FRENCH VIEWS OF VETERINARY PRACTITIONERS. 158 
the shoeing art is closely allied to veterinary surgery. Happy 
the practitioner who can use the shoeing instruments himself, so 
as to prevent a rude hand, nay, a hostile one, from doing the 
animal irreparable injury! Such practice does not make a 
blacksmith of him, but simply teaches a branch of the operative 
department of his art. 
We are now going to touch a sensitive chord—that of the 
salary of the veterinarian. He is not a person descended from 
opulent family; he has but his profession to subsist upon. The 
major part of his possessions, if not all, and what his parents 
can afford to give him, having been consumed in his education, 
in his board and lodging, in books and instruments, and the 
remainder in establishing himself afterwards ; all this entitles 
him in a peculiar manner to recompensation. He must not 
however on these accounts overrate his services, lest he do him¬ 
self injury: rather let him shew himself disinterested towards 
the poor, and never exact more than his due from any that have 
means of paying, lest he indispose them towards him, forfeit 
their good opinion, give them reason to complain of him, and 
end in losing their custom altogether. Especially, let him 
eschew that shameful traffic which, unfortunately, we find carried 
on between some veterinarians, unworthy of their name, and 
certain druggists. The professional man who respects his own cha¬ 
racter, and is an honour to his profession so long as he practises 
it honourably, will need no hint to avoid, beyond all suspicion, 
such a dirty business ; he will, if required, put his employer in 
possession of his prescriptions, and leave him to go to any 
druggist he pleases, by which he places himself beyond the 
reach of calumny, or of any intrigues his enemies may plot 
against him. Young practitioners, just emerged from college, 
who happen to commence their professional career by some for¬ 
tunate cases, are apt to assume inordinate credit to themselves, 
and to think they cannot be too well paid for them, therefore 
charging even more than an M.D. would do in a like affair : 
this is a grave error on the part of a young beginner. It is only 
under circumstances when he has to deal with opulent people 
who possess very valuable studs, and when he comes to enjoy 
an established reputation, that he may venture to enhance his 
fee; and even in this case it is better to leave it to the em¬ 
ployer himself to fix the honorarium; or to say nothing about it 
until the time seems expired when he ought to have noticed it. 
In all other cases, like the human surgeon, the veterinarian 
should mete his charges to the circumstances of his employer. 
Many established veterinarians are fond of engaging in contracts 
at so much per head (of cattle) per annum, or taking the whole ; 
VOL. V. Y 
