186 APPENDIX. 
Quotations from Books. 
It is a not unfrequent custom with counsel to refer to 
veterinary works during the examination of a witness. He 
is expected to have a fair knowledge of the writings of pro- 
fessional men on the subject of inquiry. The authority is 
mentioned, the passage is quoted, and the witness may be 
then asked whether he agrees with the views of the author 
or whether he differs, and if so, his reasons. In cases con- 
nected with medical treatment, the views of the profession 
are and have been so various, that a barrister would have 
no great difficulty in finding some book to oppose to the 
opinions of a witness. Standard works of recent date are 
so well known to the profession, that there are few men 
engaged in practice who are not well acquainted with and 
able to explain the views of the writers, and how far they 
agree or conflict with his own. The witness must be on 
his guard that the quotation is fairly made, and that it is 
properly taken with the context, or he may unexpectedly 
find himself involved in a difficulty. On one occasion a 
learned gentleman stopped in his quotation at a comma, 
and on another occasion the quotation ended at a colon, 
the remainder of the sentence in each case materially 
weakening the inference which it was intended to draw with 
the apparent sanction of the witness. 
When a quotation from a standard work is thus opposed 
to the evidence of a veterinary witness, he should take care 
by reference to the work itself to see that the passage is 
correctly quoted. A reference at the time to the work which 
is quoted, is always necessary if any use is to be made of a 
quotation. Without suggesting that there is intentional 
misrepresentation to bear out a particular view of the case, 
a barrister, in dealing with the medical facts, may wholly 
misunderstand the author’s views and statements, and in 
