Am.  Jour.  Pharm.  ) 
May  1, 1873.  J 
Minutes  of  the  College. 
227 
In  1857  his  lecture  on  "Summer  Medical  Teaching  in  Philadelphia,"  given 
introductory  to  his  course  on  pharmacy  to  medical  students,  was  published.  In 
this,  after  speaking  of  his  earlier  efforts  in  establishing  his  "  School,"  he  says  : 
''Twenty-three  courses  of  lectures  and  practical  exercises  (since  1849)  have 
since  been  given  to  an  aggregate  of  299  medical  students,  drawn  from  nearly 
every  State  in  the  Union,  and  from  British  America.  After  near  eight  years' 
experience  as  teacher  of  this  speciality,  I  need  offer  no  apology  for  giving 
some  general  conclusions  I  have  arrived  at  in  regard  to  its  utility  as  a  branch 
of  medical  education,  and  the  best  means  of  imparting  it."  Again  he  says  : 
"  In  claiming  the  position  of  a  pioneer  in  this  sort  of  teaching  [iu  the  U.  S.], 
I  do  so  with  the  confident  belief  that  the  time  is  approaching  when  its  impor- 
tance will  be  fully  recognized,  and  when  the  education  of  the  physician  will  be 
universally  regarded  as  quite  incomplete  uuless  he  has  enjoyed  the  advantages 
of  a  more  or  less  thorough  practical  teaching  in  pharmacy." 
After  describing  the  arrangement  of  his  lectures,  examinations  and  practical 
lessons,  in  which  classes  of  12  students  in  three  sub-classes  worked  together 
and  profited  by  each  others  labors,  he  says  :  "Classification  in  this,  as  in  every 
other  branch,  gives  great  facility  to  the  teacher  and  the  learner,  and  by  the  aid 
of  a  text-book  I  have  prepared  with  special  reference  to  the  course,  I  can 
promise  you,  in  the  12  weeks  which  follow,  the  opportunity  to  obtain  a  sufficient 
knowledge  of  pharmacy  to  give  you  a  fair  start  on  the  road  to  proficiency  in 
the  art  of  prescribing,  preparing  and  dispensing  medicines." 
These  few  extracts  will  show  that  Edward  Parrish  had  made  considerable 
advancement  as  a  teacher  in  imparting  instruction  to  medical  students  before 
subsequently  entering  our  faculty,  and  had  carried  on  his  school  with  an  enthusi- 
astic belief  in  its  usefulness  and  efficiency. 
The  pharmaceutical  meetings  of  the  College  (which  were  an  offshoot  from 
the  interest  awakened  by  the  Pharmacoposia  Committee  of  Revision  of  1840) 
were  frequently  attended  by  Edward  Parrish  after  he  graduated  ;  and,  although 
his  written  communications  to  their  proceedings  were  not  numerous,  he  often 
gave  interest  to  them  by  his  practical  remarks  and  by  the  Inhibition  of  attract- 
ive objects.  Being  a  ready  speaker,  he  delighted  on  these  occasions  to  bring 
forward  subjects  for  discussion,  and  often  without  preparation  added  greatly 
to  their  interest.  His  genial  manners,  and  earnest  desire  to  render  these  meet- 
ings open  to  all  who  would  come — members,  students  or  strangers — assisted  in 
prolonging  their  existence  after  they  decreased  in  importance,  from  the  cessa- 
tion in  great  measure  for  several  years  of  the  experimental  essays,  which  in  the 
beginning  had  given  character  and  importance  to  their  transactions. 
Edward  Parrish  early  determined  to  pursue  a  scientific  career,  aspired  to  a 
position  in  the  schools,  and  was  deeply  impressed  with  a  belief  in  his  ability  to 
teach.  When  the  chair  of  Materia  Medica  was  vacated  in  1850  by  the  retire- 
ment of  Dr.  Carson,  he  was  a  candidate  for  the  vacancy,  but  the  traditional 
influence  of  the  idea  that  that  chair  was  best  filled  by  a  physician,  led  to  the 
election  of  Dr.  R.  P.  Thomas.  In  the  Spring  of  1864,  however,  on  the  death 
of  Dr  Thomas,  he  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy,  as  Professor  of  Materia 
Medica,  and  continued  in  that  office  till  1867,  when  he  exchanged  chairs 
with  Prof.  Maisch,  and,  assuming  the  duties  of  the  Professorship  of  Practical 
