The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1874-01-29
Quaker citr correspondenee.

Quaker City correspondence.
PpaLADELrHfA, Jan. 26. 1874.
The Medical Colleges and Hospitals
of this city, standing, as they do, in
the front rnDk 0f such Institutions in
This country, are certainly deserving
of brief review at my hands.
There are here nineteen hospitals
and dispensaries, where the sick may
receive medical or surgical aid, either
free or at greatly reduced rates. I
shall refer only to two of these, viz:
The Blockiey AlIns-heuse, situated in
West Philadelphia, ct 2lst and Darby
road, and the Pennsylvania Hospitals.
situated ON 8th street, between Spruce
andsPines 8 .e8fH Z - assils2
The Blockley IS By far the most ex-
tensiYe of the two. Its capacity Is
three thonsand patients. Itis a county
affair and the patients are mostly pau
pera and a hard looking set they are,
AT the Pennsylvania Hospital, ON the
other hand, only such patients are re-
eeived as are able to pay their board.
This provision has therefore the effect
OF filing the two Thousand beds with
which the hospital is supplied with
very respectable class of patients,
who are kindly cared for and are
daily recipients of the best medical
and surgical skin in the city. Did
time permit much might be- eaWritten
IN regard 10 the classes of disease
which are here met with, their treat
ment, &c In this conneetion, how
ever. il Menld bes absolutely impos-
slbIe, aud to the general reader, en-
titeiy mint lerestihg. g .,9
There are at present i've Medical
Schools / in the city. yizs s,Jefferson
1EedleGI College, The Medical depart
nienf OF the University Of Pennsylva-
MAJ The ssEclectic College Of Physi-
clans and 6nFgeons,Y the e Hom-
popathfcs Colleges, and the q Ladies
Medical College, In the several
scheols the Wretched followers of old
LEsculapius are taught the rudiments
OF the ehealing saTt.Ys The general
plan Of teaching IS the same in ali;
VIZ by Lectures. both Clinical and
Didactic. The sessions are five
monthE inLlength, beginning usually
in october and ending in March
Every day except Sunday, there are
seven lectures each an hour in length.
AT might she dissectings room claims
thfse hours more oflhs students time,
and then be, or She, can 90 home and
dream Of lectures and dissections,
Eiecture rooms. are not models OF
comfort, espeeieliy the old wooden
benches on which the incipient M q.
are obliged to sit during The above
mentioned seven bours. This taken
in conjunction with the very limited
allowance Of boarding house hash
with which, they are obliged to put up,
and the long, weary hours of hard
brain work, serve toamake the life OF
medical Student anything but pleas
ant, Mr. Editor, 6 I've been there ]
know how it is myself and would
to God that it xFerc possible to grind
into the minds OF every man, woman
and child III the United States, i feai=
ling sense of what it takes to fit a
person for the practice OF medicine
and surgery Methinks there would
be more charity for their errors and
less growing At their bile But 20
lreturnas AT the head of the Faculty
of Jefferson College. stands Joseph
Pancoast, the great anatomist, the
greater surgeon. For forty years he
has sbeenia teacher in this institution.
As Professor of Surgery we have S.
d. Gross, whose great work is to-day
tho standard among medical men
DaC C0stas young in years, but old in
ezpefiehe0, fills the chair of Practice.
Of the other members Of the Faculty
I have space to say nothing. At the
UniRersity, Aguen on Surgery, Stilfe
ON Therapeutics, aud Perrer on Prac-
tice, with others. form a splendid fac
ulty. with the other schools | am not
peFsenally familiar and will Of them,
say nothing @. ACRE.
T Ei