PREFACE. V 



the orthodox veterinary faith ; having also, strong con- 

 victions of the soundness in doctrine, as inculcated by 

 Dixon ; viz., ^^ Nature is ever busy by the silent opera- 

 tion of her own forces in curing disease ; her medicines 

 are air, food, water, and rest," etc., I contend that in 

 the treatment of any and every form of disease, the 

 object should be to aid nature, and thus preserve the 

 vitality of the system ; this is to be accomplished by 

 regulation of diet, ventilation, cleanliness, good nurs- 

 ing, which includes proper attention to the real neces- 

 sities of the animal, medicinal agents properly selected 

 of well-known sanative qualities, obtained from the 

 laboratory of nature, concocted by the great chemist in 

 the forest, and the field ; and necessary surgical opera- 

 tions which have to be performed under^ the influence 

 of sulphuric aether. 



It is a fact well known and acknowledged by those 

 who have emancipated themselves from the theory of 

 the schools, that the heroic practice — meddlesome 

 medication — has destroyed more animals than the epi- 

 zootic sword, and yet many physicians even in these 

 enlightened times, will lull their consciences into an 

 insane belief that the phlebotomizing, and heroic prac- 

 tice is the only legitimate, safe, and effectual method 

 of eradicating disease ; and they base their arguments 

 on the untenable ground, that some animals thus 

 treated recover ; when the fact is, these supposed medi- 

 cal recoveries are so many lucky escapes from death, 



secundum artem, 



1* 



