1907. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
39 
THE CHANCES IN VETERINARY WORK. 
A Talk to Farm Boys. 
THE NEED FOR MEN.—The farm boy naturally 
likes animals, as he is the one who is most with them, 
and understands their habits and ways. It is the farm 
boy Who has the handling of animals to do, and he it 
is who looks after them when they are sick. When 
they are sick, or when they are well, he cares for 
them. If he is observing, as he usually is, and remem¬ 
bers, he soon knows a good deal about the ailings of 
animal kind, and what to do when his animals fall 
s : ck. The boy on the farm, therefore, has a peculiar 
fitness for veterinary work, and, with training, makes 
an excellent physical! for animals. He is apt to be a 
sharp-minded fellow in his way, so that when he notices 
even in times of accident or great danger how hard it 
is sometimes to get a veterinary surgeon wrio amounts 
to anything, and especially how hard to get a good 
one, and if by good fortune in an emergency an excel¬ 
lent surgeon is on hand, how almost miraculous seem 
the cures, he gets thinking pretty seriously, perhaps, of 
becoming a veterinary surgeon himself. Does the 
farm boy realize, though, the numbers of animals there 
arc, and their value, in the town, county. State and 
nation? If lie did, lie would think a little harder. The 
United States Government figures arc, beyond question, 
correct. According to them the showing for the State 
of New York, up to January 1, 1906, was as follows: 
Horses, 082,232, valued at $70,160,719; mules, 4,168, 
worth $452,550; milch cows, 1,755,972, worth $60,581,- 
034; other cattle, 954,277, worth $15,764,647; sheep, 
995,335, worth $5,051,325; swine, 682,367, worth $5,- 
029,544. The total number of farm animals in the State 
was 5,074,353, valued at $157,039,819. Stupendous as 
these truthful figures are, they are nothing when com¬ 
pared with the total number of farm animals in the 
nation and their value, which reached, January last, 
191,719,126, worth $3,667,389,442. Thinking of such 
wealth in animal kind, in the State and nation, there 
dawns upon a boy the terrible losses which may come, 
and actually do come, if any number of these animals 
are stricken with disease. Then the need for phy¬ 
sicians to take care of the animals is easily seen. Cer¬ 
tainly every farm boy knows of the acccidents and in¬ 
juries, the colds, various forms of indigestion, and the 
numerous illnesses to which single animals are subject, 
the insect plagues which weaken flocks or herds and 
cheat the farmer out of his just profits, the ravages of 
pestilence which scourge the animals of a region, 
and may spread over the State, carrying off horses, 
cattle, sheep, swine or poultry, as the case may be. 
OPPORTUNITIES FOR* STUDY. —There are 
many boys in the country who are clever enough to 
see opportunities and to seize them. The probabilities 
arc that here and there throughout the State there are 
young men who long to know of oppor¬ 
tunities to study these things, and to 
prepare to become veterinary surgeon 
or veterinary physician, or a veterinar¬ 
ian as the word is commonly used, to 
serve the country communities, the 
State or the nation. By the liberality 
of the State a first-rate training in 
veterinary medicine, without any cost 
for tuition, to New York State men, 
may be had at the New York State 
Veterinary College, situated on the 
grounds of Cornell University at Ith¬ 
aca. Under the State law a boy can¬ 
not enter the college unt'il he has com¬ 
pleted a four years’ high school course 
in the State, or has had an equivalent 
education, then he can get a veterinary 
student’s certificate from the State 
Board of Education at Albany and 
enter the college without any further 
trouble. The length of the course is 
three years of nine months each, be¬ 
ginning in September of each year and 
ending in June of the following year. 
The course takes fully as long as, and 
is even in many ways better, than a course in human 
medicine at our best schools, while at the same time 
a man doesn’t have to pay about $150 a year for tui¬ 
tion, as lie would if he studied human medicine. If 
a man is successful in his veterinary course the Uni¬ 
versity gives him the title of Doctor of Veterinary 
Medicine. If lie wins this, as any bright, healthy, 
earnest and industrious boy can, he can easily pass the 
State examinations, and get a life license to practice 
anywhere in New York that he pleases. Of course a 
boy must pay for his board, room, books and other 
small college fees; the State cannot be expected to pay 
these. 
CHANCES FOR A LIVELIHOOD.—The openings 
for young men, who have been well trained in veteri¬ 
nary medicine, are so many in America at present, 
and are increasing so rapidly every year in number and 
variety, that farm boys with a bent for the work can 
well afford to look into the matter, and think whether 
or not they should make this their life work. In the 
United States War Department between 40 and 50 mili¬ 
tary veterinarians may have office in the cavalry regi¬ 
ments and artillery corps of the U. S. Army. I o 
secure these positions nine days’ examination Is re¬ 
quired, covering professional training, physical and 
moral fitness and horsemanship. For a number ot 
years it has been impossible to secure enough men of 
the high grade desired. A bill is before Congress to 
give these men the pay, allowances and retirement of 
a second and first lieutenant of cavalry mounted. In 
the United States Department of Agriculture, more 
especially because of the new meat inspection law, 
many more men are needed as inspectors of animals, 
meats and meat food products, as chiefs of stations, 
quarantine inspectors, investigators of diseases at the 
laboratories in Washington, inspectors of export ani- 
INTERIOR OF VETERINARY LABORATORY. Fig. 19. 
mals at the sea ports, traveling, supervising inspectors. 
Hundreds of veterinarians are so employed, and the 
U. S. Government has never been able to get enough 
men. Frofessors of veterinary science arc constantly 
needed in the agricultural colleges, veterinary colleges, 
universities and experiment stations. Highly trained 
men are often in demand. The States are appointing 
State veterinarians to look after the interests of live 
stock. The cities are employing sanitary inspectors and 
meat inspectors to see that no noxious meats or other 
foods are placed on sale. The time is near when all 
the prominent cities will need such officers to inspect 
in markets, butcher shops and to see the undesirable 
animals or meats do not come into their region by rail 
or by country road. In the Empire State, and in every 
State in the Union, thousands of men are needed in the 
wide, open field of veterinary practice. In the rural 
regions, of New York there is hardly a county where 
an enterprising, well-trained man cannot make a good 
livelihood as a veterinarian. The cities and towns are 
not at all overstocked with this class of professional 
men. Ample fortunes are being made in several of the 
larger towns of the State by veterinarians and comfort¬ 
able livings in many quarters. Wideawake, energetic 
young men, with a bent for the work, and the high 
training required by the New York State law for li¬ 
cense to practice, are needed everywhere. 
APPEAL FOR MEN.—The need for men to take 
care of farm animals, the opportunities to be trained 
by the liberality of the State, and the excellent chances 
to make a good livelihood at the work, while at the 
same time the natural instincts for the care of animals 
are not ’ost sight of, must, it seems to me, impress 
farm boys, of the right sort, and with the right bent, 
with the good to be done in veterinary work. The 
farm boy has a genuine liking for animal kind. Pro¬ 
fessional knowledge of veterinary work remarkably 
spurs and stimulates that liking, at the same time it 
shows him how the application of the medical principles 
to animals will help animal kind, the State, and himself. 
The State and the community where he lives are made 
richer by his services. He is the friend of the farming 
communities. If the farm boy should become a veteri¬ 
narian in the State, the State is not robbed of a man. 
Both the State and the farms are helped. 
U. S. Army. (dr.) d. artiiur hughes. 
EXPERIENCE IN PIPING WATER. 
Lead Pipe With Block Tin Lining. 
After reading the article “What Makes Water Foul,” 
on page 958, I thought possibly my experience might 
be of some interest to G. W. B. I have a spring at 
Glen Summit Springs, Pa., known as the Glen Summit 
Spring. It is unusually pure water, having but a little 
over one grain of solids to the United States gallon, 
in fact it is the purest spring water of which T can find 
any record in this country or in Europe. I speak of 
this from the fact that the purity of the water makes 
a difference in regard to its attacking metals. The 
purest water will attack metal the quickest. I handle this 
water commercially, and had to lay a quarter of a mile 
of pipe to conduct it to the railroad. I consulted the 
chemist as to what would be the best pipe. His judg¬ 
ment was common black iron pipe. I laid a two-inch 
pipe, and very soon after laying it I commenced to dis¬ 
cover small particles of rust coming through. By flush¬ 
ing the pipe, that is, letting a full st'rcam of water 
through it, I could clean it out so that tor a time there 
would not be much of the rust, but the pipe continued 
to rust more and more, and my trouble continued to 
increase. 
I then decided to lay an inch and a half galvanized 
pipe, and knowing that galvanizing on a steel pipe 
would not last long, but believing that an iron pipe 
galvanized and baked in after the old process would 
relieve me of my trouble (which probably would have 
been the case had my water been impregnated with 
lime) I made arrangements to have the pipe manu¬ 
factured, cut into lengths before galvanizing, and gal¬ 
vanized and baked in after the old process, especially for 
my work. I took up the black pipe and put down the 
galvanized pipe. This served a good purpose Tor nearly 
two years. Then I discovered slight particles of rust. 
This gradually increased, until I was forced to give up 
the use of this pipe. I finally decided to have an inch 
and a quarter block tin pipe made expressly for my use. 
I had the inside half of the pipe made of block tin, and 
the outside half made of lead. This would be what is 
termed a tin-lined lead pipe, but made differently from 
the commercial article by having half the inside thick¬ 
ness of the pipe made of block tin, which really makes 
a block tin pipe, the lead on the out¬ 
side being for protecting the tin from 
the soil, as some kinds of soil are de¬ 
structive to block tin. . This made a 
very expensive pipe line, but a perfect 
one, as water will n >t take up any of 
the salts of block tin, block tin actually 
being more perfect for handling pure 
water than glass, as pure water will 
take up some of the salts of glass, and 
water if boiled in glass under pressure 
will eat a hole through it at some point 
in a very few hours. 
If your correspondent would go to the 
expense of getting a block tin lined lead 
pipe, even of the commercial grade, with 
a thin lining, it would probably put an 
end to all of his trouble. Flis iron 
pipe I judge must be galvanized iron, 
otherwise lie would most likely have 
had trouble with the rust long before 
he did, yet if his water is hard, he 
might not have had such trouble with 
it, but if the water is reasonably pure, 
it has undoubtedly gradually corroded 
his pipe so as to ruin the galvanizing, 
and caused the trouble that he is experiencing. I 
doubt if there is anything he can do to get rid of his 
trouble with his present pipe. If his water had been as 
free from lime as the water I speak of he would un¬ 
doubtedly have had trouble with his pipe sooner. 
_ j. E. p. 
The Transvaal Agricultural Journal says that Alfalfa 
and ostrich farming, as carried on in the valleys of 
the Grobbelaars and Oliphants rivers, yields astonishing 
results. In a district about 70 miles long and two miles 
wide, about 80,000 ostriches are farmed, with annual 
returns of about £350,000 ($1,750,000). The land is 
irrigated, the birds grazing on one field while another 
is growing; in the Winter, or in time of drought, the 
birds are fed on Alfalfa hay. They do their best on 
Alfalfa only, and can eat any quantity, green or dry, 
without evil results. Alfalfa lands in Cape Colony are 
rarely for sale, and when sold realize from $750 to 
$1,000 an acre, returning a high percentage, even at 
this price, when farmed with ostriches. 
THE NEW YORK STATE VETERINARY COLLEGE. Fig. 20. 
