IN THK SOUTH OF FRANCE. 
579 
ment of the veterinary surgeon ; but they were few indeed, and 
even they were induced, as soon as the surgeon had departed, to 
administer some puerile recipe dictated by an empiric. On the 
morrow the veterinary surgeon again saw his patient, and was 
astonished to find him considerably worse, and that the medi- 
cines which he had ordered had strangely produced an effect al- 
together different from that which he had intended. The pro- 
prietor being summoned, denied that he had neglected the 
slightest circumstance, or had administered any other drugs 
than those which had been ordered. In consequence of this 
change of medicine, however, the disease rapidly progressed, and 
the animal died. That death was always traced to the fault of 
the veterinary surgeon, who, according to the owner, had acted 
imprudently or ignorantly ; and the whole of the village and the 
neighbouring communes heard and believed the tale of the death 
of the animal, and the supposed cause of it. 
The sagacity of the empiric seldom went so far as to distinguish 
between a certain disease and another that resembled it in its 
general appearance, although requiring a treatment altogether 
contrary. It is true, that the art of distinguishing these diseases 
would be of little consequence to him ; for whatever were the dis- 
ease, the remedy was the same. Certain excitants and certain 
tonics, either externally applied or given internally, formed the 
base of his treatment: and often, the veterinary surgeon, called 
in too late, or his prescriptions not administered, had to listen to 
the lying stories of the proprietor and the empiric, and of the 
thousand cures effected by the means adopted. All the animals 
treated by them, that had strength to resist the disease and the 
remedy, were miraculously saved by it ; and after the recovery 
of the patient there was great care to augment the amount of 
the danger, in order to render the cure more astonishing. 
These observations principally apply to the diseases of cattle. 
With regard to the horse, the empiric of the village ordinarily 
acknowledges his ignorance. The diseases of the horse are 
treated by the blacksmith of the village, and there is a tacit 
compact between the two not to intrude on each other’s province. 
The horse not being employed for agricultural services in the 
south, is comparatively rarely a patient. There are only, and 
those among the more wealthy farmers, a few mares for breeding 
mules. 
The sheep are rarely attended to at all when they are ill. 
There are, however, some peculiar diseases among them, which 
the empiric thinks that he perfectly understands, and for which 
he prescribes the most ridiculous recipes. Ordinarily, however, 
the proprietor leaves them to perish without prescribing any 
thing for them. Whether this is attributable to the little value 
placed on these animals, or to the belief that these diseases are 
incurable, I know not. 
