THE NEW TEACHING AND ITS RESULTS. 10 



our system of stable-construction, feeding, and the causes 

 of " vice " in horses. And " throughout the work," as 

 the preface states, "a parallel is drawn between the 

 horse and the steam-engine, and an attempt is made 

 to show that those who have the management of the 

 former or the latter will be adapted to their task in 

 proportion to their knowledge . . . Engine and man, 

 in fact, must go together, and so must ' horse and 

 man.' " 



Of course, the book provoked a perfect storm of dis- 

 approval from professional men, who found their leading 

 ideas ridiculed, and the many defects of their system 

 ruthlessly exposed. That my father had expected. 

 Many of the reviews, too, were adverse, and some spoke 

 of the folly shown by any one who should take upon 

 himself to write upon such a subject, not being a 

 qualified veterinary surgeon. That he had expected 

 also. So much interested opposition had in the first 

 instance to be overcome that he did not at all despair 

 of ultimate success, and he was content to wait quietly 

 until the new teaching should have had a fair trial, 

 and its results be made apparent. And by-and-by 

 letters began to reach him at first very occasionally, 

 but afterwards with greater frequency from those who 

 had been induced by the book to follow out his in- 

 structions, and who, having done so, felt bound to write 

 and thank him for the results which they had obtained. 

 Here is one of the most interesting of the letters in 

 question : 



