320 THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE VETERINARY SCHOOLS. 



These unhappy conditions can only he equalized when the educa- 

 tional chairs are filled with men whose education itself has been 

 most strictly scientific, and when the students themselves have a simi- 

 lar exact foundation before entering the school. 



" This has been well seen by the veterinary profession, as is illus- 

 trated by the following resolutions, drafted at the late Veterinary 

 Congress at Frankfort " : 



I. "With reference to the preparatory education of the German 

 veterinarians : 



" The same conditions must be exacted of students entering upon 

 the study of veterinary medicine, as of those entering upon the 

 study of medicine or special natural sciences." 



II. With reference to the professional education of German 

 veterinarians : 



" 1. To gain a good general knowledge of the elements of their 

 profession, a four-year course is necessary and sufficient." 



" 2. The veterinary school must be an integral yet independent 

 branch of the universities." 



The immense importance of the last resolution can not be over- 

 estimated. The intimate relation which our domestic animals bear 

 to human health ; the value of the studies of comparative anatomy 

 and physiology ; the immense importance of the knowledge of gen- 

 eral pathology and comparative pathological anatomy, are all things 

 which have not yet had their due degree of appreciation. 



Further, the value of such a union in lessening the expenses of 

 veterinary institutions should by no means fail of earnest considera- 

 tion. The natural sciences can be heard by the students of both 

 branches of medicine in common, thereby doing away with the ne- 

 cessity of quite a number of special teachers at a veterinary school. 

 Such a union is only practicable, however, at universities situated in 

 large cities, for otherwise it would be impossible to fill the veteri- 

 nary hospitals with the large number of animals necessary for the 

 students to gain practical knowledge and dexterity. 



