TBAVJEL AS A MEDICAL EDUCATION. 13 



the study oi' medicine and its allied sciences. This 

 constitutes a life stud)-. Without it the practice of 

 medicine inevitably soon degenerates into a miserable 

 trade The reading of new text-books and the be.-t 

 current medical literature, passive and active work in 

 medical societies, local, national and international, lab- 

 oratory work in the office and local hospitals, are well 

 calculated to meet the needs of the ambitious, conscien- 

 tious practitioner, but they will not suffice in giving 

 him the best possible opportunities to keep in touch 

 with the spirit and practice of the extraordinary age 

 in which we live. Reading and seeing are two entirely 

 different things. The eye is the great educator in tech- 

 nics of all kinds. It is one thing to read the descrip- 

 tion of a complicated operation; it is another thing to 

 see it performed by the hands of a master. Text- 

 books, valuable as they are, are but poor substitutes 

 for actual instruction and demonstrations in clinical 

 and laboratory methods. Personal intercourse with 

 prominent men in the profession imparts a stimulation 

 for more earnest and more effective efforts not obtain- 

 able to the same extent in any other way. 



A personal acquaintance with men who have earned 

 a well-merited reputation in the advancement of our 

 profession is a source of great gratification and excites 

 a new interest in the work he has accomplished. The 

 study of strange diseases in distant countries fills a gap 

 which a college education and subsequent reading can 

 not fill. An accurate knowledge of climatic conditions 

 and their effects on health and disease can only be ac- 

 quired by travel. 



For the professional man, and especially for the phy- 

 sician, travel opens a field of learning and affords op- 

 portunities the importance of which can not be over- 

 estimated. In order that travel may yield the desired 

 results, both physically and mentally, it must be care- 

 fully planned and properly conducted. The demands 



