INTEODUCTION. 



If the animals domesticated by man be essentially necessary 

 to his comfort and convenience, no apology need be offered 

 for attempting to reduce into a system the art of preserving 

 them in health and removing their diseases ; which practice 

 must be founded on an intimate acquaintance with the 

 structure, functions, and economy of such creatures : these 

 acquirements, therefore, form the groundwork of what is 

 called the Vetermary Art. 



The deplorable state of this art in Great Britain has, 

 until lately, been animadverted upon by every one who has 

 written on the subject ; the principal cause of which appears 

 to have been the total abandonment of every rule by per- 

 sons of proverbial ignorance. The value of animals, par- 

 ticularly of the horse, is a theme that has exercised the 

 attention of thousands; nevertheless the preservation of 

 their health has long been consigned to the groom, as the 

 treatment of their diseases has devolved on the maker of 

 their shoes. The study was regarded as beneath the station 

 of educated men, and the practice as derogatory to the cha- 

 racter of a gentleman. 



But, at length, mankind becoming wdser are disposed to 

 receive this study among the liberal arts, and to regard the 

 profession of it as no longer incompatible with the pre- 

 tensions of the scholar. The establishment of a Veterinary 



