214 LIVERPOOL VETERINARY MEDICAL ASSOCIATION. 
in acknowledging the services of the veterinary surgeon, and in¬ 
stanced the deplorable losses sustained during the late visitation of 
cattle plague, which would have been reduced to a minimum had 
veterinary knowledge been recognised and its co-operation secured 
at the outset. He should like to see veterinary schools in England, 
Scotland, and Ireland, placed upon an equal and sound basis, having 
one common head—the Council—representatives of the whole pro¬ 
fession in the United Kingdom, in which should be vested every 
authority of governance, the appointment of examiners, and control 
of the teachers. He considered that the velerinarv student should 
have a sound English education, and that in lieu of the acquisition 
of modern languages and proficiency in classics, he should be 
certified by a respectable veterinary surgeon to be qualified to 
practise his art. 
Mr. Cartwright advocated the continuation of a classical educa¬ 
tion w'ith an apprenticeship to a veterinary surgeon, and that it 
would be well for a pupil to serve one half his time, and then pass 
one session at College, so that during the remainder of his appren¬ 
ticeship he might learn to apply principles to his practice. 
Mr. Walley thought the suggestions he had offered for discus¬ 
sion at a previous meeting of this association had been buried in 
oblivion, and was glad to hear them revived by the President on 
this occasion. In commenting upon the remarks made upon his 
former paper by Mr. Hunting in the Veterinarian, he thought that 
his arguments for a practical education were very considerably sup¬ 
ported by the fact that the prizes awarded at the college for pro¬ 
ficiency in the science of veterinary surgery, in by far the majority 
of instances, were gained by students who had seen the most 
practice. 
Mr. Froctor coincided with Mr. Walley’s views, and considered 
the advantages to be gained by the possession of practical know¬ 
ledge cannot be equalled by any amount of classical education. 
Mr. Morgan said the true difficulty to the solution of the ques¬ 
tion appeared to him to be how the practical part was to be taught. 
Enforcing the apprenticeship system would not do; it had been 
tried in the medical profession, and failed in its result. He thought 
if all the schools were placed on an equal footing, under one com¬ 
mon head, and a thorough practical examination at the end of the 
pupilage instituted, each set of professors would do their utmost to 
qualify their students for such an ordeal. He should like to see 
botany introduced amongst their other studies. He also thought 
that all the examiners, except, perhaps, those on chemistry, should 
be members of the veterinary profession. He did not wish that 
these reforms should take place immediately, so as to place any 
person at a disadvantage, but would give one or two years’ notice 
that such changes would be enforced. 
Mr. F. Taylor agreed in the main with the statements expressed 
by Mr. Morgan, but thought the time had qiow arrived for some 
beneficial changes to come into operation. The profession owed a 
duty to the public, and sacrifice of the private interests of the few 
