INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 
631 
selves what is important and what is not; and thus they stu¬ 
diously avoid, first one thing, and then another, until they 
find at last they have made shipwreck of their talents and 
their time. Talent without industry and perseverance is of 
little worth. It is the diligent pupil who, early and late, is 
to be found in his place; who plods on day by day; who re¬ 
ceives the inculcations of his teachers in a right spirit, and 
who has determined to gain the honour he has come to seek 
■—that of being a graduated member of his profession—who 
will be sure to succeed. It is well that such should know 
that, in the long run—even if they lack the advantages en¬ 
joyed by others, if their mental culture has not been equal, 
nor their worldly means so great—they will outstrip those 
who, possessing these things, lack industry and application. 
Let me, then, entreat one and all of you to persevere, to im¬ 
pose activity upon yourselves as a positive rule and duty, to 
be punctual and regular in your attendance, and to allow 
nothing to induce you to give up even a single lecture. 
After the observations which were made in a former part 
of this address, it is almost unnecessary to say that the lec¬ 
tures delivered here by the several professors embrace the 
anatomy, physiology, and pathology of the horse and other 
domesticated animals; chemistry, materia medica, and the¬ 
rapeutics ; veterinary jurisprudence, and the principles of 
surgery. The names of the principal of the college, Pro¬ 
fessor Spooner, and of Professor Morton and Assistant-Pro¬ 
fessor Varnell, as officers of the institution, with whom I 
have the honour of being associated, are not only as familiar 
to you as ‘ c household words , 9> but are a sufficient guarantee 
that your studies will be rightly directed, and full justice 
done to their respective divisions of veterinary science. It 
may with truth be said, that they have now spent many 
years of the better part of their active lives in the service of 
the profession; and that if they have not reaped any other 
reward, they have at least this one, that, in proportion to 
their abilities and powers, so have they continually vied with 
each other to promote its onward progress. If, then, you 
possess long-tried and faithful teachers, and it should still be 
found that you fail to profit thereby, the only inference 
which can be deduced is, that you have neglected to give heed 
to their instructions, or to co-operate with them in furthering 
your professional education. 
This brings me to say a word or two upon the facilities 
which exist for the acquirement of practical anatomy. I 
would, however, remark, in the first place, that the most 
erudite descriptions on the part of your teachers, as well as 
