QUALIFICATIONS FOR A VETERINARY SURGEON, 
To the Editor of the Veterinarian, 
Sir ; 
I BKG to offer you a few observations respecting medical men 
becoming veterinary surgeons. Professor Coleman’s opinions 
on this subject, I believe, are so well known, and so often 
promulgated, that I am not a little surprised they have not, 
long ere this, been remarked upon by some one of the profession 
more competent than myself: sooner however than they 
should remain dormant, mislead the public, and above all 
throw such a stigma on those who are in the profession as 
medical men and veterinarians, I am induced to take up my 
pen, to endeavour to convince the world that this dogma is held 
forth from very different motives than those stated, and necessa¬ 
rily forms a bar to the advancement of this more than neglected 
profession. Without further comment I cannot do better than 
quote the Professor’s opinions from his introductory lecture, 
and which I shall then advert to, seriatim. 
I find from long experience,” says he, ^Hhat different indivi¬ 
duals who come to this College succeed afterwards in practice, 
according to the kind of knowledge they stand in need of; and 
here I feel it my duty to state (what I have been much cen¬ 
sured for, nevertheless I repeat it, because I feel it to be true) 
that the sons of farriers make the best practitioners ; medical men 
the worst. The former come here acquainted with a spavin, or 
splint, or windgall, as it appears in the living horse, but 
ignorant of its nature ; the latter is perfectly acquainted with 
the rationale of these maladies, but is unable to detect their 
existence: the one knows how to bleed and rowel a horse, and 
give him a ball; the other is unwilling to dirty his fingers to 
obtain the practical knowledge. The medical man must ac¬ 
quire all that the other knows before he can be considered 
qualified to practice, whereas the farrier’s son need not learn 
all that the other knows ; such learning is not called for in the 
vclerinarp practitioner : besides, the farrier’s son will perform his 
task with the greatest cheerfulness and pleasure, but the 
medical man will regard the part he has to take as dirty 
drudgery. Stating all this is probably contrary to my own 
interests ; but it is my duty to state it, because I feel it to be 
the trutli. Another reason why medical men either do not 
