ROYAL COLLEGE OF VETERINARY SURGEONS. 361 
doubt you all anticipate ; it is “ The health of the President 
of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons,” my friend 
Mr. Field. (Loud cheers.) Before I call on you to drink 
this toast, perhaps you will allow me to make a few obser- 
vations on the rise and progress of Veterinary Science in 
this country. I dare say you are all aware that up to the 
end of the last century, the veterinary art was at a very low 
ebb in England. There were no schools or colleges of any 
kind in which it was taught, and in fact, the practice of 
veterinary surgery was almost entirely in the hands of 
farriers and grooms ; the consequence of which was, that the 
treatment of horses was not only very unscientific, but often 
barbarous and cruel. I remember, when I was a boy, hear- 
ing of the cruelty of burning out the lampass, and breaking 
off a splint with a hammer. 
The French were before us in recognizing the import- 
ance of the science, and they established in the year 
1761, the Ecole VUerinaire of Lyons. I have no doubt 
that that had a great tendency to foster the art in this 
country, for we find that when the Royal Veterinary College 
was established, I believe somewhere about the year 1790, 
the first professor was a Frenchman, M. Viel de St. Bel. 
At his death, he was succeeded by Professor Coleman, 
who, in the earlier part of his time, was associated with Mr. 
Moorcroft. Thence you may date the progress of the Vete- 
rinary art, because lectures, demonstrations of anatomy, and 
other necessary aids to instruction were systematically 
entered upon. The Veterinary College had at that time the 
power of passing candidates by a Court of Examiners, com- 
posed of the leading members of the medical profession, 
and the teachers of the school. 
About the year 1824, a similar institution was established 
at Edinburgh. 
In the year 1841, my friend, Mr. Field and many 
other distinguished veterinary surgeons, thought it was 
necessary to take measures for the recognition of the 
profession by the government, and thus to give a higher 
standing to its professors than that which they previously 
possessed ; for you must all be aware of the high attain- 
ments required by a first-class veterinary surgeon. He 
must understand the laws of chemical affinity, otherwise 
how can he know, when mixing two substances which of 
themselves may be harmless, he may not be forming one of 
dangerous quality? He must be acquainted, likewise, with 
medical botany, and understand the characters of the plants 
which he has to use : he must be also a comparative anatomist, 
