698 
EDITORIAL. 
from solar heat in Southern climates. A maker of straw hats 
saw his opportunity and put a few on the market. A firm who 
own horses and who never miss a chance of being up to date 
ornamented their van-horses with the attractive head gear * * * 
and others followed suit. Thus from an Italian joke, through 
a stupid woman’s sentiment and a business man’s quickness to 
seize a novel advertisement, we have the straw bonnet for 
horses.” 
This fashion, which our colleague criticises rather severely, 
and which he hopes will soon disappear, also made its appear¬ 
ance in a very extensive manner last summer in Paris, and the 
sale must have been very large, as truck and cab horses were 
seen passing through the streets, horses happy, drivers joking, 
some people applauding* while others, on the contrary, were 
ridiculing the idea. 
At any rate, we think America has here again been the 
promoter, as she is in so many things, and it is quite unfair 
for Italy to have the benefit of the first application, which Eng¬ 
land as well as France have only begun to use this year. 
Whether it is advantageous, is a question which may be diffi¬ 
cult to settle, but it must be hoped that the fashion will not 
give rise to the creation of special millinery shops for horses. 
* 
* * 
Veterinary Dentist to His Majesty’s Horses. —In 
years gone by veterinarians were satisfied to remain veterinar¬ 
ians, and for those who practised in those days it meant treat¬ 
ing domestic animals in the wide sense of the word, when suf¬ 
fering- with diseases. The veterinarian would then attend to 
internal diseases, perform operations, deliver pregnant animals ; 
he would look after contagious diseases, give advice in breed¬ 
ing, etc., etc. The veterinarian treated horses and the like? 
cattle, sheep, pigs, dogs, etc. 
Then came the day when some one found that these attri¬ 
butes were too many—that having to know so much of every¬ 
thing, he knew almost nothing—that diseases were not the 
same in all species of animals, etc., etc.—and then began the 
