WHY NOT BE A VETERINARY SURGEON. 
319 
stations, which are supplied with money from the State and 
National treasuries, for the purpose of scientific investigation 
of matters of interest to the farmer. Although in most of 
them the work has been largely connected with chemistry, 
yet their equipment is incomplete without the aid of a veteri¬ 
nary pathologist and bacteriologist to study the diseases of 
animals. 
Such positions are certain to be created within a few 
years, opening a number of opportunities to a young man of 
a scientific turn of mind. 
Besides the agricultural experiment stations, we have the 
State agricultural colleges, which are also supplied with pub¬ 
lic money. Some of these have chairs of veterinary science 
on their faculties in order to impart to the young farmer the 
knowledge necessary to maintain the animals of the farm in 
a state of health. Other colleges will, no doubt, establish 
these professorships as soon as their funds will permit, thus 
providing still more employment for veterinarians. 
Another field for veterinary surgeons is as State Veterina¬ 
rians. The profession has been recognized in this way, more 
particularly in the great live-stock-raising communities in the 
West, where it is the duty of State Veterinarians to enforce 
the laws for the suppression and prevention of the contagious 
animal diseases. In other sections these laws are insufficient 
or non-existent, but as the country becomes more highly civ¬ 
ilized the evils of infectious animal diseases will become more 
apparent, and then the veterinarian will find still greater de¬ 
mand for his services. 
Another field for veterinary duty is to guard against the 
public health from diseases common to animals and man, or 
transmissible from animals to mankind. Hence in all large 
cities a veterinarian should be a member of every board of 
health, or one should be an employee. 
New York, Jersey City and Brooklyn now have veterina¬ 
rians connected with their respective health boards, and the 
Boston Board of Health employs a qualified veterinarian as 
inspector at the Brighton abattoir. But in the majority of 
our large cities politics play a more important part in the ap- 
