XVI INTRODUCTION. 



stand the ever-shifting vagaries of fashion, and who 

 are familiar with the various ' points ' which give a 

 fictitious value to the horse as they do to the dog, 

 the canary, the rose, the dahlia, or the tulip. 



Let the medical and surgical treatment of the 

 horse be left to those who have been trained in an 

 acknowledged veterinary college, and who can pro- 

 duce the diploma which testifies to their scientific 

 and practical capability. Nowhere do I presume to 

 instruct the veterinary surgeon. On the contrary, 

 I urge, throughout the work, that no one ought to 

 be allowed to administer the mildest of drugs, or to 

 perform the slightest of operations, unless he be 

 legally qualified to do so. 



Throughout the work I draw a parallel between 

 the horse and the steam-engine, and try 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. It is not needful that this know- 

 ledge should comprise those details which belong to 

 pure science. 



There is not the least necessity that an engine- 

 driver should be learned in the chemical constituents 

 of the metals of which the engine is constructed, of 

 the fuel which is consumed, or of the water which 

 is converted into steam. 



