172 THE FRENCH ARMY VETERINARY SURGEONS. 
lamentably felt. Another inconvenience, and one a good deal and 
with much reason complained of, arising from there being no assist- 
ants, is, that no veterinary officer can or ought to be away for any 
length of time from his regiment. This the authorities at the 
Horse Guards appear to be fully aware of, and therefore they have 
issued their instructions, that “ when application is made for leave of 
absence for a veterinary surgeon, it is to be stated whether proper 
provision has been made for the performance of his duties add- 
ing, that “the name of the officer by whom the duty is to be per- 
formed during his absence is to be specified .” It would puzzle 
any commanding officer to act up to this order, seeing that there 
exists no officer in the regiment who can perform the duty of the 
veterinary surgeon : at the same time it would argue that there 
ought to be — or that those who penned the order meant there 
should be — one. 
There are two articles in the veterinary regulations recently 
formed for the French army which in particular strike us as 
worthy of note, as being not altogether consonant with English 
notions of right and freedom. One is, that no veterinary officer 
can retire until he has become sexagenary ; the other, that he is 
not permitted to marry without the consent of the secretary at war. 
How our French military brethren will look, and manage to per- 
form their duties, in their regulation light blue jackets and 
violet-coloured pantaloons, we must, for the present, leave for con- 
jecture: the new costume has certainly however so much raised 
our curiosity, that we have made up our mind, the very first time 
we take a trip to France, to have a sly peep at the honoured 
wearers of it. 
SINCE our last report of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, 
the Council has been actively engaged in completing the Bye-Laws 
and Regulations, which have been printed and circulated amongst 
the members. Copies have also been sent to several of the 
Governors of the Royal Veterinary College, and to the heads of 
the Royal English and Highland Agricultural Societies ; it being 
the decided wish of all engaged that their views and arrangements 
should be generally known. The permanent Board of Examiners, 
