72 
THE ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE. 
The stables are well built, but badly ventilated. Ammoniacal 
fumes were very pungent, even in those which were most airy; 
while, in some, the atmosphere was so impure as to be obviously 
unhealthy. In proof of the justice of my observation, I may 
instance the outhouse called a loose box, and numbered 51, 
which has a grating in its centre, through which the vapours from 
some open drain or sewer freely ascend. Some other of the 
boxes, as those for instance figured 26 and 27, are well con- 
structed, though capable of improvement; but the aperture by 
means of which they are supposed to receive air is far too small, 
and placed considerably too high; while a luxuriant vine trained 
against the outer wall shades the open space, and excludes the little 
atmosphere which could enter were the space perfectly free. The 
existence of such defects, so easy of remedy, I only mention to 
give the reader an idea of the spirit that everywhere characterises 
the place. 
I next desired to inspect the warm bath belonging to the esta- 
blishment, noways doubting that a public institution must be pos- 
sessed of that notoriously useful and not very recent invention. I 
learned that the Royal Veterinary College had no such addition to 
its infirmary! 
There is, likewise, no harness-room to the premises; but a spe- 
cies of shed used for various purposes receives the saddles, cloths, 
&c., left by the owners of animals sent in for treatment. 
About twenty-six horses, chiefly affected with trifling lameness, 
stood in the stalls. There was within the walls no cattle of any 
kind, and but one poor dog. 
Having inspected the infirmary, I proceeded to view the dissect- 
ing-rooms. These consist of three apartments, two of small dimen- 
sions and one of moderate size, which last alone is provided with 
a boarded floor. In the first, through which the others are ap- 
proached, is placed a large boiler and a huge cistern ; and it 
appears to be regarded rather as an outhouse than a place of study ; 
for there was much filth scattered about, and no subject or sign of 
any subject on the table, which stood unoccupied in the centre. 
In the other small apartment, to reach which I crossed the larger 
room, there was a subject at which were employed some gentle- 
men who were standing on a plank covered with litter, for the day 
was ver}' cold, the floor paved with flags, and the place was unpro- 
vided with a stove or fire-grate. 
The larger room, centrally situated between the smaller two, is 
crowded with tables of various sizes, and on these were the 
carcasses of donkeys in different stages of dissection. All the 
tables, however, were not occupied. Many of the subjects were 
