INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
641 
the aid of such support. Is veterinary science of that high 
standard, like many metals in a pure state, that will not work 
well unless a certain amount of alloy is mixed with them ? If 
the body corporate could only persuade our Government to 
make a law imposing a penalty on those who may practise as 
veterinary surgeons, not being members of the Royal College of 
Veterinary Surgeons, and also withhold from all those calling 
themselves farriers any assistance by law to contest bills for 
medical attendance on animals, then I think the veterinary 
surgeon would be in a better position to do without the 
forge. 
I have thought it right to make these remarks, with a view 
to excite in the minds of the rising generation of veterinary 
surgeons ideas calculated to enhance the standard of our 
profession. There are very many who hold a high position 
as veterinary surgeons, and whose private character is without 
a stain, who, when young, worked in the forge; but, never¬ 
theless, I am sorry to say that in my time I have met with 
many, too many, who there acquired a relish for low com¬ 
pany and habits of intemperance, which they never after got 
rid of. 
I will not dwell on this question any longer; the remarks 
I have already made may not accord with the sentiments of 
many, some of whom I have the highest regard for, and 
whose feelings I respect; nevertheless, feeling as I do on the 
subject, and placed in the position I am, I deem it my 
duty to point out the rocks or shoals on which some have 
been wrecked, and by which the progress of the profession, 
in mv mind, has been much retarded. 
I may direct your attention to another division of your 
studies, namely, Chemistry—a science which shines brightly 
forth without the aid of any borrowed light—a science so 
dignified by its intrinsic worth, and by the great and noble 
men who have been its cultivators, that I mention it 
with diffidence, lest I should in any way undervalue its 
importance. Chemistry has to do with everything; there¬ 
fore, how can we, as veterinary surgeons, expect to do 
without it. Chemistry is the foundation of Pharmacy, 
Medical Jurisprudence, and Physiology; even Anatomy, as 
we have before stated, depends upon it for the chemical 
composition and nature of the fluids and tissues of the 
animal body. Its field of research is almost without a limit, 
and the science itself so fascinating to those who carry out 
investigations in the laboratory, that I feel it necessary to 
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