GRIEVANCES 
OF THE VETERINARY PROFESSION. 
303 
in* gentleman sent a horse to this veterinary surgeon, desiring 
him°to examine him minutely as to soundness. The veterinary 
surgeon (first desiring the servant not to tell him whose 
horse it then was) proceeded to examine him, and soon dis¬ 
covered a cataract in the near eye: he wrote to this effect to 
the gentleman, and the result was, that the dealer, after railing 
at the veterinary surgeon, the profession altogether, and Mr. 
Field in particular, withdrew his shoeing custom from the forge. 
Ab uno disceomnes. Now the farrier is in little fear of this 
result—his reputation is in no danger : his habits, his ignorance, 
and his inclination, all dispose him to befriend the dishonest 
dealer, and for his opinion perhaps he gets doubly paid. 
But I am afraid I shall occupy too much of the space of I he 
Veterinarian, if I do not endeavour to close my rambling re¬ 
marks : in conclusion, then, let us sum up our grounds for claim¬ 
ing the protection we require. The veterinarian goes to con¬ 
siderable expense in furnishing himself with the best and newest 
instruments; he communicates with his brother practitioneis by 
means of periodicals and otherwise, and thus derives the advan¬ 
tages of their experience as well as his own. His knowledge 
of anatomy enables him to perform many operations that the 
farrier cannot attempt; and his dissection of morbid subjects 
enables him at once to point out the particular part diseased, 
incases of lameness where no external symptoms are visible. 
He is often required to protect the public from fiaud and decep¬ 
tion in the purchase of horses, and to explain the nature of dis¬ 
ease in courts of law. A knowledge of anatomy and physiology 
alone enables him to do this. Tnless, theiefoie, he possesses 
this knowledge, and, added to it, an acquaintance with the na¬ 
ture and effects of medicine, it is impossible for him to treat 
the diseases of the horse either scientifically or successfully. 
For these benefits rendered to the public, we require some 
protection in return ; and in consequence of its not being af¬ 
forded, many men of talent and ability are prevented fiom 
entering the profession, and many such that have entered 
feel themselves injured and degraded by being put on a 
par with the most ignorant characters. Many towns and. 
large districts of country are abandoned to the faineis and 
blacksmiths, the veterinarian not being able to find sufficient 
practice to support him ; and thus numbers of animals aie lost 
that mioht have been saved by superior skill. These, then, are 
our reasons for claiming from the legislature that protection 
which other professions enjoy ; for if it was desirable to institute 
the Veterinary College in order to furnish the army and the 
country with competent practitioners, it is equally desiiable for 
