THE BOTANISTS OF PHILADELPHIA. 277 



fession, was manifested soon after he arrived in Philadelphia, 

 and the first paper that he wrote for the American Journal 

 of Pharmacy appeared in March, 1854, the title being : " On 

 the Adulteration of Drugs and Chemical Preparations." 



Conjointly, with Dr. Alfred Stille, was issued the 

 " National Dispensatory," each author dividing the field of 

 labor between them, Professor Stille writing the medical and 

 the therapeutical portions, whilst Professor Maisch supplied 

 the botanical, chemical and pharmaceutical material ; this 

 work has gone through four editions. He also issued a 

 work entitled, " Organic Materia Medica." * 



On the 24th of September, 1860, he was elected member 

 of the Board of Trustees of the Philadelphia College of 

 Pharmacy. His first botanical paper appeared in the 

 Journal in 1861, and is entitled " On Chelidonium Majus." 

 This contains also a chemical account of the constituents 

 and properties of the plant. 



From 1861, when his first botanical paper was pub- 

 lished, until 1893, when his last paper appeared, " On the 

 Tubers of Dioscorea Species," a large number of important 

 articles appeared from his pen. 



In 1892 Professor Maisch's friends noticed that at times 

 he appeared to be suffering, and for the first time in many 

 years he was occasionally compelled to relinquish some of 

 his lectures. It was not, however, until April, 1893, that he 

 experienced a difficulty in swallowing food. At first no one 

 realized the significance of this symptom, and it was only 

 after a considerable increase of this painful sensation that 

 he sought medical advice. Gradually, but surely, the 



* A Manual of Organic Materia Medica, being a Guide to Materia Medica 

 of the Vegetables and Animal Kingdoms for the Use of Students, Druggists, Phar- 

 macists and Physicians. By John M. Maisch, Ph. D. Third edition. Lea Brothers & 

 Co., 1887, octavo, xv, 532 pp. 



