198 
NATURE AND TREATMENT OF DISTEMPER. 
ON THE NATURE AND TREATMENT OF DISTEMPER. 
By Samuel Brown, M.R.C.V.S., Melton Mowbray. 
Sir, — I n my former communication on the distemper in 
dogs, — which may be found in vol. ix of ‘The Veteri- 
narian,’ — it will be seen that my views on the nature and 
treatment of that peculiar disease were, in some measure, 
confirmatory of those which were entertained by the late 
Wm. A^ouatt, whose zeal in our cause, and indefatigable 
exertions, in conjunction with your ow r n, as Editors of ‘ The 
Veterinarian,’ have done more, in my opinion, to advance 
the progress of veterinary science and raise the social po- 
sition of her votaries than could have been accomplished by 
individual exertion in a century. Had it not been for the 
circumstance of the veterinary profession having a peri- 
odical devoted to watch over its interests and to advance its 
progress, those valuable essays wffiich grace the pages of 
‘The Veterinarian’ would, in all probability, not have 
been before the public, nor their worthy and well-meaning 
authors have been. known much beyond the sphere of their 
respective connections. Hence it is highly probable that 
‘The Veterinarian’ has had much to do ’with the im- 
proved and more extensive system of education which is 
now given at the Royal Veterinary College, as well as with 
the obtainment of our charter of incorporation, which has 
given us a professional name, and elevated our calling far 
above the old school of farriery. Much, too, has been done, 
through the medium of your journal, by way of establishing 
our professional standing, both by some deceased and now 
living members of the profession ; and if those early advo- 
cates of veterinary reform should survive the obtainment of 
an Act of Parliament exempting the body politic from 
serving parochial offices or on juries, they w 7 ill feel assured 
that their labours have tended to smooth the professional 
path for the junior members of the profession. Although 
such legislative enactment might tend to raise the respecta- 
bility of our profession in public estimation, we cannot 
suppose that it would confer the same degree of respecta- 
bility upon individual practitioners, whose estimation in 
public opinion must necessarily depend upon our ow’n con- 
duct. But I apprehend that our application to Parliament 
for an Exemption Bill is not based upon professional, but 
upon public grounds, and upon the principle of our time 
being public property, and as such ought to be considered 
