44 ESSENTIALS OF VETERINARY LAW 



as a science and as an art. As a natural conse- 

 quence its regulation by law became apparent long- 

 before a similar restriction was required in the 

 practice of the arts upon these lower animals. 



If in the past these veterinarians were looked 

 upon as a lower rank of men, it was because there 

 was generally little attempt at making their prac- 

 tice really scientific. The blacksmith who became 

 ''knowing with horses," and the dairy man who 

 had considerable experience, were therefore con- 

 sulted by their neighbors in time of need. As a 

 rule they were men of very limited education, and 

 so soon as they really attempted to make a special 

 study of the subject they abandoned the treatment 

 of animals for the treatment of men. Some of 

 them, during their transition period, maintained 

 two offices. In one locality they were known as 

 ' ' boss doctors, ' ' while in the other they attempted 

 to be known as * ' doctors of medicine, ' ' but as soon 

 as possible the first practice was dropped for the 

 ''more respectable" one. The result was that 

 when the medical profession was already filled 

 with members striving for a living, that of the 

 veterinarian lacked competent practitioners. In 

 the medical ranks it became apparent that the 

 good of all concerned demanded that the practice 

 be so restricted as to exclude the most incompetent 

 pretenders, and laws were accordingly passed, and 

 disappointed practitioners thus excluded tested 

 the provisions in the courts. It is only recently 

 that it has been possible to draw the lines between 

 the self-made pretenders in veterinary practice 

 and the conscientious students of the science. 

 While most of the points have been decided with 



