108 THE HORSE 



some use in the world. But flushed with his suc- 

 cess with this one thing, he must needs hang out 

 his shingle as a general practitioner, and the 

 damage that, for many years, he was constantly 

 doing in this line far more than offset the good 

 that he accomplished with his ointment. 



Another man, a Yankee farmer, had learned 

 from his father how to castrate colts and in this 

 operation he became very skilful and successful, 

 so that his services were frequently sought at long 

 distances from his home. Such success was too 

 much for him; it turned his head and he set up, 

 as indicated by the sign-board over his door, as 

 " veterinary physician and surgeon." But, 

 though naturally a good horseman, he had no 

 knowledge of the drugs that he used — and, like 

 all ignorant practitioners, he used them pretty 

 freely. I knew of several horses whose deaths 

 were undoubtedly due to his ministrations, and the 

 wonder is that there were not more. 



" Doctors " of this particular kind are not now 

 quite as plentiful as they used to be, owing to the 

 popular demand of these days that a doctor shall 

 have a " certificate." And so a class of veterinary 

 " doctors " has sprung up who are every whit as 

 ignorant as the older type — and possibly even 

 worse in practice, as they cannot boast even of 

 some specialty in which they are proficient — but 



