AMERICAN VETERINARY PRACTICE. 
253 
North America, in order to join in practice, if I chose, with 
a Dr. Bishop, 233, Rare Street, and to teach our profession 
there. Dr. Bishop, who is not a veterinary surgeon, is an 
Englishman, and has been a soldier in the Guards, in Lon- 
don. He has been for more than ten years in America, prac- 
tising as a veterinary surgeon, and I must say he is much 
superior to many, here who have managed to obtain a 
diploma. I visited, in the United States, the cities of Phila- 
delphia, New York, Newark, Dunkirk, Cleavland, Ohio, 
Columbus, Covington, and Cincinnati ; and, unless it be in 
New York, in all these places, and the surrounding countries, 
for a distance of 1200 miles, there is notone qualified veteri- 
nary surgeon. I got into acquaintance with a surgeon who had 
been at classes in London, and had been long in Washington, 
and had qualified there, and learnt that there, the only person 
practising as a veterinary surgeon was an Englishman, who 
had been a butcher : he had by some chance done something, 
and cured two horses belonging to two of the senators, and 
asked their names as a recommendation, which they could 
not refuse him. He commenced practice, and was carrying 
on a large business, though as ignorant of disease as one of 
the Indians. Here, there is ample room for our superabun- 
dant flocks of veterinary surgeons ; where, instead of running 
after our farmers, to court their favours, waiting for their 
money in many cases for years, they are well paid, and for 
the most part w r ith ready money. In Scotland, in a distance 
not exceeding six miles, surrounding this town (Dalkeith), 
which contains not exceeding 6000 inhabitants, there 
is in existence (exclusive of Edinburgh, distant only six 
miles, fifteen minutes’ time per rail, and forty minutes per 
road omnibus), about thirteen men practising as veterinary 
surgeons, most of them in possession of diplomas : and it 
was only to save my practice from being entirely worried up 
by a number of them flocking in as hungry hounds would 
do on the death of the fox — some were said to have pur- 
chased my business ; some had been appointed my successor; 
some had purchased my shop ; some my horse ; in fact, 
every species of falsehood was resorted to which was likely to 
forward their views ; — this hurried me rather sooner back 
than I would have otherwise come, or rather, perhaps, I 
would not have come at all. However, 1 had been long 
enough there, and had had sufficient practice to see the utter 
ignorance of the men who pretend to cure all diseases of the 
unfortunate animals that come under their care. There, they 
must pretend to cure everything, no matter what, how long 
ill, what accident has befallen it, or how impossible. “ 1 
xxvii. 34 
