966 EDINBURGH VETERINARY COLLEGE. 
receive instruction, and he had received instruction. When he 
was many years younger than he now was, he had himself taken 
a course of veterinary in the College of Vienna, and he considered 
that he had been very much benefited by that course. (Applause.) 
They were entering, he said, upon the study of veterinary science, 
which would fit them for a profession not only useful hut honor- 
able. Every profession and every trade was, to a greater or lesser 
extent, honorable, as it was followed out, and if they followed 
veterinary out with zeal and carefulness, with energy and interest, 
it would he to each and all of them an honorable profession. 
(Applause.) He, as a large owner of stock and cattle, had for 
many years taken a real interest in all the lower animals. He 
assured them that all large owners of stock looked equally with 
himself with great interest on the character of those young gentle- 
men who proceeded from colleges such as that. As year succeeded 
year, those gentlemen looked upon their stock as of greater value, 
and were regarding with alarm, therefore, the spreading over the 
entire country of diseases and maladies which it would tax the 
utmost efforts and skill of them (the students) to cure. In regard 
to those colleges, it had been his own anxious endeavour to put 
them on a proper footing, and he thought those gentlemen who 
acted with him, and one of whom he saw present there, would 
bear him out when he said that he had always done all he possibly 
could to place the profession on what he considered its proper 
platform. (Applause.) He advised them all, in making their 
visitings, to take notes of all they saw, heard, or touched, and 
those notes might be extended into diaries in the evenings. 
Nothing could possibly be of more benefit to young men than 
ample, copious notes, the experience recorded in which would 
enable them, if ever they should become unable to continue pro- 
fessional visiting, to become in some of the large towns consulting 
veterinary surgeons. (Applause.) He would also ask them to 
recollect, in visiting sick animals, that the human voice had far 
more effect upon animals than people usually were aware of. 
(Applause.) Nothing was more startling to an animal in healtli 
than the tone of a rough voice, and it was his practice, when a 
new man came into his employment, to notice if the man’s voice 
was rough or gruff, and if it was, his first week was generally his 
last in the place. (Laughter and applause.) He concluded by 
saying that he took a deep interest in each of them (the students), 
because he knew not but after they had finished their course he 
might find them in one of the districts with which he was con- 
nected, and therefore he wished them God- speed in the session 
that was now opened, and he was sure that with all the opportu- 
nities and advantages which would be given them in the college, 
they would be amply rewarded if they only paid sufficient atten- 
tion to them. (Applause.) 
The proceedings were brought to a close with the awarding of 
hearty votes of thanks to the Dean of Guild, Sir A. Gibson 
Maitland, M.P., and to Dr. Young. 
