EDITORIAL. 
385 
“ They prove that the veterinarian can in a very great measure 
avoid them by thorough antiseptic precautions in reference to his 
person, his clothes and his instruments, all of which may act as 
vehicles of contagion.” 
All this can be avoided by such simple antiseptic measures as 
soaking the instruments in a solution of bichloride of mercury 
(1 to 1,000), washing the hands of the operator, and cleansing the 
seat of operation ; in short, by the application of all those pre¬ 
cautions which at the present time are among the grandest dis¬ 
coveries and noblest evidences of progress in operative surgery, 
and of which, unfortunately, veterinarians are as yet too slow to 
avail themselves. 
Territorial Veterinary Position in Wyoming. —The 
Cheyenne Sun contains intelligence of the contemplated retire¬ 
ment of the present Territorial Veterinarian of Wyoming from 
the position of which he is now the occupant. 
Dr. Hopkins, the gentleman who fills that place, announces 
his intention to vacate his office upon the expiration of the term 
for which he was last appointed, on the 31st of March next. He 
has given formal notice to that effect, and from private and direct 
information we feel authorized to say that in this case Dr. Hop¬ 
kins, as usual with him, means what he says. 
The position and the emoluments which the Doctor relin¬ 
quishes are tempting, and we have no fear that there will be any¬ 
thing like a dearth of aspirants to the succession among the vet¬ 
erinarians of the land. Indeed, we understand that they are 
already materializing, and the appointing power need be under 
no apprehension that the duties of the office will go unfulfilled 
because our brethren are all too diffident and undemonstrative as 
to their own merits to suggest their own names in connection 
with the post and—not to say its pay—its duties. But a point 
less easily disposed of than the discovery of a willing recipient of 
the appointment, is the question of competency to “ fill the bill.” 
In what proportion do those who are fully qualified for the 
place probably stand, in point of numbers, to those who are 
principally influenced by considerations of covetousness, in seek¬ 
ing the office ? Dr. Hopkins has made himself almost indispens- 
