1 8 AMATEUR VETS 



opportunity of studying at the Royal Veterinary 

 College. Had he done so, his patient might have 

 been relieved by the dung being removed and a 

 gallon or two of hot water afterwards being in- 

 jected gently. A gill of whisky, and the following 

 prescription made up in the form of a draught, 

 might have produced a speedy cure : — 



^ther Rect. 

 Tinct. Opii. 

 01. Tereb. . 

 Tinct. Asafoet. 

 01. Lini. ad 



§ss. 

 3vj. 



3iv. 

 Oss. 



M. ft. haust. Repeated in an hour if necessary. 



As regards the Ancients. They understood 

 something about dentistry ; that is to say, they 

 knew about the milk and permanent teeth, also 

 how to tell the age of a horse from his marks. 



Their veterinary treatises were usually sand- 

 wiched between much agricultural information, 

 and this is why interesting passages on the frog, 

 primitive notions on hygiene, references to sur- 

 feit, &c., are not always easy to find. 



Naturally they quickly recognised strains, and 

 paid particular attention to the points of a horse, 

 and were very suspicious about their grooms 

 robbing them or picking up objectionable stable 

 tricks, because Aristotle tells of a Persian, who 

 was asked, " What is the best thing to make a 

 horse plump ?" and who answered, "His master's 

 eye ! " Surely that Persian must have had, at one 

 time or another, a rather tricky stud-groom, or 

 some underhand stable-helps who were painfully 

 sharp. 



