260 
GERALD E. GRIFFIN. 
the committee itself. What is wanted is energy in this mat¬ 
ter, vigorous energy, perseverance and tenacity, together 
with encouragement and assistance from the members of the 
profession generally. 
I will here give a few extracts from General Orders No. 
19, Headquarters of the Army, dated Washington, Febru¬ 
ary 20, 1889: 
“ No. 289 * * * * * * 
The veterinary surgeon shall instruct the company farriers 
in the proper care of the horse. In this he will give especial 
importance to the anatomy and pathology of the foot, showing 
the nature and uses of all its parts; illustrating the subject by 
dissections and specimens. He shall also teach the principles 
and practice of horseshoeing. 
For the purpose of disseminating this information, he will 
make such visits of instruction to companies of the regiment 
not stationed at headquarters as may be deemed necessary 
by the regimental commander.” 
This is as it should be., and is a move in the right direction, 
but the veterinarian in our army possesses no rank, and his 
suggestions on horseshoeing to the troop horseshoer would 
be received in contemptuous silence by that individual, as no 
soldier (according to army regulations) shall receive orders 
from a civilian. 
“ No. 292% * * * * * * 
If four or more companies of cavalry are stationed at a 
regimental headquarters, a suitable building may be set apart 
as a veterinary hospital, in which the more serious medical 
and surgical cases will be treated by the veterinary surgeon 
under the direction and supervision of the regimental com¬ 
mander.” 
The establishing of an hospital is an absolute necessity 
and every military post should have one, which should be 
erected from plans and specifications drawn up by a practical 
veterinarian; and should not be (as this order evidently in¬ 
tended it should) composed of some old ramshackle, tumbled 
down log house or mud building that has served in every 
capacity from Adjutant’s office to Quartermaster’s oil house ; 
