IN ITS RELATION TO AGRICULTURE. 219 
attendant deems it annoying to him, and decrees its removal; 
and by the aid of a red hot iron burns away the offending part 
with as much coolness as though he were performing a ne¬ 
cessary operation. But we pass over the more brutal barbarism 
of chiselling off bony tumours, pouring boiling pitch into fis¬ 
tulous wounds, and tearing off the sole of the foot by means of 
pincers, because these things are only tolerated among the few 
who are not included in the sphere of civilization, and because 
we have no further desire to pander to a depraved taste, nor to 
offend the sensitive by details of actions which would stain the 
reputation of a wild Indian. 
Let us not be asked, How are these things to be remedied ? 
Who possesses the power to prevent them ] All can prevent 
them; it is within the province of every one to see that his 
animal be properly treated by those who have at least some¬ 
thing beyond their assurance to recommend them. The im¬ 
provement of veterinary medicine, especially in relation to 
agriculture, is dependent upon the agriculturist himself: let but 
the demand for educated practitioners exist, and the supply 
will more than keep pace with it. 
The immense influence that agriculture must exert upon our 
national greatness is a sufficient argument to prove the pro¬ 
priety of consulting every means to its advancement: it is 
madness to centre our whole attention upon our crops while the 
sanitary condition of flocks and herds is wholly neglected, or 
left in the hands of the ignorant. That the treatment of cattle 
remains in its present unsatisfactory condition is greatly due to 
the apathy evinced by the agriculturist in the matter: we in¬ 
vite his serious attention to the subject; let him use the means 
he has; the end cannot but be desirable. 
For the present we have done. During the time we have 
kept in view the importance of the veterinary profession to 
agriculture, we have neither denied nor sought to gloss over any 
defects which impair its usefulness. In opposing the employ¬ 
ment of unqualified men, we have not ceased to remember that 
men of talent and strong sense are among them: they constitute 
the exceptions; we attack the system, not a few individuals. If 
it be objected that among the certified members ignorance may 
be discovered, we answer that, in the fact of a man’s being a 
member of a corporate body, the public has some guarantee of 
his fitness. An instance of gross misconduct, maltreatment, or 
neglect, would not pass unnoticed if properly represented; 
while to discern between the educated and the ignorant cannot 
be difficult, since 
“ Men do not gather grapes of thorns, nor figs of thistles.” 
Cirencester and Swindon Express, Feb. 28, 1852. 
