American Veterinary Review, 
NOVEMBER, 1891 . 
EDITORIAL, 
Is There a Dark Age Coming?— Not many years have 
elapsed since veterinary science had its advent and its repre 
sentatives began to receive recognition on the American con 
tment. The health and comfort of our domestic animals hac 
always been entrusted to a class of men who lacked almost 
every qualification for the work they choose to undertake, 
and ,t is a literal fact that the title of “ horse doctor ” was a 
erm of contempt—a stigma upon a man’s respectabilitv. The 
act is a curious one, but it cannot be contradicted, that when 
a man undertook the business of alleviating the sufferings, 
lough he at the same time increased the value of the domes' 
lc animals, he rather than otherwise, assumed an inferior so¬ 
cial rank, or was consigned to it by his fellows. But at length 
i egan to be suspected that this was all wrong, and the self- 
SaC W Ce , anc ^ enterprise ol a few gentlemen who were fully 
qualified for the task, and who soon demonstrated the fact that 
veterinary science is indeed a science, and requires in its mem¬ 
bers qualifications fully equal to those of the practitioner in 
uman medicine opened the eyes of intelligent people to the 
n amy of the old state of things, and the necessity for a revo- 
V 011 ; , And at len £ th the point was reached of establishing 
schools for the equipment in all the necessary accomplish¬ 
ments of knowledge and training, of a community of veterinary 
scientists not merely so called, but so indeed. The interest 
which the inauguration of the first schools excited was of a 
variec an contradictory character. Of course not many felt 
