148 ROYAL COLLEGE OF VETERINARY SURGEONS. 
narv College, viz. to receive all comers, irrespective of their 
being educated or illiterate youths; the result of this has 
been that many of these illiterate youths, incapable of being 
taught, cannot be made to understand the technical terms 
which are necessary to be used in teaching the Veterinary 
Science ; and after spending two sessions at College they 
appear before the examiners for their diploma, and are found 
utterly unfit to be received into the profession. They are 
rejected — they return to their homes as farriers, blacksmiths, 
grooms, or whatnot. But some few of these illiterate youths, 
through some good luck, or being a little sharper than the 
others, do squeeze themselves through, pass, and get their 
diploma. They return home and practise as veterinary 
surgeons, but owing to their illiterate state, their treatment 
is defective, and their habits lead them to associate only 
with such like, thereby bringing down disgrace upon the 
profession to which they belong. This state of things has 
seriously retarded the progress of our profession, and, we 
think, should no longer be permitted to go on. I may fur- 
ther inform you that the London Veterinary College for the 
last five years, and at the Glasgow Veterinary College for 
the last two years, a preliminary examination has been 
adopted with the best results. It was very simple at the 
beginning, but is now more stringent. It is found that the 
class is larger, better and more select, better behaved, more 
readily taught, and, when they come before the examiners, 
they are found qualified to pass a better examination, and it 
is quite natural to suppose they will acquit themselves with 
more credit to their profession when they get into practice. 
Thus it will be seen our desire is to advance the respecta- 
bility of our profession, and at the same time to add mate- 
rially to its usefulness. I beg further to say these examina- 
tions have been conducted hitherto by one of the Professors 
at either College, but it is found objectionable for many 
reasons; one is, it may happen to be the youth which is 
being examined is the son of a particular friend of the 
examiner, and he feels a delicacy in rejecting him; again, 
neither professors nor any other men like to throw their own 
living away, several students are willing to become pupils 
with their fees in their hands, but must be refused by the 
teacher. It has therefore been deemed desirable that the 
duty should be delegated to some competent and indepen- 
dent body, such as the College of Preceptors, who are a 
chartered body of men ; they examine the youths as to their 
scholastic attainments who enter the College of Surgeons in 
London, also the youths as they enter the College of Physi. 
