TESTIMONIAL TO PROFESSOR MORTON. 
537 
Mr. Burley —I assure you, gentlemen, that I am taken entirely by 
surprise at the unexpected compliment paid to me in having to propose a 
toast to you. It is, however, one that is so identified with the interests 
of the veterinary practitioner that I need make no apology, further 
than to regret that it has not fallen into abler hands than mine. I have 
to give you “ The Royal Agricultural Society of England,” and to couple 
with the toast the names of Professor Simonds, and Professor Brown, of 
Cirencester. 
The veterinary practitioner, in the country particularly, is very much 
connected with the farmer and grazier, and he has had the opportunity 
during the last twenty years of witnessing a very marked and rapid im¬ 
provement take place in all agricultural matters. We see this in the 
character and increase of the crops, and almost everything seems to be 
progressive, for which we are entirely indebted to the Agricultural Society 
of England. And we can also see a great improvement existing in the 
stock ; indeed those who have been in the habit of visiting the Agricultural 
Society’s meetings must have observed a decided improvement in every 
description of stock; but I could wish it had been more manifest in regard 
to horses. I believe that we are greatly indebted to the society for having 
directed their attention to this subject, and also for having given large pre¬ 
miums for the best stock that could be introduced. With regard to these 
premiums there appears to me to be only one drawback, namely, that 
while they give ten premiums for steam-power for the improvement of 
the soil, they only give one for horse-power. But our friends Pro¬ 
fessors Simonds and Brown will tell you that they are actuated by the 
best motives. It is true, some of the old members of the society are 
determined to carry the thing with a high hand; but there is another 
class of men who have got into their meetings, and depend upon it they 
will turn them out if they are not very careful. Too much independence 
won’t succeed now-a-days. We see it in our own practice, that a man 
must not be too “ uppish.” (Laughter.) Our friend, to whom we have 
met to do honour, has told us that there is a class of the right men rising 
up, and I do hope and trust that they will be enabled to place themselves 
in such a position as to advance the profession. 
But I was speaking of the Royal Agricultural Society, and let me tell 
you that we are greatly indebted to its council for having appointed to 
an important office a gentleman who has devoted a great deal of time, 
and who has also placed us in a very good position with them—I need 
hardly say I allude to Professor Simonds. He, as you know, has been 
very desirous to find out, if he possibly could, a successful mode of treat¬ 
ment for that bane of cattle pathology, pleuro-pneumonia. He travelled 
nearly all over the continent for this purpose, and the result is, that we are 
not worse off than they are. We have but little chance of curing it here ; 
we have, however, the gratification of seeing the animals live two or three 
days, but there they die before you can turn round and look at them. I 
assure you Professor Simonds has placed us in a much better position 
than we were. There was a time when we used to walk into their 
stables, and be on terms of friendly association with the farmer and the 
grazier; met them at the festive table; went out hunting with them; 
hob and nobbed with them every day; but we were not allowed to go 
into their cow-sheds. It is to our friend here that we owe this intro¬ 
duction, for we are allowed to look into their cow-sheds now. There was a 
class of men, no doubt—but I am glad to find, as my friend states, that 
they are not now to be found—who gut t he whole of their knowledge from 
their fathers before them ; who fancied they could treat the cattle them¬ 
selves, and that veterinary surgeons knew nothing about them. As there 
