INTRODUCTORY LECTURE 
DELIVERED IN 
THE CHEMICAL HALL 
or THE 
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, 
OCTOBER 31, 1837. 
BY WILLIAM R. FISHER, M.D. 
Professor of Chemistry ami Pharmacy, Graduate and Associate Member of the Philadelphia 
College of Pharmacy. 
FROM THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHARMACY. 
PHILADELPHIA: 
PRINTED BY MERR1HEW AND GUNN, 
No. 7 Carter’s Aliev. 
1837. INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 
Gentlemen:— 
Called, unexpectedly, by the appointing power to which 
the interests of this institution are confided, to discharge the 
duties of the chair ot Chemistry and Pharmacy; and intro- 
duced suddenly from the walks of private life to a station in 
which the incumbent is required to announce phenomena and 
facts which have engaged the attention and occupied the 
labors, of a Thenard, a Berzelius, and a Davy; and to 
expound the principles, which the sagacious minds of these 
distinguished masters of the science have drawn from the 
classification and arrangement of these facts, it may be 
naturally imagined that I approach this chair with mingled 
feelings of awe and diffidence—of awe inspired by the sublimity 
and perfection of nature’s works, as exhibited by their demon- 
strations; and of diffidence of my own ability to follow where 
they have led. The path which they have pointed out for 
their successors, though defined and regular its course, and 
ornamented with the beauties of order, simplicity, and har- 
mony, is yet steep in its ascent; and the traveller who fain 
would pursue it, is limited in his rambles and restricted in his 
journey by the exact and unerring rules of demonstration.— 
No brilliant hypotheses may captivate his fancy; no creatures 
of imagination are allowed to people his domain; he is bound, 
with the exactness of mathematical science, to the observance 
of facts, and is compelled at every footstep to regard with 
undeviating precision the landmarks which bound his track. 
His pilgrimage is soothed, however, by the knowledge, that 
every fact he acquires is one that may be subsequently avail- 
able in explanation of some apparent novelty; and that this 
fund of information when once obtained, will be of essential 4 
advantage to him, through whatever walk of life his course 
may he subsequently directed: for the science which this 
Chair is especially called upon to teach, mingles its observa- 
tions and researches with the most humble as well as the 
most exalted conditions and operations of either human or 
natural creation. It regards with interest the domestic ope- 
rations of the matron, in the preparations for her daily food; as 
well as penetrates with a piercing inquiry into the crater of 
the volcano, the vast crucible of nature herself; and it finds 
upon reducing the contents of this great laboratory to their sim- 
plest elements, that they compare in identity with the ele- 
ments which constitute the insignificant material upon vvhich 
that matron exercises her culinary skill. 
Great, however, as may he the diffidence which attends my 
introduction to this hall, and humble as may be my efforts to 
give interest to the themes which have occupied the illustrious 
names already mentioned, so inspiring is the subject itself, 
that, divested of all artificial aid, its principles and pheno- 
mena conveyed to the hearer in the most plain and unpre- 
tending style, must win his regard, captivate his feelings, and 
secure his affections. 
Satisfied, then, that the merits of the subject must command 
attention, I enter on the discharge of the duties of the Chair 
with the less reluctance, and pledge myself to bring to its 
support an industrious, enthusiastic attachment for the science. 
The sciences of Chemistry and Pharmacy, have universally 
been held of primary importance in the education of an ac- 
complished physician, but they have unfortunately been re- 
garded bjr society at large as limited in their operation, to the 
wants of that profession. Ignorant of the benefits which have 
daily accrued to their comfort and health, from the skilful ad- 
ministration and exercise of these sciences, mankind have 
suffered their knowledge of them to sleep in obscurity, in a 
period of unusual thirst after knowledge, and been satisfied to 
learn that these subjects received a degree of attention from 
those who cultivated the healing art. We think, however, 
it may he shown that every member of the community has 5 
more or less interest in these too commonly estimated abstruse 
studies; and, remote as they seem to be from domestic happi- 
ness, that they are nearly allied to it. 
The material which gives its hue to the fabric that decorates 
the fairest of creation's works; the application of fuel, and the 
mode of applying it for household purposes; the investigation 
and improvement of the manufacture of bread and soap, all owe 
their existence to the display of affinities ascertained by che- 
mical philosophers, and must derive their improvement and 
consequent perfection from a regard to the principles ascertain- 
ed and promulgated by them. When Sir Humphrey Davy 
found thousands of his fellow creatures perishing from the ex- 
plosion of fire-damp, in the deep, dark recesses of the mine, and 
contrived the ingenious apparatus which would, for ever after, 
shield them from its pernicious and devastating effects, no 
chance came to his aid to direct him in its construction. Cer- 
tain well established and demonstrable principles were en- 
dowed by him with a local habitation in the safety-lamp, and 
his name became identified with the instrument destined to 
prove a powerful philanthropic agent in arresting misery and 
averting death, from the head of many a helpless fellow crea- 
ture. No less distinguished for the adaptation of chemical 
principles to the wants and comforts of mankind, was the in- 
vention of the electric conductors, by our own Franklin, by 
which the destroying bolt was arrested in its course, and di- 
verted through a channel in which its energies became con- 
fined, and were rendered powerless. 
These facts, when dwelt upon, are calculated to arrest the 
mind of the observer, and to induce him to regard with inte- 
rest, subjects which he may have previously considered as 
entirely abstract and unconnected with himself; but let him 
proceed from these, and follow in his mind the various trades- 
men and artificers, in the pursuit of their daily toil, and he 
will scarce fail to discover in each some application of chemi- 
cal science, by which their labours are accomplished, or the 
product of their hands improved. 
In extracting and reducing the metals from their natural 6 
combinations, or ores, so that they may resume their individual 
properties of malleability, ductility, and tenacity, chemistry 
has rendered an aid to mechanical science, without which it 
could scarcely have had an existence. The agriculturist who 
improves his lands, and is enabled to renew their vigor when 
exhausted by repeated cultivation, is equally indebted to 
chemistry, for a knowledge of the materials ot which his soil 
is composed,—in what it is deficient, and how that deficiency 
may be supplied. The navigator has been taught, by the 
inductions of chemical philosophy, how the copper sheathing 
with which his vessel is protected may be rendered and pre- 
served bright; and a powerful mechanical agency has recently 
been put in motion, which, from the representation of those 
who have witnessed its operations, bids fair to rival the ex- 
pansive force of steam itself,1—owing its development and 
even existence to the investigations and experiments of che- 
mists. Chemistry has shown that the simple immersion of 
two metallic surfaces in a weak acid solution, generates a heat 
that has been found capable of fusing the hardest substances, 
and of causing the combustion of platina itself, one of the 
most fixed of all the metals; that the same simple combi- 
nation, reduced in size, and immersed in a weaker solution, 
gives out an energy, that when properly applied, creates a 
magnetic force requiring a powerful exertion to overcome 
it, capable of sustaining tons in weight; and the steam engine 
itself, that mighty agent, giving to man the power of a giant, 
was incomplete, and would probably have been abandoned, 
had not the genius of Watt applied the means of suddenly 
depriving the steam of all its expansive power, by the adop- 
tion of a simple contrivance, to which he was directed by a 
knowledge of the fact, that this expansive power was due 
to the latent heat within it, as likewise discovered and taught 
by the celebrated Black, Professor of Chemistry at Edinburg. 
Who that has enjoyed the security and comfort derived 
from the brilliantly illuminated streets of a city, when he is 
told that the production of the elastic fluid, which is consumed 
to afford the lamp that lights his path, could never have been 7 
accomplished without the aid of chemistry, can withhold 
from that science the character which I claim for her, of being 
intimately connected with domestic comfort and happiness? 
The consideration and examination of all these facts, is 
calculated to show the importance of a knowledge of chemistry 
in promoting, and creating a thousand conveniences, which 
characterize civilized society, and of winning for her devotees 
the respect and veneration of all who are made acquainted 
with her advantages and allurements. But when applied to the 
relief of suffering humanity, exhausted on the bed of sickness, 
or prostrate from the maddening influence of pain, bereft of 
reason, through disease, or burning with the heats of fever, 
then, indeed, is chemistry a ministering angel. 
Who that has enjoyed the delights of calm repose, obtained 
through the aid of anodynes, after days and nights of sleepless 
wretchedness; who that has allayed the parching thirst of 
fever, and experienced the relief afforded by the effervescing 
draught, has ever dreamed of awarding to chemistry her full 
share of credit for the relief thus opportunely obtained? 
It is by recounting some of these facts, and apprising you of 
their existence, that I trust to be enabled to show you how great 
have been the contributions of chemical science to the supply 
of your different wants, and the alleviation of your sufferings, 
and to convince you how essential is a knowledge of its 
principles to every member of society, more especially to 
those who have the preservation or restoration of the health 
of that society in their charge. 
From every source capable of furnishing information or 
yielding products available to the use of man, chemistry has 
drawn her resources; and, in her estimation, the most appa- 
rently worthless substance is held with a regard equal to that 
with which she appreciates the diamond. In her eyes they are 
both regarded as elements employed in the formation of the 
material world, whose characters and properties it is her 
province to investigate; whose affinities she is called upon to 
discover and record, and whose combinations possess an in- 8 
terest in proportion as they manifest more or less intricacy 
and harmony. To her view, 
“ All are but parts of one superior whole, 
Whose body nature is—and God the soul.” 
Strange as it may appear, and unexpected as may be the 
enunciation, the fact is nevertheless true which chemistry has 
ascertained, that in the fabrication of the vast universe by 
which we are surrounded, and of which we form so insignifi- 
cant a portion, nature has employed but fifty-one or fifty-two 
elementary substances; and that all the various forms under 
which matter presents itself to us, owe their existence to the 
infinite variety of combinations of these elements among each 
other. The material composition of the body of man, the 
lord of the creation, is precisely identical with that of the 
flowers of the field and the stones of the quarry; each contain- 
ing in its due proportion the elementary bodies known as ox- 
ygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon, united with other sub- 
stances necessary to produce and sustain its structure, or in 
other words, to endow it with its appropriate form. 
The beautiful system of laws regulating and controlling all 
the combinations, developed by the chemical philosophers of 
the present century, exhibit the prevalence of the most perfect 
order and symmetry in the formation of all the compounds of 
which the universe is composed. Rough and misshapen as 
the form may be, in which many an aggregate presents itself 
to us, yet in its interior arrangement, in the manner and 
proportion in which its integrant particles are united, there 
is as much symmetry, harmony, and regularity of proportion, 
as in the most finished architectural structure that art can 
design or erect. 
How great, then, must be the interest inspired by the study 
of a science, which is capable of unfolding the beauty and 
regularity concealed in the rugged mass of granite lying in 
the quarry; and with what intense anxiety must the experi- 
menter watch a process that is about to develope some new 
revelation of an unknown reality, crowning, perhaps, the 
pyramid which he has erected upon the basis of observations 9 
acquired during years of previous toil! Numerous are the 
instances in which a general principle has required a century 
for its development. Facts have accumulated upon facts, and 
been regarded as mere isolated entities, until a master spirit 
has arisen, at whose command they have all arranged them- 
selves in order; apparent incongruities reconciled themselves, 
and a law whose existence has been coeval with the creation 
of the world, been adduced, to the astonishment of those who 
had never conceived the possibility of its existence. 
The discovery of the laws regulating the formation of com- 
pounds from their simple elements, was of this character. Vari- 
ousfacts respecting compound substanceshad been observed and 
recorded; speculations had been entered into respecting the 
causes of the phenomena observed; additional facts were 
accumulated, when soon after the commencement of the pre- 
sent century, the genius of Dalton conceived the idea of 
arranging all these phenomena, and deducing from them the 
circumstances under which they were exhibited; happily 
for the science, his effort was successful. He succeeded in 
demonstrating, that these combinations were perfect harmony 
and order themselves ; that the measure of their proportions 
could easily be ascertained, and that when ascertained, could 
be applied as the measure of all future combinations of the 
same elements. 
A Saxon chemist had previously shown the positive identity 
of every compound in which the same elements were united 
in the same proportions, and this fact formed the basis of 
Dalton’s theory, not to say the basis of the science itself. 
The discovery of this law puts the whole material world 
within the grasp of the chemist, and enables him to describe 
the structure and composition of a whole aggregate, forming, 
perhaps, a mountain chain, from the bare examination of 
minuteand inconsiderable fragments. Aided by a knowledge of 
the affinities which one element has for all others, no com- 
position is so complex as to bid defiance to his powers to 
separate and discover its integral components; and when 
his task is completed, he is satisfied that he possesses a 10 
knowledge of the composition of that body, wherever 
existing, in whatever form, or under whatever latitude it may 
be found; whether beneath the frozen skies of the artic circle, 
or fanned by the orange-groves of tropical climes. 
These facts are referred to, to show, that in the investiga- 
tion and discovery of the materials of which the surface of 
the earth is composed, no ordinary degree of intellect is re- 
quired deliberately to wreigh, and compare, causes and effects, 
phenomena and their attendant circumstances; and that no 
mind, however superior in its endowments, can conceive its 
powers misused or misapplied, when devoted to such a cause 
as the pursuits of chemistry are thus shown to be. 
It is my purpose now to recal your attention from this stu- 
pendous fabric, an appellation to which I consider the science 
honestly entitled; and from the regard of its application to the 
development of the structure of immense masses, to direct 
you to some of its humbler duties, wherein its utility is no 
less apparent, nor less conducive to the happiness and health 
of mankind. The science of Pharmacy, which may be con- 
sidered as embraced in this sphere of its operations, is one to 
which too little attention has hitherto been paid. Exceedingly 
humble and unpretending in its details, its operations are as 
closely identified with the well being of society, as those of 
any other profession; but the few splendors attendant on its 
successful cultivation, have as yet proved not sufficiently 
alluring to induce the entrance into its ranks of many compe- 
titors for the simple rewards which it has to ofler; conse- 
quently, public attention has, in this country, not been 
sufficiently awakened to an idea of its importance, and in- 
fluence on the comforts of society. 
It is the offspring of civilization, and can only exist in 
highly civilized communities : like the great science of 
medicine itself, of which it constitutes a no unimportant 
branch, the application of fixed principles for its prac- 
tice, was, during the early ages of barbarism, entirely 
neglected and unnoticed. The savage in his native wilds, 
was satisfied with the application of a few bruised simples to a 11 
wound produced in the conflict or the chase, or in the adminis- 
tration of some simple infusion or tea, to assuage the paroxysm 
of fever. Beyond this culling of simples, he neither knew, nor 
cared, nor indeed was there probably occasion, for all the 
remedies which have since been introduced to our notice. In 
that primitive condition of existence, disease much less fre- 
quently manifested her powers; and the few ills which did 
alflict humanity, were perhaps capable of being relieved by 
these simple agents. But, as population increased, and civili- 
zation advanced, remedies were required which exceeded in 
complexity the bruised herbs and infusions of the early ages; 
and from the employment of vegetables alone as remedial 
agents, recourse was had to the mineral substances also provided 
by nature for our use. In the application of these to the 
wants of society, chemistry was called in to bestow her aid, 
and many of the preparations at present of established repu- 
tation in medicine, were the results of processes invented and 
pursued hundreds of years ago. At that period chemistry itself 
was but little better than empiricism; and adventitious cir- 
cumstances attending the production of some compounds, were 
supposed seriously to influence their effect; while from a want 
of the knowledge of principles which have since been disco- 
vered, many important requisitions for their production and 
efficacy were entirely neglected and disregarded. Chemistry, 
however, was making rapid advances to the character of a sys- 
tematic science, and along with her improvement was a cor- 
responding amendment in the remedial agencies put at the 
disposal of the physician; and with the perfection which 
chemistry has now attained, perhaps, all the advantages to be 
derived from this application of her principles and precepts, are 
realized. But the extension of these has now become so 
general, and the importance of a thorough knowledge of 
their application become so great, that the cultivation of these 
laws, and their use in the preparation of medicines, has, in the 
division of labor which characterizes civilization, been erected 
into a separate science, and this is entitled Pharmacy. 
Its name is taken from the Greek word <t»a signify- 12 
ing a medicine, and its operations consist in investigating the 
physical and chemical properties of substances used in medi- 
cine; in selecting those parts of vegetables, and preparing 
those compounds of minerals, which are best endowed with 
remedial powers; in so modifying their natural form, as shall 
render their powers most available when required for use; 
and finally, in discovering all those circumstances by which 
their powers may be impaired or improved. To undertake a 
conscientious discharge of duties so important requires an 
education far above the common standard; a thorough know- 
ledge of chemistry; an acquaintance with botany, and an in- 
flexible honesty of purpose, which will suffer no prospect of 
pecuniary advantage to arrest for a moment a strict discharge 
of all these duties with fidelity. 
Greatas is the dependence of the invalid on the skill and judg- 
ment ofhis medical attendant, foracorrect diagnosis ofhis com- 
plaint and subsequent advice, as to the remedial agents necessary 
for him to have recourse to, equally great is his dependence on the 
honesty, skill and abilities of the pharmaceutist, to whom is in- 
trusted the preparation and dispensation of those means which 
have been indicated by the physician, as essential to his relief 
and recovery. Should the remedies which are furnished on 
the physician’s requisition, have become inert through age, or 
been impaired by a want of proper skill in their preparation; 
should, as has unfortunately too frequently occurred, one sub- 
stance be furnished for another; should a greedy desire for 
gain, induce the supply of a medicine inferior from any 
cause, the health of the patient may receive a shock, from 
the effects of which the skill of the ablest physician may be 
unable to save him. 
The importance which is attached to a proper exercise of 
this profession, and the high degree of responsibility involved 
in its functions, have induced all the governments of Europe 
to prevent, by the enactment of strict penal laws, any of these 
abuses which might otherwise have crept into it. The education 
of their pharmaceutists, is required to be carried to a high de- 
gree of attainment; boards of examination are established to 13 
prevent incompetent persons from intruding their services on 
the community, and censors are appointed whose duty it is to 
make a thorough examination and inspection of all the me- 
dicines submitted for sale or dispensation. Such as are found 
impure, deteriorated, or improperly prepared, are immediately 
confiscated, and a penalty is inflicted on the delinquent, be- 
sides the ignominy which attaches to a public exposure of his 
disgrace. 
In some of the German cities, but a limited number of 
pharmaceutists are allowed to dispense medicines, and the 
inducement to enter into a competition, which may de- 
teriorate their materials for the sake of enhancing their pro- 
fits being thus removed, the only incentive remaining is, to 
attract employment by the offer to furnish the best supplies. 
In France, the same scrupulous regard is paid to the cultiva- 
tion of a proper knowledge of pharmacy; and although the 
number of those who may practise this art is not limited by 
law, as is the case in Germany; yet numerous regulations ex- 
ist designed to promote the interests of the profession, secure 
the rights and health of society, and to elevate the character 
of the profession by requiring from its members a thorough 
education in every department of science, allied in the least 
degree with pharmacy. 
Unfortunately for the profession in this country, the 
law takes no cognizance of its character or duties. The 
spirit of our institutions is averse to the establishment oi 
privileged orders, and although the advantages would be 
decidedly in favor of that community, which was protected 
by the enactment of wholesome laws, prescribing the regu- 
lations under which this science should be practised, yet the 
conferring of an exclusive right to prepare and dispense 
medicines on those who alone are qualified for it, would be 
regarded as creating a monopoly for the benefit of a favored 
few. The spirit of open competition is allowed to run riot 
through the land, even in the exercise of a profession requir- 
ing equal skill, and a knowledge almost co-extensive with 
that expected in the education of a physician, and the health 14 
and lives of the community are exposed to the chances of fre- 
quent detriment, from the consequences which may result 
from an incompetent or ignorant discharge of the duties of a 
pharmaceutist. Poisons are openly and undisguisedly fur- 
nished to children and servants without fear or restraint, and 
no kind of inspection is practiced to determine officially that 
the medicines administeredon the requisition of a physician,are 
either perfect of their kind, or prepared according to acknow- 
ledged authority. Is it nota strange, not to say a negligent over- 
sight,thatlegislatorsshould direct acareful investigation into the 
quality of the most common articles of merchandize, and yet 
suffer agents employed in the refined and delicate operations 
of medical practice, to pass without notice? And that the 
means of procuring the lasting illness or painful death of a 
valued member of a family, should be suffered to be dealt out 
without restraint, while the public press resounds with indig- 
nation at the practice of wearing weapons about the person? 
An open evident means of destroying life, against which the 
assaulted person may raise an arm in self-defence, arouses 
the clamors, and excites the interests of the whole community, 
while the silent, stealthy, insidious venom, against the opera- 
tion of which no care can guard, no caution escape, no skill avert, 
may be instilled into the cup of festivity, or mingled with the 
food which hospitality provides, without any legal enactment 
to put it beyond the reach of the demoniacal spirit disposed 
to avail itself of its powers. 
The importance of a regard to the prevention of this abuse 
to which society is constantly exposed, has been forcibly and 
fatally illustrated by a case which has occurred within the 
observation of several of my auditors, since the preceding 
reflections were written. A member of a family has been 
laid a victim, to the habit of employing arsenic for the pur- 
pose of killing rats. Had the proper police regulations existed 
on this subject, which obtain in all other countries, the help- 
less sufferer might have been still in existence, about com- 
mencing a life of usefulness; and the unfortunate cause of the 
accident have been spared the remorse which must attend 15 
the consciousness of having unintentionally caused the death 
of a fellow creature. 
Society has no idea of the many risks encountered, nor of 
the many evils to which it is exposed, from the want of a proper 
regard to legislative restrictions on the practice of this pro- 
fession. Nor has it a competent idea of the importance of 
encouraging a class of well educated, skilful manipulators in 
this department of the social economy. 
To illustrate the character which this science has acquired 
abroad, and the high standing which its adepts occupy, I de- 
sire to call your attention to the annexed extract, which is taken 
from a remonstrance by the Pharmaceutists of Paris, address- 
ed to the Chamber of Deputies, on the occasion of some abuses 
having crept into the profession. “ The knowledge,” say 
they, “which pharmacy requires, without being as extensive, 
is in part the same as that which is necessary to the physi- 
cian. It is as various, and is sufficiently useful to entitle him 
who possesses it to the particular protection of government, 
and to general respect. The pharmaceutists enrol in their 
number men of distinguished learning, who belong to the 
most celebrated academies, skilful professors who fill the 
chairs of chemistry and natural history, writers whose works 
are sought for in France and abroad, respectable citizens whose 
public services have been rewarded by honours, titles and 
decorations.” To enumerate the names of Vauquelin, 
Pelletier, Robiquet, Henri, Planche, and Viiiey, is 
to justify, to its fullest extent, this warm eulogium on the cha- 
racters of those who have cultivated pharmacy in France. 
Alas for our native land, she has no list of worthies to com- 
pare with those enumerated; nor, indeed, with hundreds of 
others less distinguished in the annals of fame. “ The parti- 
cular protection of government and general respect,” have, on 
her soil, offered no incentives to men of genius and education 
to engage their services in the profession, which abroad has 
won “ titles, honours and decorations,” and provided chairs 
of distinction for its disciples. 
The only improvements which have arisen in this coun- 16 
try, have been the result of voluntary, spontaneous efforts 
on the part of the pharmaceutists themselves. Ashamed 
of the condition in which their profession existed, and 
stimulated to the exertion of rendering themselves and 
pupils better qualified to minister to the wants of society, 
means have been adopted which, though slow and gra- 
dual in their inception, have taken deep root in the soil, 
and must, at no very remote period, yield a harvest that will 
amaze by its productiveness, and will nourish by its excel- 
lence, those districts in which its growth and maturity have 
been attained unnoticed. A sentiment of honest pride arouses 
itself within me, while thus acknowledging the warmth of my 
attachment for the science of pharmacy; and I reflect with 
lively satisfaction upon the honors now, for the first time, be- 
stowed on a graduate of an American College of Pharmacy, 
in the person of the present incumbent of this Chair. It be- 
speaks an era about to commence, in which pharmacy will 
receive her due share of protection, and the general respect of 
the community; when her votaries will no longer be regarded 
as mere venders of medicines, and when she will receive her 
proper location among the liberal professions. 
Having indulged in these encomiums on pharmacy, and 
introduced the evidence of the French Society to assert the 
claim of that science to notice and cultivation, I feel bound to 
show that my encomiums have not been misplaced, nor that 
the respectable representatives of the Paris Society'have over 
estimated their own importance or utility. To prepare and 
dispense with propriety and ability, the medicines required 
for the renovation of health; to study their chemical and physi- 
cal properties, so that the good may be distinguished from the 
bad, and the perfect from the imperfect; to devote a life to the 
study which is requisite to keep pace with the rapid advance 
of knowledge of this age; and to discharge, honestly and faith- 
fully, their duties to their compeers and the medical profession, 
should, in my opinion, qualify those who do discharge these 
several duties, and do possess these requirements, to as high a 
regard in the estimation of the public, as any other class of 17 
society is entitled to. And here I might rest their claims; 
but I found their demands to respect and protection on specific 
benefits which have been conferred by the science, which, 
when enumerated, will, I think, justify what has been said. 
The advantages to be derived by society from the uniform 
and defined preparation of medicines, furnished to the sick in 
precisely such form and activity as is prescribed by the physi- 
cian, (not the least conspicuous among the benefits derived 
from pharmacy,) are sufficiently obvious to impress upon the 
mind some share of her claims. But independent of that, 
which is doing no more than pharmacy acknowledges as a 
duty, for the discharge of which she asks no favours, I will 
point with satisfaction to the discovery and application of the 
chlorides of lime and soda as disinfecting agents, which con- 
stant domestic use has now familarized to every household; and 
which have become as necessary aids in promoting cleanli- 
ness and comfort, as the use of any of the agents habitually 
applied to that purpose. In their uses as medicines, the practi- 
tioner of medicine will admit the many important benefits de- 
rived from them; and the helpless sufferers who have been re- 
lieved from the pains and disgusting attendants upon a class of 
diseases by no means unfrequent, or uncommon—a class for 
whose relief, these remedies appear to have been almost espe- 
cially provided—bear me witness to their efficacy and utility. 
These chlorides have procured health and comfort for the 
inmates of crowded ships, and dispelled the apprehension of a 
disease among them in tropical climates, at whose approach 
the stoutest stood aghast, and reflecting on the prospect of 
death, may be imagined to have uttered, 
“ Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves 
Shall never tremble.” 
The discovery and perfection of the process employed for 
producing these compounds, was the result of the skill and 
intelligence of a pharmaceutist of France, Labarraque, whose 
name has become celebrated from having been identified 
with these substances which his science and industry intro- 18 
duced to the notice of the medical profession, and to the 
domestic use of society at large. 
The discovery, by analysis, of the composition of vegetable 
substances, and the determining of the fact that their reme- 
dial powers resided in an active principle, capable of separation 
from the great bulk of woody fibre in which it was enveloped, 
was the result of pharmaceutic enterprise and talent. 
This discovery has opened a new branch of science for the 
labours of the present generation, and has materially changed 
the therapeutic system as formerly established and taught. 
The system of the patient is no longer overloaded with an 
immense amount of inert matter, in order that he may receive 
the benefit to be derived from an infinitely small proportion 
of active matter associated with it. Who that has his recol- 
lections awakened of spoonfuls of nauseous dry powder, at 
which the stomach revolted, forced upon him in the shape of 
bark, can withhold from pharmacy the merit she claims of 
having separated from that same bark the beautifully crystal- 
lized element which gave it all its powers, and which was 
capable of producing in a dose “ in shape no bigger than an 
agate stone,” all the beneficial effects for which the bark had 
long been celebrated. In many cases it so happened that 
a vegetable provided by nature with a principle which gave 
it an ability to do good, was, at the same time, invested with 
a principle to do harm, and hence its use became either 
altogether prohibited, or at least it was a matter of accident, 
whether, in particular cases, the good or bad principle might 
prevail in its influence on the system; of such a character is 
opium, so constantly and extensively employed in the practice 
of medicine. It is a matter of general notoriety, that the use 
of opium, in many cases, is utterly precluded, from the 
occurrence in it of two principles, as above described. The 
soothing, calming influence, which it is capable of exercising, 
being, in some constitutions, entirely overruled, and its effects 
counteracted by the stimulating, exciting power, with which 
it is also provided by nature. Pharmacy, by discovering the 
existence of these two principles, and designating the process 19 
by which they may be separated, has conferred an invaluable 
boon upon the comforts of the sick, and has provided, through 
the skill of the medical practitioner, the means of procuring 
the calm of “ nature’s sweet restorer,” without arousing the 
debilitated nerves of the sufferer into a state of anxious and 
thrilling excitement. There is, perhaps, no more beautiful ex- 
ample of the operations of pharmacy, than the process of sepa- 
rating morphia from opium. This process it will be hereafter 
my duty to describe and explain; at present, a bare allusion to 
it is all that is in my power. 
The separation of quinia from bark, morphia from 
opium, strychnia from nux vomica, and, indeed, of numerous 
other active principles, has led to the introduction of a new 
mode of administering medicines, in which the patient is 
spared the fatigue and nausea attending the ordinary practice 
of swallowing his dose. By a process termed the endermic 
mode, these active principles are introduced into the system, 
and their effects are manifested just as when taken into the 
stomach; according to this mode they are applied either in the 
form of an ointment, or dry powder sprinkled over a small spot 
from which the skin has been removed by the action of a 
blister; and, in some diseases, more success has attended the 
endermic method of treatment than that formerly pursued. It 
enables the action of the medicine to manifest itself directly 
upon the diseased part, and of course is more rapid in its effects 
than when compelled to travel the whole circuit of the circu- 
lation before reaching that part which requires its aid. 
One of the chief advantages which attends our knowledge 
of the presence of these active principles in vegetable remedies, 
and of the means by which they may be separated, is, that we 
are at once furnished with a prompt and certain mode of 
ascertaining the qualities of vegetable medicines. For since 
it has been proved that all owe their efficacy to the presence 
of some one of these, it is evident that their powers are in 
direct proportion to the amount of the active principle which 
they are found capable of furnishing. Hence, in making 
choice from different portions of opium, in order to select 20 
that which is best, we naturally prefer that which produces 
the largest amount of morphia; the same reasoning will apply 
to bark from which the separation of quinia forms the 
criterion by which the judgment is formed; and the quan- 
tity of atropine, or hyoscyamine, obtained from the plants in 
which these principles exist, enables us to decide whether 
the leaves which furnish them, are entitled or not to our 
confidence. 
In a word, Pharmacy has applied to vegetable substances 
the same unerring test for estimating their value to which 
general chemistry had already subjected mineral bodies. The 
amount per cent, which may be yielded, in both cases, being the 
direct measure of their value. This object is, alone, one of 
primary importance, and cannot too often be made available 
in the successful prosecution of the duties of a pharmaceutist 
and physician. 
But Pharmacy has by no means limited her investigations 
to those which have been announced; she has directed her 
attention to the improvement of the processes by which the 
extractive matter of plants is removed from them and con- 
verted into a form, by which its efficacy is preserved 
unimpaired, and may be employed long after the plant which 
furnished it has mingled with the dust. She has discovered 
and invented hundreds of modes by which the form of medi- 
cines has been improved, and has simplified formulae, applying 
to their construction the beautiful and systematic proportions 
developed by the laws of combination. 
I have now*, I trust, made out a case proving to your satis- 
faction, that Pharmacy is equally worthy the cultivation of 
enlightened minds, with her parent Chemistry; and, I trust, 
that with the medical class certainly, if with no other portion 
of my auditors, no further comment will be required to invite 
an enthusiastic devotion to the course of study, required to 
embue their minds with her principles, and familiarize their 
hands with her practice. 
Situated as the large body of the practitioners of medicine 
are in this country, in remote situations, beyond the reach of 21 
tlio.se who make pharmacy a distinct object of study, it is 
incumbent on them to possess such a knowledge of that science 
as will qualify them to judge of the quality of their raw 
materials, and enable them to prepare the officinal and magis- 
terial formulae, required for the relief of their patients. They 
cannot place too high a value on this department of their 
education; for no one can realize the importance which may 
attach to the purity of a vegetable powder, or the unimpaired 
strength of a blister. Employed at a moment when the 
contest between disease and vitality has brought the fluttering 
soul almost to the period of dissolution from her material abode; 
when anxious friends and distressed relatives look with 
intense anxiety to the effect of every remedial means em- 
ployed, the impurity of a medicine administered in a minute 
dose, or the failure of a blister carelessly or inefficiently 
prepared, may decide the contest between life and death; 
and, with the liberated soul of the departed friend, may vanish 
all confidence in the skill of the physician. How awful, then, 
the consequences which attend the preparation and adminis- 
tration of medicines to the sick, and how high are the 
responsibilities assumed by those who undertake their 
preparation and direct their use;—a career of distinguished 
reputation just dawning on the young aspirant for medical 
honour, may be suddenly arrested, and all his prospects 
destroyed, by the failure of any of his remedial means through 
inefficiency or impurity. 
The consideration of these responsibilities, and of the means 
by which the risk of their being brought home upon you for 
redemption may be avoided, is an important subject for 
reflection; and I think I do not magnify the importance of it, 
when I address these appeals to your understandings and 
feelings. It shall be a constant object of solicitude with me, 
while I have the honour to hold this Chair, to maintain, with 
what ability I possess, the importance of a thorough knowledge 
of Pharmacy, as a branch of medical science, and a requisite 
in medical education; and I shall endeavour to present its 
details in such an aspect, during the course which is to 22 
follow, as will, at least, enable you to appreciate their value 
and qualify you for their practice. 
To obtain a thorough knowledge of Pharmacy, requires a 
knowledge of Chemistry, which is required in the formation 
of a medical education by various other considerations; one of 
the principal of which may be said to be the selection and 
preparation of proper antidotes to the various poisons, which 
may be introduced into the system, and threaten life with 
destruction. All proper antidotes depend upon their chemical 
properties for their efficacy. 
Called suddenly to the bedside of the sufferer, who may be 
the victim of accident or design, the medical practitioner, 
who is perfectly familiar with laws of affinity and combination, 
is never at loss for an agent which will neutralize or destroy 
the potent energies of the substance which “pours its leprous 
distilment” into the system of his patient. No loss of time 
in the application of his remedies is to be apprehended; a 
cause which not unfrequently tends to the accomplishment of 
the effects of the poison. Calmly and philosophically he 
learns the name, or judges by the symptoms, of the enemy 
which is in deadly -conflict with vitality, and possessed of a 
thorough knowledge of chemistry, he is at once enabled to 
counteract its effects by decomposing its structure, or by re- 
ducing it to such a condition as will entirely change its 
character. On the other hand, he who is ignorant of the 
means by which these changes in its character may be 
effected, employs his antidotes at random, or suffers the early 
moments to be wasted, while he is acquiring the necessary 
information, during which period the agonized sufferer is 
gradually perishing from the power of the venom, “ which 
shuts up sense, and o’er his inmost vitals creeping,” finally 
overcomes by its prowess, and secures a victim, if not to 
ignorance and poison, at least to poison which ignorance was 
incapable of counteracting. 
The prevention of disease is equally an important object 
with the physician, as its removal when formed, and a know- 
ledge of chemistry is indispensable to the full understanding 23 
of public hygyene. The diagnosisof disease is frequently 
aided by chemical agencies, and there is a class of diseases in 
which it is almost impossible to form a correct diagnosis, 
without an aptitude at chemical manipulation, as well as 
knowledge of chemical principles and affinities. Situated 
remotely from the residence of practical chemists, the practi- 
tioner of medicine is frequently called upon, in courts of 
justice, to furnish testimony in cases involving the greatest 
responsibility and intricacy. The life and death of the 
prisoner, his acquittal or conviction, rest upon the fiat of the 
medical witness. How exceedingly important, then, that that 
witness should possess, in a thorough knowledge of chemistry, 
the means by which he may be enabled to pronounce his 
opinion with certainty, his mind unembarrassed with the 
reflection that he may, through ignorance, have the responsi- 
bility of an unjust verdict laid to his charge. The recent 
application of the galvanic fluid to the cure of disease, renders 
a knowedge of that subject important to a physician; and, 
finally, it may be said, that a complete medical education 
cannot he attained without extensive acquirements in the 
science of Chemistry. 
It is deemed unnecessary to delay you longer with an 
enforcement of the claims which the chemical and pharma- 
ceutical sciences have on your attention, and even on that of so- 
ciety at large. Enough has been said, it is believed, to show that 
their operations are directly and indirectly involved in the 
interests and comforts of every class of the community. 
Their connexion, in many instances, has been pointed out, and 
some important results have been shown to depend upon their 
exercise and cultivation. 
It remains, therefore, only to acknowledge the important 
responsibilities, which are assumed by the occupant of this 
Chair who has undertaken the duty of inculcating subjects 
fraught with so much interest and importance. The responsi- 
bilities of a public teacher, at all times deep and momentous, 
are in this case particularly imposing. Flattered, however, by 
the choice of the trustees, and encouraged by the opinions 24 
expressed by many friends who are deemed capable of advis- 
ing, the present incumbent undertakes the duty with a full 
sense of the difficulties he is about to encounter; hut trusting 
to your clemency as critics, and relying upon the partiality 
which has called him to the Chair for an indulgent regard to his 
fallibility, he embarks upon the extended sea, before him.— 
Demonstration his sheet anchor—the experience of his pre- 
decessors his pilot—your ultimate success in the attainment 
of Chemistry and Pharmacy, the haven to which his course 
is directed—and the polar star toward which all the results 
■of his industry and solicitude centre, the professional repu- 
tation of the University of Maryland.