288 
EDITORIAL OBSERVATIONS. 
are told, “ is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is to see the sun 
but light in a dark lantern is of little use. Almost as soon 
should we expect to come in contact with some of the re¬ 
suscitated silurian monsters, or a group of mammoths luxu¬ 
riating in a mud-bath, as a company of exclusives in the 
nineteenth century ! The world has grown wiser of late, and 
we heartily rejoice at the efforts being made to disseminate 
knowledge, and sincerely wish its promoters all the success 
they merit on that account. We therefore heartily concur with 
the following observations made by Mr. Cowie, M.R.C.V.S., 
in an address delivered by him at a meeting of veterinary 
surgeons held last year in Aberdeen, wherein he says, “ I 
understand that you propose to form an association among 
yourselves for professional objects. If you wish it to suc¬ 
ceed (and it can only do so by its being made the instrument 
of practical good to its members), you must each contribute 
his quota of experience, relating from his note-book unfor¬ 
tunate as well as fortunate cases; and by discussing with 
candour, and in a friendly spirit, the cases brought under 
your review^ you will constitute yourselves a sort of con¬ 
sulting conclave, which will be highly beneficial in making 
you wiser men and more enlightened practitioners.” 
We fear that it is forgotten by too many that every 
member has a duty to perform, and each has his proper 
place allotted him. There is wanting among us the feeling 
of a mutual interest and concern. It is in the professional 
body as in the natural—all the members are in some respect 
necessary and useful to each other, and thus no one can say 
to the other “ I have no need of thee.” There must also 
be distinctive functions performed by each, or there will be 
confusion. Nevertheless, the feeblest member is of worth, 
not the least of which is that the highest cannot do without 
it; hence there results a reciprocal dependence. 
“What is man, 
If his chief good and market of his time 
Be but to sleep and feed ?—A beast!—no more. 
Sure, He that made us with such large discourse, 
Looking before and after, gave us not 
That capability and god-like reason 
• To rust in us unused.” 
