was graduated from the Bellevue Hospital Medical 

 College of New York City in 1876. 



Because of his interest in physiological experimental 

 research, Dr. Beyer enrolled at the Johns Hopkins 

 University, where he was awarded a Ph. D. degree 

 in 1887. Unlike his predecessor, Dr. Beyer was 

 primarily interested in carrying on research on the 

 physiological action of certain drugs and in pharma- 

 cology. This was evident from the original scientific 

 papers mentioned in the Smithsonian Annual Reports 

 and published by him during the period of his cura- 

 torship from 1884 to 1887. 



Despite the pressure of his postgraduate studies 

 at Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Beyer helped in 

 arranging and classifying the materia medica collec- 

 tion without trying to extend materially the scope 

 of the Section. 



After the term of Dr. Beyer expired in 1887, Dr. 

 Flint returned to take charge of the Section. Sur- 

 prisingly, at this time, it seems that he showed less 

 enthusiasm and devotion to the work of the Museum 

 which he had previously served so well. It could 

 have been a disappointment resulting from a lack 

 of evidence of any real progress in the Section since 

 he had left it three years before. Whatever the reasons 

 mav have been, the Smithsonian Annual Reports show 

 that only a few hundred specimens were added to the 

 materia medica collections between 1887 and 1890, 

 bringing the total to 5,915 preserved in good condi- 

 tion. Further curtailment of the Section's activities 

 began in November 1891 when Dr. Flint was again 

 transferred to other duties for the U.S. Navy. From 

 November 1891 to May 24, 1895, curatorship of the 

 Section was charged to five physicians of the U.S. 

 Navy: Drs. John C. Boyd (from November 1891 

 to April 6, 1892); William S. Dixon (April 1892 to 

 January 5, 1893): C. H. White (January 1893 to 

 July 15, 1893); C. U. Gravatt (July 1893 to January 

 22, 1894); R. A. Marmion (January 22, 1894 to June 

 1 5, 1 894); and to Medical Inspector Daniel McMurtrie 

 (June 1894 to May 24, 1895). During this interim 

 of nearly three and a half years, there were neither 

 literary contributions nor additions made to the 

 collections of the Section that were of any signifi- 

 cance. The reason is obvious, for all of these curators 

 averaged less than seven months of service which is 

 not enough time, even for a well-trained individual, 

 to accomplish very much in a museum. Therefore, 

 it is easy to imagine that when the Secretary of the 

 Navy detailed Dr. Flint for a third time to take 



charge of the Section, he was rather discouraged. 

 Nevertheless, at the Cotton States and International 

 Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia, from September 18 

 to December 31, 1895, the materia medica was repre- 

 sented by two displays: one on mineral waters and 

 amounts of solid constituents in pure state; and 

 another showing the quantities of minerals after 

 analysis of the composition of the human body. 



A similar project was undertaken in 1897 at the 

 Tennessee Centennial Exposition (May 1 to October 

 31) in Nashville, where there were two displays of 

 materia medica. One showed several kinds of the 

 cinchona barks and the medicinal preparations made 

 from them, and another containing the commercial 

 varieties of the alkaloids of opium. 



At this time, Dr. Flint"s attention turned to a new 

 phase of medical exhibition. He felt the need for a 

 program of exhibits on the practice and the historical 

 development of the healing arts. A change of the 

 Section's name was deemed necessary and, thus, in 

 1898 the more comprehensive title of Division of 

 Medicine was adopted. 



Division of Medicine (1898-1939) 



The statement by L. Emmett Holt of the Rockefeller 

 Institute for Medical Research, that before 1906, 

 the Smithsonian Institution was never a beneficiary 

 to medicine in any form, 9 is not entirely applicable. 

 The previous discussion has clearly shown that the 

 U.S. National Museum's cooperation with the Navy 

 contributed materially towards encouraging and 

 promoting medical knowledge. Furthermore, Dr. 

 Flint tried to bring many of his plans for this medical 

 division of the Museum to a practical fulfillment. He 

 devised a program for presenting medical history in a 

 way which would be of interest both to the public 

 and to the profession. In order to best illustrate the 

 history of the healing art, he divided his subject 

 matter into five provisional classifications according 

 to the Report upon the Condition and Progress of the U.S. 

 National Museum during 1898: 



1. Magical medicine including exorcism, amulets, 



talismans, fetishes and incantation; 



2. Psychical medicine including faith cures, and 



hypnotism; 



8 Holt, "A Sketch of the Development of the Rockefeller 

 Institute for Medical Research." p. 1. A similar comment was 

 voiced by Galdston, "Research in the United States," p. 366. 



276 



BULLETIN 240: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



