THE EDITOR. 
485 
Fully aware am I of the serious losses the members of the pro- 
fession must sustain by the distribution of pamphlets and works 
upon veterinary science, some of which I have experienced, but by 
none, in so short a time, and so much, as by the distribution of 
that unpardonable, unjust, cruel circular which was distributed 
by the Royal Agricultural Society; but, in the long run, there is 
another work which is doing me as serious an injury, — a work 
on which the eyes of the agriculturist appears rivetted. Em- 
bodied as it is with the impressive dogmas of its author, and the 
gleanings of by-gone days, it was sure to command attention, and 
to be read and acted upon by that body to which the country 
practitioner mainly looks for support. That book is no other than 
the one issued by the Society for the Diffusion of Knowledge, 
called “ Cattle the author of which, 1 know, will pardon his 
young friend for the decisive but not too serious terms in which 
he has made mention of it. Although I feel it difficult to for- 
give him for this, yet, in his attempt to promote the welfare and 
increase the usefulness of my early favourite The Veterina- 
rian, I trust, my heart’s best wishes will be with him ; and 
happy shall l be to see the howling tempest subside, and con- 
cord and harmony once more dwell in the minds of the members 
of a profession which can now boast of an Association, the pro- 
ceedings of which grace and add lustre to the character of the 
profession. That its proceedings should be recorded in The 
Veterinarian, is indeed a boon. May they be long united, is 
my ardent wish. 
The Editor repents not of the appeal which has been made to 
the veterinary public. There has been during several years a 
jealousy prevailing among certain members of the veterinary pro- 
fession, with regard to the opportunities which the public possess 
of becoming acquainted with the nature, and cause, and treat- 
ment of the diseases of several of our domesticated animals. It 
was supposed to be in the power of any one, who possessed in his 
library a few veterinary works, to comprehend, and successfully 
to treat, the diseases of the various quadrupeds. 
There can be no doubt that various popular works, containing 
plenty of recipes for every possible ailment, by the ease with 
which they have enabled the horse-owner to set to work, whether 
skilfully or injudiciously, on his own stock, have done essential 
mischief to the practitioner and to the patient ; but, in the long ' 
