TESTIMONIAL TO PROFESSOR MORTON. 
531 
my left, and see those who are doing honour to the appointments they 
hold. Why therefore should we give way to fear ? I have none. I am 
satisfied that we must continue to go on, and going on we shall in the end 
succeed. 
And now, without I trust giving offence, or being thought over- 
officious, I will venture to point out what I believe would prove an 
effective and a simple means to carry out what has been so nobly begun 
by the governors of the College, and to perfect the curriculum of the stu¬ 
dent. It has long struck me, indeed I am convinced of the truth of it, 
that during the summer months the mind of the pupil becomes dissipated 
through having nothing to do, and much is forgotten by him that has been 
learnt during the winter; so that on his return to the College for the 
second session, he has to go over the same ground again as before. It is 
true, that the mind quickly resuscitates what it has once known ; but 
where is the necessity for this loss of time and mental labour? Now, as 
I know nothing of what arrangements may be made hereafter in that 
establishment, I would suggest that, if the summer months were devoted 
to lectures upon materia medica, associating with them therapeutics and 
botany as applied to veterinary medicine, the winter session could then 
be given entirely to the chemical lecturer, who might extend his remarks 
to agricultural chemistry. I assure you, that I often found it extremely 
difficult to condense my lectures on chemistry and materia medica 
within the time that was allotted to me : and I am afraid that I sometimes 
went slightingly over some things, and by endeavouring to do justice to 
both divisions, did justice to neither. However, I availed myself of 
the favorable opportunities which from time to time presented themselves, 
and thus was enabled to get through my duties pretty satisfactorily, at 
least to myself. Still I think, if the summer were occupied in the way I 
have named, in conjunction with other divisions of science which I have 
no right now to enter upon, it would be a means of considerably en¬ 
hancing the value of the instructions given to the students, and I believe 
that by so doing, the profession, as a body, must in the end be benefited, 
since we have to look to the young aspirant for the future position of the 
profession. “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree,” and “the boy is 
often father to the man,” are adages well known to you. I am aware 
it will be said, that this increase of instruction must necessarily be 
attended with an increase of expense; and it will be asked, how is this to 
be met? I see no difficulty at all here. Lately the educational fee has 
been raised, and has any evil resulted from it? I answer. No. We 
have had an equal number of pupils during the session, and there 
has never been the slightest objection, that I have heard, raised 
against it. Why not, then, increase it a little more ? (Hear, hear.) 
When it is so increased, it will not be one third of the amount which is 
generally paid by the student of human medicine for his fees. And who 
will be bold enough to say that the veterinary profession is not worth 
one third of the other profession to the community at large ? I hold, it is : 
and upon this ground I think we can justly call upon the public to pay 
an increased fee; and I believe they would not refuse it, but would con¬ 
sider that they were getting a quid pro quo for the money thus laid out. 
(Hear, hear.) 
I must now be permitted to say a word or two in reference to 
the nature and character of the handsome present which is before me. 
The committee appointed from amongst you did me the honour to ask 
me in what form I would like an expression of your feelings to be made. 
For a time I was at a loss what to select. It has been my good fortune 
to receive many presents from the profession—I believe this makes the 
