459 
ittigceUattea. 
Lieutenant James’s Reply to the Editors of 
“ The Veterinarian.” 
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, 
Than are dream’t of in your philosophy.” 
In your last number (the first I ever saw), of the “ Monthly 
Journal of Veterinary Science,” you have done me the honour to 
notice my blister ointment, for which 1 return you my thanks: 
the “ aucli alteram partem” will, of course, induce you once more 
so far to degrade the Journal as to give your readers my reply. 
It appears, then, that, ‘Mike all these pretended discoveries, it is 
no discovery at all.” How singularly applicable is that sentence 
to the result of your own labours ! You have pretended to 
a discovery, but your exposition of it is so vague and unsatis¬ 
factory, that I shall be surprised if your readers, or your pupils, 
or, indeed, any one else, should venture upon an imitation of my 
blister, and put it to the same tests from so undefined a recipe, 
as, that it contains more of this, less of that, and plenty of the 
other ingredients, which you have discovered to be in it, although 
you admit “ its value” consists in being free from many u devilish 
ingredients:”doubtlessit would have been more satisfactory if you 
had stated that your discovery produced the same effects. The 
public very naturally expect fromProfessors,supposed ex vi termini 
to possess a superiority of talent over the common herd of their 
profession moving in more humble spheres, obscured by, and 
content to struggle on under, the shadow of such great names, 
and to adopt or reject whatever they may recommend or con¬ 
demn, would, at least, so far aid the humble labours of such of 
their dependants as, in this case, to make known to them a 
blister which 
No horse will gnaw ; 
Will not touch the human hand ; 
Will never blemish, however frequently applied ; 
Re-produces the hair generally in ten days ; 
May be used in the ratio of three to one to any other known 
blister; 
with this additional qualification, that the animal, in most 
cases, 
May continue his accustomed labour. 
As you have omitted to state the relative component parts of 
