620 THE APPRENTICESHIP CLAUSE CONSIDERED. 
duated member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, in 
regular practice, during the whole of the time, prior to his entering 
the College.” Not having at present a copy of the by-laws by 
me, I have endeavoured by the aid of my memory, to couch the 
above in a similar tone to that which is implied or expressed in 
the apprenticeship clause, and shall consequently, to the best of my 
ability, briefly consider this important subject, which, constituting 
as it does part of the Charter, ought, from circumstances that have 
occurred (its obtainment), be enforced as the law of the land. 
It cannot for a moment be denied that it must be to every young 
man’s advantage that he should be apprenticed prior to his 
entering the College, in order that he may lay a proper foundation 
for future improvement. With whom then, perhaps, I may be 
asked the question, should that apprenticeship be served 1 Shall 
I even hint to the empiric or farrier 1 Certainly not. I fancy I 
hear my professional brethren justly answering, — “ Let him be 
placed with the man of science, who foretells every change his 
patient is likely to undergo — is able to account for such changes — 
and will not undertake a case for treatment in an obscure way, 
thereby preventing risking not only his own, but also the reputa- 
tion of the profession of which he is a member.” 
The time specified for the young man to be apprenticed is not 
at all of long duration, compared with that named in the indenture 
usually drawn up for the pupil and master in the medical pro- 
fession* ; but will enable him, if only possessing moderate talents, 
with perseverance, to acquire sufficient practical knowledge before 
he pursues his studies at the College. 
Now, since such a clause as this does exist in the Charter, I 
cannot refrain from cautioning young men who have not previously 
been apprenticed in conformity with the Charter, against entering, 
or, in other words, against paying the admission fees as students 
at either of the Veterinary Colleges, until they have become fully 
conscious of the benefit conferred on the profession by the granting 
of the Charter, and by the clauses contained in the by-laws re- 
specting them. 
Some of my readers may perhaps wish to be informed who 
these illustrious personages are that are doing their utmost to have 
this clause erased (as well as many others of minor importance) 
from the Charter; but if they will subject their brains to a little 
thought, they will instantly imagine that they are those who are 
particularly interested in the number of students admitted annually 
at either of the Colleges. To which I can only reply in the affir- 
mative ; for the illustrious few having that desire are now merely 
* Not, however, now required from the candidate for examination by the 
College of Surgeons. — Etk Vet. 
