44  Memoir  of  Thomas  H.  Powers.  {Am-jZ'^m' 
were  directed  by  his  change  in  business  has  deprived  us  of  any  subse- 
quent contributions  to  those  sciences,  in  which  he  took  great  interest 
and  for  which  he  possessed  much  natural  adaptation. 
After  he  attained  to  his  majority  he  remained  with  Smith  &  Hodg- 
son, as  an  assistant  on  a  salary,  until  1834  (or  1835),  when  D.  B. 
Smith  removed  to  Haverford  College,  as  one  of  its  faculty,  when  Mr. 
Powers  was  taken  into  partnership  with  the  firm. 
After  his  admission  into  the  firm,  at  Arch  and  Sixth  streets,  he 
applied  himself  assiduously  to  increase  the  business  of  the  house. 
About  this  time  morphia  was  coming  into  general  use  in  place  of  opium 
as  a  narcotic  ;  Mr.  Powers  demonstrated  by  experimental  trial  that 
this  alkaloid  could  be  successfully  and  profitably  manufactured  here, 
and  urged  the  consent  of  the  firm  to  embark  in  the  enterprise.  They, 
however,  did  not  see  the  way  clear  to  do  so  ;  in  after  life  Mr.  Powers 
has  reverted  to  this  period,  and  remarked  that  "  a  great  opportunity 
was  then  lost." 
It  was  about  the  year  1836  that  he  formed  an  intimate  acquaintance 
with  Mr.  John  Farr,  who  previously  had  noticed  him  and  formed  a 
high  estimate  of  his  character  and  qualifications. 
In  1838  he  left  Smith  &  Hodgson,  accepting  an  offer  made  to  him 
bv  Mr.  Farr  to  join  him  in  the  chemical  manufacturing  business,  on 
Coates  street  above  Fourth  street,  Mr.  Farr  associating  with  him  his 
nephew,  Mr.  William  Weightman,  and  Mr.  Thomas  H.  Powers, 
under  the  firm  name  of  John  Farr  &  Co.  The  reputation  of  the 
house  of  Farr  <Sc  Kunzi  was  already  well  known  and  stood  high  for 
the  purity  of  their  chemical  products,  but  the  business  was  then  com- 
paratively small. 
After  connecting  himself  with  the  house,  Mr.  Powers  devoted  all 
his  energies  to  his  new  position  ;  his  days  and  evenings  were  spent  at 
the  office  and  laboratory.  He  labored  first  to  acquire  a  complete  mas- 
tery of  the  business  in  every  detail,  and  afterwards  to  extend  it  in  every 
feasible  direction,  and  by  every  honorable  means.  The  reputation  and 
trade  of  the  house  grew  rapidly,  until  it  became,  as  we  know,  the  lead- 
ing establishment  of  this  country,  and  probably  one  of  the  largest  in 
the  world,  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  medicinal  and  other  chemicals. 
The  religious  impressions  of  his  early  life  had  crystalized  into  a 
Christianity  which  was  vital  with  him,  influencing  and  controlling  him 
in  all  his  conduct.    The  care  of  his  increasing  business — of  which  he 
