305 
tTommumcattone anU tfaere. 
Ars vctcriiiaria post lucdiciiiain seennda cst.—V egetius. 
OF THE EDINBURGH VETERINARY SCHOOL, gee. 
I * 
A Letter addressed to Mr. J. Turner, by Mr. J. Castley. 
On the march for Ireland, 20th April, 1830. 
“ Nothing extenuate, nor set down aught in malice.” 
My dear Sir, 
In the last number of The Veterinarian (that for April) 
there ought to have appeared a paper of mine on the subject of 
Soundness: it is in the form of a letter to Mr. Percivall, and in 
reply to one, you will have seen, he addressed to me in the same 
periodical, the month preceding. Mine was written, perhaps, 
rather in a hurry, in order to be in time for the first publication ; 
and, being upon a disputed point, it ought, I conceive, in all fair¬ 
ness, to have met with immediate attention, particularly as I 
made that a matter of request. Finding, however, there was no 
notice whatever taken of this communication in the April number 
of The Veterinarian, I sent it, on leaving Edinburgh the 
other day, to the editor of the Hippiatrist, as my old friend 
Cherry has thought proper to call his journal, begging him to 
give it a place there ; and I hope he will comply with my request. 
But no matter when or how the paper alluded to sees the light, 
if the general view I have there taken of the question be sound; and 
if it be in accordance with your ideas, I shall hope to be sup¬ 
ported not only by you, but by many other practical men ; for it 
appears to me to be a point, of all others, upon which it is most 
desirable we should come to some better understanding and 
agreement. If, however, I find no one inclined to come forward 
and back me in the position I have taken, I shall begin to 
think “ ’tis a hopeless case”—that soundness is something not 
to be defined ; or that we are a sad disjointed sel } incapable of any 
united exertion. At the same time 1 shall have the satisfaction 
of thinking I have done my duty; and may at least claim the 
merit of having endeavoured to make the subject somewhat more 
plain, simple, and intelligible. 
Had 1 the advantage of a personal acquaintance with Mr. 
Youatt, 1 should, perhaps, have addressed this letter to him, as 1 
