VETERINARY EDUCATION. 
589 
1ST Question— Recruiting the Faculties of a School . 
The faculties of most of the veterinary schools all through 
the world are composed of gentlemen who, assuming the 
teachings of the various departments of medical education, 
are qualified as professors in the different chairs, and also of 
others who, more modest in their callings, are satisfied with 
the denomination of lecturers. On the professors devolves 
the greatest responsibility of the teachings—they are sup¬ 
posed to be thorough masters of their subjects, or at least 
sufficiently competent to deliver frequent lectures to initiate 
the students in the requirements of their department. In 
other words, a professor is, or at least ought to be, an 
expert on his special subject—and unless he is that expert, is 
he properly fitted for the position, is he deserving the 
professorship ? 
If we are right, let us consider if in our veterinary 
schools the recruiting of members of our faculties is carried 
out as it ought to be—always considering the subject of 
advantage to our veterinary students in their pursuit of 
veterinary education. 
We all know how easily veterinary schools can be 
organized in the United States, how little proper legislation 
of any value is required to allow a few persons to write a 
pompous and illustrated announcement, and how then the 
corps of teachers, of professors (I do not say experts) is made 
known publicly. It is unnecessary, and it would be improper, 
to mention special names; but I ask you, is there a school 
amongst those that are found in America, excluding perhaps 
those which have existed for several years back, is there one 
which possesses in its faculty a gentleman who truly deserves 
the title of professor, who has the right to claim it ? Look 
at the announcements of the schools born of yesterday, of 
one, two, four or five years ago, and you will, I am sure, 
find in them, in their first as well as their last, the names of 
persons whose breeches were, when called to the professorship 
chair, still warm with the heat of the benches of the lecture 
room, from where they just got out before being called to 
pass their examination for graduation. 
