3 58 IRISH CENTRAL VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
animals. At the London College a preliminary examination is de- 
manded in the rudiments of an ordinary English education, and, 
if the student passes satisfactorily, he is admitted. The day begins 
with an anatomical lecture at 9 a.m ; at 10.30 alternately there is 
one on chemistry or cattle pathology; and at 12 a lecture on the 
physiology and pathology of the horse. The intervals between the 
lectures are devoted to visiting the patients in the infirmary, under 
the guidance of one of the professors, or in attending at the exami- 
nation of horses as to soundness. The afternoon is fully occupied 
in dissecting, and frequently an additional lecture is given by the 
demonstrator. In the evening many of the students attend the 
private classes held by the professors. It is seldom a student 
finishes work before 10 or 1 1 at night, if he takes advantage of 
every opportunity which is afforded him to acquire a proper know-- 
ledge of his profession. 
It is much to be regretted that the law allows men who perhaps 
have been rejected at the examination table, or turned away for bad 
conduct, to call themselves veterinary surgeons, and practise 
under that title. Many among the public are not aware of this, and 
I have often had great difficulty in getting people, who have com- 
plained of the ignorance shown by the individuals they have em- 
ployed, to understand that the individuals alluded to never attended 
a lecture in their lives ; they have got hold of a few w^orks on the 
subject, make up generally very powerful vesicants and drastic 
purges, which by the ignorant are looked on with great respect for 
the violent efforts produced, and start boldly with the title of veteri- 
nary surgeon over their doors. Not so in the medical profession ; 
there the title is carefully guarded, and if the public choose to em- 
ploy any others, they do so with their eyes open. Until the legisla- 
ture stops the assumption of the title of veterinary surgeon as defined 
in the charter except to those who have passed through the line of 
study laid down, and received the diploma, I do not see that the ex- 
amining body of the Royal College can call for the higher standard 
of qualification which has lately been so much insisted on, and 
which I hope soon to see established ; but it is not fair to lead men 
to incur the expense of living the best part of two years in a large 
town, fees to colleges, &c., and then give them a title which confers 
no practical privileges upon them over men who are profoundly 
ignorant of anatomy, physiology, and pathology. 
Professor Varnell, in an introductory address delivered at the 
Royal Veterinary College in London, points out so clearly the 
necessity of scientific knowledge, that I cannot do better than quote 
somewhat fully from it. 
“ The practitioner of human medicine devotes his mind and ener- 
gies to the relief of suffering humanity, and through his knowledge 
of the laws of organic life he points out, that is if he properly fulfils 
his mission, those hygienic and sanitary measures that are best cal- 
culated to preserve health. The veterinary surgeon has a similar 
duty to perform with regard to the lower animals ; and as such 
animals both grow and are nourished by the same laws, and in the 
