Hartshorne.j X^± [Oct. 11, 



Shortly after the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy 

 was founded, in 1821, Dr. Wood was invited to become 

 its Professor of Chemistry, He accepted the position, 

 and held it, with success and popularity, from 1822 to 

 1 83 1, when he was transferred to the Chair of Materia 

 Medica in the same institution. 



In 1835, when the Chair of Materia Medica in the 

 University of Pennsylvania (before held by Dr. John 

 Redman Coxe) became vacant, Dr. Wood was elected 

 to occupy it. I have had before me a letter addressed 

 by him, during the canvass, to James S. Smith, one of 

 the Trustees of the University, at the request of the 

 latter, in which, with modesty and yet with distinct- 

 ness, he sets forth some of the reasons, o-rowinpf out of 

 his abundant preparation, for his claim of eligibility to 

 the chair. He mentions in this letter the fact, that 

 during the year 1829 he devoted all his leisure for 

 nine months, in conjunction with Drs. Hewson and 

 Bache, acting as a Committee of the College of Physi- 

 cians, to the revisal of the Pharmacopoeia of the United 

 States. So many alterations were found to be re- 

 quired, that it was necessary to rewrite almost the 

 whole work. Before the Committee was satisfied. Dr. 

 Wood states that he had written all of the manuscript 

 copy at least twice over with his own hand. Through 

 its subsequent adoption by a National Convention 

 at Washington in 1830, this Pharmacopoeia became 

 the standard authority for the preparation of offici- 

 nal medicines throughout the United States ; and it 



