VETERINARY EDUCATION AND MATRICULATES. 
683 
experienced professional. To be thus qualified, which is ac¬ 
quired only by much time and effort, they are able to give 
satisfaction to the employer and are a credit to their alma 
mater, and most pupils, no matter how talented they are, will 
find that a three-years’ course is not too long to accomplish 
this. 
In Europe the time for a student attending veterinary col¬ 
lege until he is admitted for final examination varies from three 
to five years. Russia, Belgium and France each prescribe four 
years, Spain and Roumania five years, Berlin seven semesters or 
three and a half years, &c., and some of our universities and 
colleges adopted a three-years’ course. 
Beside the collegiate instruction, practice with an experi¬ 
enced veterinarian through the summer vacation must be taken 
advantage of; neglecting to do so would be one of the sins of 
omission. 
Under no circumstances should an applicant be admitted 
without a satisfactory examination or credential. In all Euro¬ 
pean schools this is the rule. 
When I entered the veterinary college at Zurich over fifty 
years ago, thirty applicants gained admission by undergoing an 
examination. The credentials from Zurich were sufficient to 
admit me to the veterinary college in Vienna. Upon present¬ 
ing them to the director, he gave me an order to the registrar, 
who in turn gave me the permit which entitled the veterinary 
student to all the privileges in that institute and to elective ones 
in the university. The university student enjoyed the same 
privileges at the veterinary college. In Stuttgart there was no 
examination or certificate required from those who took only 
special courses. 
The following proves that Bourgelat, founder of the first 
veterinary college, 1762, in Lyons, upheld a strict discipline. 
He would not admit students to his college unconditionally. 
Every young man was obliged to bring testimonial from his 
native village, town or city that he was of respectable parent¬ 
age, and that the applicant himself was industrious and well- 
