578 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
and the man who takes practice in one hand and the books in 
the other, though he may never have seen a college building, 
will be the successful man in any profession. The successful 
practitioner must be a man of tact as well as of technical 
knowledge. He must be able to get away from the books, 
reason from cause to effect, chid form an independent judg¬ 
ment. We have non-graduate veterinarians out here who are 
in the front rank. We have also graduates who do honor 
to the profession. Our State Veterinarian, Dr. Caswell, is a 
fair sample of the latter. He is not afraid that some ragged 
non-graduate will push him to the rear. 
We have, I believe, here in the west, all the diseases inci¬ 
dent to this continent, besides the dreaded French contribu¬ 
tion maladie du coit, but happily this latter is rarely met with. 
And our practitioners must be prepared to combat them 
when they meet them. 
I notice that many new remedies are on the market. I 
have not had occasion to try them, but hope they may prove 
to be all that is claimed for them. 
Considerable interest is manifested here by our farmers in 
your publication, as shown by the many applications made to 
me for the loan of it. I shall try and get you a club, as I am 
satisfied the more the farmer reads the better will be our 
business. As he becomes better informed as to the mysteri¬ 
ous symptoms and characteristics of various diseases, the 
more respect he has for the man who has made them a study 
and has acquired the ability to diagnose and prescribe for 
them; and the less disposition to risk the loss of his stock by 
attempting to do the doctoring himself. 
A man should, in any avocation in life, be measured not 
by purchased diplomas or certificates, but by the actual 
ability he possesses, as demonstrated by his work. So let the 
graduate and non-graduate have a free and fair field with no 
protection or favor to either; or as we sometimes say out 
here: let the longest pole knock the persimmons. 
Respectfully yours, 
V. G. Hunt, 
Areola, Ill. 
