence, daughter of Isaac Laurence, 
of Long Island. The issue of this union was five children, 
of whom Joseph, the future Professor Carson, was the eldest. 
Of the doctor’s early days, I have been able to learn but 
little, excepting that his family speak of him as having 
always been a student. A story connected with his child- 
hood, and which was told me by his sister, I will relate, as 
it displays one of the strong points of his character. A 
gentleman was giving an account of a woman who had called 
4 5 
upon a female friend to borrow a tub, and, not gaining 
admission after repeated knocking, had ventured to look in 
by the window, when with horror she saw her friend lying 
dead upon the floor, with evidences of having been murdered. 
The story finished, young Carson, who was present, and then 
eight years of age, seemed unaffected by this tale of horror, 
and, apparently much more interested as to whether the 
woman accomplished the object of her journey, asked the 
narrator, “ Did she get the tub?”—which phrase stands as a 
by-word in the Carson family until the present day. This 
story may appear to have no particular point, or in some 
minds may reflect unfavorably upon the little questioner, as 
manifesting a want of feeling, and an unimpressible nature. 
I see it, however, in another light, as an illustration of a 
decided trait of bis specific character. The question indicates 
that, had he been sent for the tub, not even the sight of the 
murdered woman would have deterred him from accomplish- 
ing the object of his errand ; and this quality, this grip of 
mind, as it were, which holds on to the end, is of supreme 
importance in the battle of life, and belongs only to those 
who know no such word as fail ; while, for the want of it, 
genius, talent, and brightness, often accomplish but little. 
The rudiments of young Carson’s education were obtained 
at the Germantown Academy, then under the patronage of 
Mr. John Brewer, a very highly respected teacher in his 
day. The building still stands in School Lane, bearing the 
coat-of-arms of George IY, a relic of the olden time. As he 
grew older he was placed under the tuition of Mr. White,of 
Philadelphia. Of this part of Dr. Carson’s life, I have little 
to relate. It is highly probable that he passed through the 
ordinary schoolboy’s experiences, though I doubt that he 
entered much into the sports of his companions, nor do I 6 
suppose he ever distinguished himself in any of the usual 
boyish games requiring physical effort; he was not renowned, 
like McClellan, the surgeon, for being a good shot; nor did 
he, like Bache, swim the Delaware ; in fact, from my knowl- 
edge of him, I should suppose that he had always been 
physically inactive, and, even in his later years, he showed 
no disposition to exaggerate the importance of early rising, 
lie was not a sprightly boy, yet showed great zest in pur- 
suits which were consonant with his tastes, and we might 
here quote the words of Macaulay, as applied to another 
distinguished Joseph, that “we have abundant proof that 
whatever Joseph’s pranks may have been, he pursued his 
studies vigorously and successfully.” 
From Mr. White’s school, Mr. Carson entered (at the age 
of fifteen years) the Sophomore Class of the University of 
Pennsylvania, at this time under the presidency of the Rev. 
Frederick Beasley, D.D. The early part of his collegiate 
life was somewhat ruffled, from his not being as well pre- 
pared as he should have been, and his having to relearn his 
Latin pronunciation, that which had been taught him at 
school differing from that accepted at college. This annoyed 
him greatly. Nor did he, at best, much relish his academic 
career, and probably would not have pursued his studies 
here had it not been for the persistent efforts of a devoted 
aunt, who helped and encouraged the young student. 
Having resolved on this course, he showed, as he did through- 
out his life, a determination to do his part faithfully, and to 
strive for excellence; so that, with close application to his 
books for three years, he graduated with honor, and received 
his diploma as Bachelor of Arts, on July 27, 1826. 
He had now, at the age of eighteen years, completed 
his collegiate course, which brings him to a most import- 7 
ant epoch of a man’s existence, that at which it becomes 
necessary to decide upon the path which is to be travelled 
with credit to himself and usefulness to his fellowmen, or 
to result, after a life’s struggle, in failure and disaster. 
Feeling the necessity of doing something for a livelihood, 
he selected a business life, and was induced to enter the 
wholesale drug store of Dr. Edward Lowber. He did not, 
however, remain here long, the daily routine of trade 
being uncongenial to his tastes and constitution of mind. 
ISTo doubt, also, his aspirations by this time took a higher 
flight, which, combined with the irksomeness of an appren- 
tice’s life, influenced him to change his course. We 
should remember that, in that day, a store apprentice per- 
formed duties of a more servile nature than the boy of the 
present age, upon entering his business career; it became his 
duty, then, to sweep out the store, make fires, and, as in 
young Carson’s case, wash out the bottles. An impulse was 
given, while employed by Dr. Lowber, to the study of botany, 
the doctor being a botanist. 
This study soon filled Mr. Carson’s mind, and it was not 
long before he became an enthusiastic lover of plants, and 
made frequent excursions for their collection; he was also 
led from the study of abstract botany to investigate the 
medicinal virtues of his floral acquisitions, and while col- 
lecting for his herbarium, he made decoctions and infusions 
of the plants, testing their effects upon his own person; and 
his sister (who often accompanied him on these expeditions) 
says, he tried to induce her to partake of these bitter drinks, 
that he might extend his observations. These trips into the 
country, while they served no doubt to relieve the monotony 
and wearisomeness of his business life, invigorating his sys- 
tem and increasing his love of nature, also opened his mind 8 
to its future, and directed him into the path which he followed 
from this time on, so faithfully and successfully, drawing 
nearer and nearer to the temple of fame until he entered 
its portals, and finally leaves us with his name engraved 
upon her tablets, among those of the wise and good whom 
he has now joined. From flowery lanes and woodland 
paths, he was directed to the extensive field which now 
opened before him, the broad field of medicine. Having 
thus made up his mind, he entered as a private pupil the office 
of Dr. Thomas T. Hewson, one of the distinguished physi- 
cians of his day, and from his preceptor’s office he matricu- 
lated at the Medical Department of the University of Penn- 
sylvania, and received his degree of Doctor of Medicine in 
the month of March, 1830, having presented for graduation 
a thesis on animal temperature, an essay (though not marked 
by originality) exhibiting research, method, clearness of 
thought, unambiguous style, and sound reasoning; all of 
which qualities continued to characterize his writings and 
teaching in after life. 
Soon after graduating, Dr. Carson was elected one of the 
resident physicians in the Philadelphia Alms House, then 
situated on Tenth Street, between Spruce and Pine. His 
companions, while here, were all men of first-class ability, 
some of whom, like himself, distinguished themselves in their 
after life. They were William W. Gerhard, George W. 
Korris, Thomas Forrest Betton, Thomas Stewardson, Ed- 
ward F. Rivinus and William Keith. 
As popularly understood, Dr. Carson had now completed 
his medical education, having obtained his theoretical 
knowledge from the oldest and most distinguished school of 
medicine in our country, and having gathered a rich practi- 
cal experience from close clinical observation, which, with 9 
the opportunities that such a school offered for the study 
of diagnosis and the effects of remedies, prepared him to 
assume the responsibilities of a physician. lie did not, 
however, immediately enter upon the practice of his profes- 
sion, hut determined to take a voyage to the East Indies. 
Of his motives for so doing I know not; perhaps to see the 
world, and that he might better his circumstances, and thus 
be able to enter upon his future career, free from that em- 
barrassment which has sapped the energies of more than one 
bright mind, and driven it from the profession, weary of 
waiting, and of living, ever living, on hope. However this 
may be, Hr. Carson set sail as surgeon, on board the ship 
“ Georgiana,” commanded by Captain John Land; during 
which voyage he visited Madras and Calcutta, returning to 
Philadelphia, August 3, 1832, having been absent nearly a 
year. While on this expedition, he kept a journal, in which 
we find, neatly and methodically arranged, tables indicating 
the temperature of the sea and air, and the barometrical 
conditions of the atmosphere, with excellent drawings, some 
of them colored, of the flora and fauna, which did not escape 
his quick senses and inquiring mind. His description (re- 
corded in the journal) of sea-sickness, as experienced by him- 
self, is graphically and clearly given, with its physiological 
causes and conditions well presented. 
After his return from India, we find Dr. Carson, at the age 
of 24 years, entering upon the duties of the practitioner; and 
he was not an exception in regard to the customary tardiness 
with which the public receives the young physician, since for 
the first nine years his monetary realizations from practice 
were very small. At the expiration of this time, and at 33 
years of age, he was united in marriage with Mary Goddard, 
sister of Dr. Paul B. Goddard, and granddaughter of Paul 10 
Beck, of this city. From this union there was no living issue; 
and Mrs. Carson was prematurely carried off within a year of 
their marriage. After remaining a widower for seven years, 
Dr. Carson formed a second matrimonial alliance with Mary 
Hollingsworth, daughter of Henry Hollingsworth, who was 
for many years the Cashier of the Bank of Horth America. 
The four children from this marriage were Henry (who died 
in infancy), Hampton L.,no\v a promising lawer, Ann C. and 
Susan, who are left to mourn a loving and devoted father. 
After the first ten years, Dr. Carson’s practice increased very 
much, and he eventually gained an excellent position as a 
practitioner of obstetrics. This branch of the profession, 
however, necessitating much labor, involving night work and 
its consequent exposure, wore upon his health, which was 
never robust. lie scarcely passed a winter without an attack 
of tonsillitis or gout, and now, in the midst of his success, he 
was compelled to curtail his practice, and finally to give up 
entirely the branch in which he was becoming distinguished ; 
perhaps he was also influenced by a desire to work in another 
field, and thus gain distinction by following pursuits which 
were more congenial to his tastes, and which, he had the dis- 
cernment to see, were better adapted to his mental constitu- 
tion and powers; and the results of his life give evidence of 
the wisdom of his choice. 
From this time he begins to fill various positions of honor, 
responsibility, and trust; in all of which he does himself 
credit, and gains respect and confidence as a clear thinker, a 
judicious adviser, and a constant, faithful, and laborious 
worker. While not neglecting to fulfill the duties with ex- 
actness and honesty of all the various posts whose responsi- 
bilities he assumed, he still found time to cultivate history, 
literature, and biography; penetrated somewhat into anti- 11 
quarian pursuits, and succeeded in making a fine collection 
of valuable autographic letters. He also left a number of 
volumes filled with the engraved portraits of distinguished 
men in and out of the profession. From these pursuits he 
had gathered a rich store of information, and, having been 
gifted with an accurate and retentive memory, he never 
failed to be an interesting and instructive companion. This 
habit of enlaro-incr and widening his field of intellectual cul- 
ture, he took pains to inculcate upon his pupils, as increasing 
their usefulness and influence. 
The first institution to which Dr. Carson became attached, 
was the Academy of Natural Sciences, to which he was 
elected on October 29, 1835, and was one of its most active 
and useful members. lie assisted in arranging and caring 
for the Herbarium, was Librarian for two years, and aided 
in preparing and publishing a catalogue of books ; was a 
member of the publication committee for two years, and 
served as Secretary during six months in 1837. He ulti- 
mately became one of the Vice-Presidents, which position he 
occupied from December, 1869, to December, 1875, and he 
made contributions over a period of forty-three years. At a 
period anterior to this, Dr. Carson had reached another round 
in the ladder which he was gradually but surely ascending. 
I refer to his election as Professor of Materia Medica in the 
Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, which election took place 
in 1836; he held this post until the year 1850. While occu- 
pying this position, he was assiduous in other good works, 
still working zealously for the Academy of Natural Sciences, 
and adding to the duties and labor of his chair, the editing 
of the American Journal of Pharmacy, assisted by Dr. Bridges, 
and subsequently by Professor William Proctor; a journal 
which has always sustained a high reputation. He contri- 12 
buted to it no less than twenty-six original papers; and on 
looking over these, I find that lie was the first botanist to 
describe fully and give prominence to the genus Alstroemeria 
as a source of edible fecula. lie also, together with Pereira, 
fixed the genus Myrospermum Peruiferum as the source of 
the Balsam of Peru. While connected with the College of 
Pharmacy, Dr. Carson edited, with notes and additions, two 
editions of Pereira’s Materia Medica, and in 1847, published 
his beautiful and creditable Illustrations of Medical Botany, 
in two quarto volumes, having, it is said, drawn and colored 
many of the plates himself. 
In the spring of 1844, Drs. Carson, Paul B. Goddard, Wm. 
Poyntell Johnson, Caspar Morris, M. P. Hutchinson, James 
B. Rogers and Wm. W. Gerhard, became the incumbents of 
the lectureships in the Medical Institute of Philadelphia, 
which had “originated under the auspices of Dr. Chapman, 
Professor of Theory and Practice of Medicine in the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania.” This institution, which was a 
summer school of medicine, grew out of a private association 
formed by Dr. Chapman for the benefit of his pupils. “In 
1829, a Hall was erected to accommodate the increased size 
of the classes. It was situated in Locust Street, above 
Eleventh.” Dr. Carson’s chair was that of Materia Medica 
and Pharmacy. lie was then, as will be perceived, carrying 
on a course of lectures in the College of Pharmacy during 
the winter, and in the summer at the Medical Institute. 
How long he retained his connection with the Medical Insti- 
tute I am unable say. 
He was elected a physician of the Lying-in Department of 
the Pennsylvania Hospital to fill the place of Dr. Charles D. 
Meigs, resigned, and occupied this position, associated with 13 
Dr. Hugh L. Hodge, from 1849 until May, 1854, when this 
part of the hospital was closed. 
Dr. Carson was elected a member of the American Philo- 
sophical Society, and was its Curator for seventeen years; he 
also served on the publication committee and on the library 
committee. He was highly esteemed as a member of the 
Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Trust and Safe De- 
posit Company, to which position he was elected in February, 
1872. There were various other associations with which he 
was connected. He was a member of the National Conven- 
tion for revising the Pharmacopoeia of the United States, and 
served on the Committee of Revision and Publication in 
1860, and was Chairman of the Committee and President of 
the Convention in 1870. He was a member of the Phila- 
delphia County Medical Society, and its President in 1862, 
and was one of its delegates to the Quarantine Convention, 
held in Cincinnati in May, 1861. He was elected honorary 
member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Read- 
ing, Pennsylvania, in 1870 ; of the State Medical Society of 
New York, and of the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy. 
He was physician of the Foster Home in 1840, and was 
elected a consulting physician of the Hospital of the Protes- 
tant Episcopal Church in May, 1852. He was elected a Fel- 
low of the College of Physicians in December, 1838, and was 
one of its Censors for several years, and continued to occupy 
this position up to the time of his death. The College 
elected him as one of its delegates to the National Medical 
Convention held at Philadelphia May, 1847, which became 
subsequently the American Medical Association. He was ap- 
pointed a member of the Committee on Indigenous Botany; 
was frequently appointed a delegate to the annual meetings 
of the American Medical Association, and was elected one of 14 
the College’s representatives to the International Medical Con- 
gress of 1876. The testimonials which his family received 
from the various associations of which he was an active mem- 
ber, are a sufficient guarantee of the esteem in which he was 
held by all of them. 
We have next to consider Dr. Carson from the time he 
became a Professor in the University of Pennsylvania. When 
Dr. George B. Wood was transferred from the chair of Ma- 
teria Medica (which he had occupied with so much distinc- 
tion) to that of the Theory and Practice of Medicine, made 
vacant by the resignation of Dr. Nathaniel Chapman, Dr. 
Carson applied for the position, now without an occupant 
because of this transfer. Ilis well-earned reputation, and his 
already established position as a learned and successful teacher 
and writer, made the selection an easy one, though his com- 
petitors were men of distinction. lie was therefore duly 
elected, and assumed the responsibilities of Professor of Ma- 
teria Medica and Therapeutics in the oldest medical school 
in America, in the year 1850, and held his chair until May, 
1876, a period of twenty-six years, when he resigned on 
account of ill health, and was then made one of the Emeritus 
Professors of this institution. 
I do not recall having attended any of Dr. Carson’s lec- 
tures, and therefore must depend, for my description, upon 
information obtained from his former pupils, and from my 
knowledge of him as a man. He was not considered an 
eloquent or brilliant lecturer, and made no display of oratory, 
which would have been inconsistent with the subject he had 
to teach. Ilis language was correct, and his style clear. 
His manner of speaking was slow, though his words flowed 
with fluency, and were always well selected. Being an 
entire master of the branch of medicine which he taught, he 15 
made an excellent and successful teacher ; and while he held 
up before his class the importance of the Materia Medica, 
and would not admit that this branch stood secondary to the 
other branches of medicine, but gave to, as it received from, 
them aid and support, he was not an enthusiast, but tried to 
inculcate moderate views as to the efficacy of medicines, and 
taught the pupil to view drugs not as specifics, but as aids to 
nature in her effort to throw off disease. He also took 
seasonable opportunities to impress them with the dignity of 
their profession, and the necessity of entertaining enlarged 
views of their calling. The perfect physician does not con- 
sist simply in the accurate diagnostician and the skilful 
therapeutist; he must be mentally cultivated, liberal in his 
views, with a knowledge of mankind—of their mental as 
well as their corporeal parts. lie should be gentle, kind, 
and humane; should exercise candor towards his patients, 
and, above all, never stoop to play upon the credulity of 
poor suft'ering humanity, or to make it subservient to gain ; 
avoiding all presumption or pretension, he should study 
nature, and apply his resources to aid and sustain her in her 
spontaneous efforts. He should also cultivate elevation of 
sentiment, and correctness of opinion ; and especially careful 
should he be not to favor anything that is subversive of the 
virtue, honor, happiness, or prosperity of his fellow-citizens, 
or of his country. 
Dr. Carson was always a great favorite with his class. His 
genial and sympathetic manner, and the parental regard he 
manifested towards them, created a strong affection between 
preceptor and pupils. He was ever ready to listen to their 
troubles, and help them out of their difficulties ; and these 
intimate and kindly relations did not cease with graduation, 
but were continued by correspondence, which, increasing 16 
year by year, entailed upon the kind Professor a labor which 
few knew of or appreciated. This he continued until within 
a year of his death, when failing health and strength would 
admit of it no longer. If this portraiture be correct, we 
have then exhibited a man pre-eminently fitted for the 
responsible position which he occupied as a teacher of young 
men, all of whom were to become centres of influence in the 
various communities wherein they might settle. The death 
of such a man is a loss not only to us and to the institution 
where he taught, but to his country. 
We have now followed Dr. Carson’s career (how imper- 
fectly no one feels more than myself) from early childhood 
until he reached the highest position that the medical pro- 
fession can offer. It remains to speak of him as an author, 
lie was not a voluminous writer,yet what his pen undertook 
was accomplished and complete. Ilis powers of research 
and sound discriminating judgment, made all his essays 
studies of their kind ; while the great care which he gave to 
whatever he committed to writing, prevented him becoming 
a prolific author. One work, however, will ever be a monu- 
ment of his ability as an historian ; I refer to his admirable 
History of the Medical Department of the University of 
Pennsylvania, a work which cost him much labor, and dis- 
plays great learning, and which also we should look upon as 
a testimonial of the regard, love, and loyalty which he bore 
to his Alma Mater, and the theatre of his usefulness and 
fame. Perhaps it was this work which prevented his find- 
inof time to write a book on Materia Medica, which I know 
was his intention. His admirable synopsis, however, may 
be considered as a text-book on this branch ; to this he 
devoted much time and thought, and was constantly and 
carefully revising it. I would occupy too much time were 17 
I to try to do justice to the various and valuable papers 
which he wrote, and will only refer to his learned and 
exhaustive communications on eclampsia and osmosis, which 
are excellent illustrations of the masterly manner in which 
he treated all subjects which he undertook to teach. 
And now, in conclusion, I add with permission the follow- 
ing admirable sketch of Dr. Carson’s character, written by 
one who knew him long, intimately, and well: “Blessed 
with an accurate and retentive memory, he had accumulated 
by extensive reading and intercourse with intelligent men at 
home and in different parts jof our country, large stores of 
precise and miscellaneous information, from which he drew 
freely on appropriate occasions. He was fluent in conversa- 
tion, and ready in debate, unsensual and unselfish in consti- 
tution, placidly cheerful in disposition, and always self- 
possessed and respectful in his deportment to all. He quickly 
made friends, and was rarely deserted by any whom he had 
once attached to himself. He was considerate towards his 
inferiors, charitable to the indigent, generous to the unfor- 
tunate, and ever ready to contribute from his stores of 
knowledge to assist others in their pursuits. Indeed, warm 
attachment to his friends, and active devotion to their 
interests, were characteristic of his nature. Beared under 
the influence of the Protestant Episcopal Church, of which 
he was a communicant, his daily conduct in all relations of 
life was in harmony with Christian precept and practice. 
Broad and liberal in his views, he was tolerant in spirit; 
but he despised bigotry, pretension, insincerity, and charla- 
tanry, in whatever form, or degree, or color, such weakness 
appeared; and he did not hesitate to denounce them in 
emphatic language on opportune occasions. His career is a 
fair exemplification of how much may be achieved by a man 18 
of industrious ways, coupled with absolute probity and good 
sense, in the face of restricted means and imperfect health/’1 
And now, gentlemen, I have very imperfectly described 
the character and virtues of Dr. Carson. As a labor of love 
and a tribute of regard, receive my work without criticism. 
1 Obituary Notice by Dr. W. S. W. ltuscheuberger, American Journal 
of the Medical Sciences, April, 1877. 19 
LIST OF THE PUBLISHED WRITINGS OF THE LATE 
JOSEPH CARSON, M.D. 
[Furnished by Dr. Ruschenberger.] 
1835. Egyptian Mummies. American Quarterly Review for Sept. 
1835. Philadelphia. 
On the Erythraea Chilensis. Journal of the Philadelphia 
College of Pharmacy. Vol. YI. Jan. 1835. 
1836. Notes on the Species of Cassia which yield Senna. Ameri- 
can Jour, of Pharmacy, Oct. 1836 and Jan. 1837.1 
1831. Notice of a new Species of Lytta—Lytta rufipes. Am. 
Jour, of Pharmacy, Jan. 1831. 
Medico-botanical Notices, No. XII. Am. Jour, of Phar- 
mac}\ Jan. 1831. 
Medico-botanical Notices, No. XIII. Am. Jour, of Phar- 
macy, July, 1831. 
1838. Notes on the Taccaceae. Am. Jour, of Pharmacy, Jan. 1838. 
Notice of the true Jalap plant. Am. Jour, of Pharmacy, 
April, 1838. 
Medico-botanical Notices, No. XIV. Am. Jour, of Phar- 
macy, J uly, 1838. 
Remarks upon Codeia. The Medical Examiner, Dec. 19, 
1838. 
1839. Introductory Lecture to a course of Lectures on Materia 
Medica, delivered at the Philadelphia Medical Institute. 
The Medical Examiner, June 8, 1839. 
Address delivered to the graduates of the Philadelphia 
College of Pharmacy, April 23,1839. Am. Jour, of Phar- 
macy, July, 1839. 
1840. Note upon Gentiana Chirayeta. Am. Jour, of Pharmacy, 
April, 1840. 
1 From Oct. 1836, until July, 1850, Dr. Carson was editor of the Am. 
Jour, of Pharmacy. 20 
1841. Note upon the Cinchona bicolorata. Am. Jour, of Phar- 
macy, April, 1841. 
Note on Yanilla. Am. Jour, of Pharmacy, Oct. 1841. 
1842. Bib. Notice. Pharmacopoeia of the United States, 1840. 
Am. Jour. Med. Sci., April, 1842; Am. Jour, of Phar- 
macy, July, 1842. 
Necrological Notice of Dr. Wm. R. Fisher. Am. Jour, of 
Pharmacy, Nov. 1842. 
1843. Observations on Zamia integrifolia. The plant which fur- 
nishes Florida arrow-root. Am. Jour. Pharmacy, April, 
1843. 
Review of the United States Dispensatory, 1843. Am. Jour. 
Pharmacy, Oct. 1843. 
Notes and additions to “The Elements of Materia Medica 
and Therapeutics. By Jonathan Pereira, M.D.,” etc. etc. 
Am. edition, 1 vol. 8vo. Blanchard & Lea, Philada. 1843. 
1844. On an article called Texas Sarsaparilla. Am. Jour. Phar- 
macy, Jan. 1844. 
1845. Notice of some Brazilian drugs. Am. Jour, of Pharmacy, 
July, 1845. 
Elements of Materia Medica and Therapeutics. By Jona- 
than Pereira, M.D., etc. With notes and additions. 
Second American edition, 2 vols. 8vo., pp. 114, 852. 
Blanchard & Lea, Philada., 1845. 
1846. Address to the graduates of the Philadelphia College of 
Pharmacy, delivered April 15, 1846. Am. Jour. Phar- 
macy, J uly, 1846. 
1847. On Drymis Chilensis. The Winter’s bark of Chile. Am. 
Jour. Pharmacy, June, 1847. 
Bib. notice. Medical Botany. By Robt. E. Griffith, M.D. 
Am. Jour. Medical Sciences, July, 1847. 
Illustrations of Medical Botany, consisting of colored fig- 
ures of the plants affording the important articles of the 
Materia Medica, and descriptive letter-press. By Joseph 
Carson, M.D. Quarto. Robt. P. Smith, Philadelphia, 
1847. 
On Drymis Winteri (Winter’s bark tree). Am. Jour. Phar- 
macy, August, 1847. 21 
Materia Medica and Therapeutics; including the prepara- 
tions of the Pharmacopoeias, etc. etc. By J. Forbes 
Royle, M.D., F.R.S., etc. Edited by Joseph Carson, 
M.D., etc. 8vo. Lea & Blanchard, Philadelphia, 184L 
1848. An Essay on Scammonj', with an examination into the 
qualities of the drug found in the market. Am. Jour. 
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On Black Hellebore (Helleborus niger). Am. Jour. Phar- 
macy, July, 1848. 
Bib. notice. A Dispensatory and Therapeutical Remem- 
brancer. Am. Jour, of Medical Sciences, July, 1848. 
Bib. notice. Christison’s Dispensatory. Edited by Dr. R. 
E. Griffith. Am. Jour. Medical Sciences, Oct. 1848. 
On Quassia Amara. Am. Jour. Pharmacy, Oct. 1848. 
Notice of Christison’s Dispensatory. Am. Jour. Pharmacy, 
Oct. 1848. 
1849. On Quassia Excelsa. Am. Jour. Pharmacy, Jan. 1849. 
Note on India Opium. Am. Jour. Pharmacy, July, 1849. 
Note on Linimentum saponis. Am. Jour. Pharmacy, July, 
1849. 
Note on India Cinnamon and Red Sarsaparilla. Am. Jour. 
Pharmacy, Oct. 1849. 
1850. Calisa3ra Bark. Am. Jour. Pharmacy, April, 1850. 
Lecture Introductory to the course of Materia Medica 
and Pharmacy in the University of Pennsylvania, Oct. 
10, 1850. Published by the Class. 
1851. Synopsis of Lectures on Materia Medica and Pharmacy 
delivered in the University of Pennsylvania. 8vo. 
Blanchard & Lea, Philada. [November], 1851. 
1852. Elements of Materia Medica and Therapeutics. By Jona- 
than Pereira, etc. etc., with notes and additions. Third 
Am. edition. 2 vols. 8vo. Blanchard & Lea, Philada. 
1852. 
1853. Medical Commencement of the University of Pennsylvania, 
held April 2,1853, with a Valedictory Address, delivered 
to the graduates. Published by the Graduating Class, 
1853. 22 
1854. Remarks on the California Nutmeg. Am. Jour, of Phar- 
macy, Sept. 1854. 
1855. Note on Nectandra Puchury Major and Minor as the source 
of Pichurim oil, Pichurim bark, and Bean. Am. Jour, of 
Pharmacy, Sept. 1855. 
1856. Synopsis of Lectures on Materia Medica and Pharmacy. 
Second edition. I’hilada., 1856. 
A case of Cyanosis. Trans. Coll. Phys. of Philada., Pec. 1856. 
1851. Review. Traits Thdrapeutique du Quinquina et de ses 
Preparations. Par P. Briquet. Paris, 1855. Am. Jour. 
• Medical Sciences, July, 1851. 
1858. Bib. notice. The Dispensatory of the United States of 
America. By Geo. B. Wood and Franklin Bache. 11th 
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1859. Introductory Lecture, on the Claims of the Materia Medica. 
Delivered in the University of Pennsylvania, Oct. 10, 
1859. Published by the Class. 
1860. Obituary Notice of Dr. Edward Hallowell, Feb. 1860. Pro- 
ceedings of the Acad, of Nat. Sciences of Philadelphia. 
Medical Commencement of the University of Pennsylvania, 
held March 15, 1860, with a Valedictory Address, de- 
livered to the graduates. Published by the Graduating 
Class, Philada., 1860. 
On the Fecula of Alstroemeria. Am. Jour, of Pharmacy, 
July, 1860. 
On the Source of Balsam of Peru. Am. Jour, of Pharmacy, 
July, 1860. 
Bib. notice. Proceedings of the American Pharmaceutical 
Association, held in Boston, Sept. 1859, with constitution 
and roll of members. Am. Jour, of the Medical Sciences, 
July, 1860. 
1861. Bib. notice. Proceedings of the American Pharmaceutical 
Association, at the ninth annual meeting in the city of 
New York, Sept. 1860. Am. Jour, of the Medical Sci- 
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1862. Bib. notice. Annuaire.de de Matiere Mddi- 
cale, de Pharmacie et de Toxicologie pour 1861. Par A. 23 
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pour 18G1. Am. Jour. Medical Sciences, Jan 1862. 
1863. Bib. notice. Annuaire de de Matiere M6di- 
cale, de Pharmacie et de Toxicologie pour 1862. Par A. 
Bouchardat. Am. Jour. Medical Sciences, April, 1863, 
pp. 443-486. 
Synopsis of Lectures on Materia Medica and Pharmacy, 
delivered in the University of Pennsylvania, with three 
Lectures on the Modus Operandi of Medicines. By 
Joseph Carson, M.D. Third edition, 8vo., pp. 244. 
Blanchard & Lea, Philada., 1863. 
1864. Review. 1. A Guide to the Qualitative and Quantitative 
Analysis of the Urine, designed especially for the use 
of Medical Men. By Dr. C. Neubauer and Dr. Yogel. 
London, 1863. 
2. The Semeiology of the Human Urine, especially 
designed for the purposes of the Physician, etc. etc. 
By Dr. Julius Yogel, London, 1863. Am. Jour. Medi- 
cal Sciences, Jan. 1864, pp. 118-194, inc. 
1865. Bib. notice. A Monograph on Glycerin and its uses. By 
Henry Ilartshorne, A.M., M.D. Am. Jour. Medical Sci- 
ences, April, 1865. 
Review. Osmosis: the Forces by which it is accomplished 
and its Agency in various Physiological and Pathological 
Processes, and in the Action of Medicines and Poisons. 
1. De l’Endosmose des Acides. Par M. Dutrochet, 
Paris, Oct. 1835. 
2. Endosmosis. By H. Dutrochet, M.D. In En- 
cyclopedia of Anat. and Phys. By R. B. Todd, Lond., 
1831. 
3. Lectures on the Physical Phenomena of Living 
Beings. By Carlo Matteucci. 1848. 
4. Researches on the Chemistry of Food, and the 
motion of the juices of the Animal Body. By Justus 
Liebig, M.D. 1848. 
5. Report on the laws according to which the mixing 
of Fluids and their penetration into permeable sub- 
stances occur, etc. etc. By Julius Yogel. 1848. 
6. On Phial Diffusion. By Prof. Graham. 1850. 24 
7. Liquid Diffusion applied to Analysis By Thomas 
Graham, F.R.S. 1861. 
8. Elements of Inorganic Chemistry. By Thomas 
Graham, F.R.S. 1858. Am. Jour. Medical Sciences, 
July, 1865, pp. 135-157, inc. 
1866. Review. Stimulants and Narcotics, their Mutual Rela- 
tions; with special researches on the action of alcohol, 
ether, and chloroform, on the vital organism. By Francis 
E. Anstie, M.D., M.R.C.P., etc. etc. London, 1864. 
Philada., 1865. Am. Jour. Med. Sciences, April, 1866. 
1867. Synopsis of Lectures on Materia Medica and Pharmacy, 
delivered in the University of Pennsylvania, with live 
Lectures on the Modus Operandi of Medicines. Fourth 
Edition. 8vo. pp. 272. Henry C. Lea [Oct.], 1867. 
1869. A History of the Medical Department of the University 
of Pennsylvania, from its foundation in 1765. With 
sketches of lives of deceased professors. By Joseph 
Carson, M.I). 8vo. pp. 227. Lindsay & Blakiston, 
Philadelphia, 1869. 
1871. Review. Puerperal Eclampsia. 
1. On the Nature and Origin of Epileptiform Con- 
* vulsions, caused by profuse bleeding, and also those of 
True Epilepsy. By Adolf Kussmaul, M.D., etc., and 
Adolf Tenner, M.D. New Sydenham So., 1859. 
2. On the Diseases and Derangements of the Nervous 
System, etc. By Marshall Hall, M.D. London, 1841. 
3. Researches principally relative to the Morbid and 
Curative Effects of the Loss of Blood. By Marshall 
Hall, M.D. Am. ed., 1830. 
4. Guy’s Hospital Reports, 1836, 1841,1843. 
5. Uraemic Convulsions of Pregnancy, Parturition, 
and Childbed. By Dr. Carl 11. Braun, etc. Am. ed. 
1858. 
6. Qu’est ce que l’Albuminurie? Ou de son Analogic 
avec les Sdcrdtions Sdreuses, Sdro-plastiques, et les 
Hemorrhagies, etc. Par le Dr. Ldon Gcrme. Paris, 
1864. 
7. Albuminurie dans les Rapports avec l’Hdmatose, 
l’Eclampsie des Femmes Enceintes. Par M. Edouard 
Robin. Paris. 25 
8. Epilepsy, and other Affections of the Nervous 
System, which are marked by Tremor, Convulsion, 
and Spasm; their pathology and treatment. By 
Charles Bland Radcliffe, M.D. London, 1841. 
9. Parturition, and the Principles and Practice of 
Obstetrics. By Wm. Tyler Smith, M.D., etc. Am. 
edit., 1849. 
10. Course of Lectures on the Physiology and Patho- 
logy of the Central Nervous System. By C. E. Brown- 
M.D., etc. Philada., 1860. Am. Jour. Medi- 
cal Sciences, April, 1811, pp. 483-466, inc. 
1872. Lectures on Emetics. Philadelphia Medical Times, June 
15, July 1 and 15, 1872. 
A Discourse Commemorative of the life and character of 
Samuel Jackson, M.D., late Professor of the Institutes 
of Medicine in the University of Pennsylvania. De- 
livered Oct. 7, 1872, before the Trustees and Students of 
the University of Pennsylvania. Published by the Class, 
1872.