Chemistry 617 



investigated a large number of specimens of guano. Pro- 

 fessor Schaeffer soon withdrew and accepted the more con- 

 genial post of librarian of the United States Patent Office, 

 where he remained until his death, always honored and 

 esteemed as a man of varied and exact learning. During the 

 first decade of the second series of the "American Journal of 

 Science," he prepared the chemical abstracts that appeared 

 over the initials of " G. C. S." Doctor Craig remained in 

 charge of the Smithsonian Laboratory, and continued to re- 

 port on various minerals sent to the Institution, also making 

 such private investigations as came to him from persons 

 desiring the services of a chemist. During 1862 a large 

 quantity of disinfecting fluid was made for the use of hos- 

 pitals, and during 1863 experiments on the properties of 

 different kinds of oil intended for lighthouse purposes were 

 carried on. In 1864 Doctor Charles M. Wetherill, already 

 well known as the author of "The Manufacture of Vinegar, 

 its Theory and Practice, with Special Reference to the Quick 

 Process " (1860), was given charge of the laboratory, and he 

 continued the examination of materials for lighthouse illumin- 

 ation. Also during 1864 Doctor Wetherill studied the condi- 

 tion of the air and the mode of ventilating the United States 

 Capitol. On this subject he submitted a very elaborate re- 

 port to the Secretary of the Interior. In the laboratory he 

 was occupied in investigations on the nature of the so-called 

 ammonium amalgam, the crystallization of sulphur, and the 

 crystalline nature of glass. 



Chemistry and physics are allied sciences and the appli- 

 ances used in one science are frequently employed in the 

 other. Elsewhere mention is made of the early gift of 

 physical apparatus to the Institution by Doctor Robert Hare, 

 much of which was of interest on account of its association 

 with the history of the advancement of science in this coun- 

 40 



