THE MODERN IIORSE DOCTOR. 17 



It may be urged, that much of the information required for the 

 practice of our art is acquired by the senses. Then we answer, 

 that they require cultivation ; the mind must be educated, so as 

 to be able to digest the phenomena which constantly occur, in 

 every variety of feature and form, throughout the whole range of 

 medical diversity. 



Surely, if the qualifications here so briefly alluded to, and 

 others not enumerated, are requisite for the successful practice 

 of human surgery, how can they be dispensed with in the vete- 

 rinary department ? Surely, they cannot ; for they are an es- 

 sential element not to be dispensed with. 



The intelligent and thinking husbandman, who, as a matter of 

 necessity, has been compelled to prescribe for the ailments of his 

 flocks and herds, without the privileges of medical tuition, has 

 probably often felt that every new gleam of light which flits 

 across his path, only serves to bewilder, and make him better ac- 

 quainted with his own want of knowledge and the comparative 

 darkness that now exists, where all should be bright and radiant. 



Such, as well as those engaged exclusively in the management 

 of horses, prescribe to the best of their ability ; but death has the 

 advantage of them, for they know not his mode of warfare, nor 

 the means necessary for a successful combat. There are a few 

 veterinary surgeons, located in this country, endeavoring to light 

 up the dark spots referred to, and serve the cause of humanity; 

 yet, however diligent, when we compare their labors with the 

 magnitude of the cause, they bear the same relation to it that a 

 grain of mustard seed does to a mountain. 



In every city, town, and village, throughout this great republic, 

 there is need of veterinary practitioners. We must have them ; 

 there are great interests at stake. Some of the interested have 

 heard, read of, or their animals have experienced the benefits of, 

 a correct system of practice, and now they desire to see such sys- 

 tem extend, so that all may receive benefit therefrom. 



The masses, however, have not had an opportunity of judging 

 of the merits of this science, in consequence of a dearth of the 

 right kind of information, and the scarcity of its disciples. Books 

 of authority are as scarce as the latter : of American parentage, 

 they are few and far between ; and this is mortifying to our 

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