v1 PREFACE. 
always receive that attention from their owners which the urgency 
of the case demands. In fact, the good nursing, kind attention, 
etc., which often proves of so much value in the restoration from 
sickness of one of our race, is often denied the inferior creature ; 
and other matters, too numerous to menticn at the present time, 
tend to show the advantages which our brethren of a sister science 
have over us, and how necessary and important it is that a prac-, 
titioner of our art should be thorough master of his profession, 
It is a lamentable fact that the great majority of our husband- 
men have not hitherto realized that the superstructure of veterin- 
ary science rests on the same intelligent basis as that of human 
medicine ; but such is really the case. In the language of the la- 
mented PERCIVALL, we are assured that “ whether we prescribe for 
a man, horse, or any animal, the laws of the animal economy are 
the same; all require the same treatment,” that is to say, the 
propositions for restoration are all founded on the same intelligent 
basis, 
The importance, therefore, of educating men for the profession, 
and of furnishing reliable works for study, is very evident; and 
the necessity is further illustrated in the daily experience of those 
persons who, as a matter of necessity, are obliged to do the best 
they can for the sick and dying of their flocks and herds, having 
no knowledge of those advantages which a thorough course of 
training affords. Such persons must, necessarily, feel that they are 
groping in darkness, and when a ray of light does flit across their 
medical path, it only serves to make them better acquainted with 
their own want of skill. Persons thus circumstanced, unable to 
procure the services of a good veterinary surgeon, in consequence 
of a scarcity of the “genuine material,” are often compelled to 
assume the responsibility and risk of medical attendant; and, no 
doubt, they prescribe with good intention and honesty of purpose, 
ibut disease and death has the vantage of them, for they know not 
the modes of pathological warfare, nor are they acquainted with 
means best calculated to insure a favorable issue; and they will] 
certainly hail, as a great blessing, any and every effort to im. 
prove our veterinary literature, and thus diffuse knowledge sa 
sadly needed. 
It is well known that prior to the introduction of a rational 
system of veterinary medicine in the mother country, millions of 
domestic animals were annually sacrificed at the shrine of igno- 
