320 
THE VETERINARY SURGEON. 
Symptoms, methods of treatment, &c., are extracted, explained, 
and published in all the circulatory mediums of the country, and 
thereby disseminated by agricultural societies, & c., into every lo- 
cality. Coming from these sources, the public place perfect con- 
fidence in them ; and the poor veterinarian, who has spent a fortune 
and a life of study, ruined in his health by long attention and 
close observation to gain experience by making himself what he 
really ought and professes to be. These things, together with the 
revolutions of the age, by substituting mechanical power for that 
of animal in the shape of railways, &c. — a power which not only 
takes away one moiety of our patients, but also materially lessens 
the liability to disease of the remaining number, their labour now 
being nothing more than good exercise with very little exposure 
to those fruitful causes of disease which formerly existed; all these 
circumstances, operating so universally, render the veterinarian much 
less in request than he was before. In fact, he is seldom called for 
except in extreme cases. 
Then, there is the present system of manufacturing veterinarians 
out of any thing in the shape of man or boy ; for the aspirant to 
veterinary titles and honours has had nothing more to do of late 
than muster up a little of that thing that always makes the “ mare 
to go” — jump over the counter, where it is the only thing looked 
for — namely, brass : in a few weeks write an essay by either, not 
a little piracy or mystified theory, on the nature and action of medi- 
cine on veterinary patients, though they never even saw or ad- 
ministered a dose of medicine to an animal labouring under dis- 
ease before their late trip to the alma mater ; yet they may, in 
the course of a few months, be dubbed with “ Fellow of the Ve- 
terinary Medical Association.” 
I do not know what other members may think of such a prac- 
tice, but I cannot believe that such means can have any effect but 
that of justly lowering us in the estimation, not only of our clients, 
but the veterinary world. 
But we are told that “ knowledge does not consist in grey hairs 
only.” Perhaps not in all cases ; but I think that the propounder 
of this doctrine, himself, would not apply to a student who is just 
acquiring the rudiments of a profession, if he wished to be instruct- 
ed in some of the higher branches of the profession in detail. 
All these things duly considered, with others that I will state 
farther on, present but a very discouraging prospect, and parti- 
cularly to those who have not got well established. Indeed, from 
the view I take of it, though I have four sons, some of whom are 
ready for application, yet I shall not encourage any of them to ap- 
ply their time, &c. to the profession, which I have been long and 
