462 
ANNUAL MEETING. 
great number of men who were so very illiterate, although 
they possessed the diploma of the Royal College of Veteri¬ 
nary Surgeons, that twenty words in a letler were not spelt 
properly, nor was the construction anything like correct or 
intelligible. 
Assistant-Professor Pritchard wished it to he understood, 
with regard to the preliminary examination, that he thoroughly 
coincided with the remarks which had fallen from his col¬ 
league. It ’vvas a very unpleasant duty for the professors of 
the colleges to reject the students, and, therefore, the exami¬ 
nation ought to be under the control of some board entirely 
independent of the school. He thought they ought to. he 
careful, however, as to how high the standard of this pre¬ 
liminary examination should he carried. If they went be¬ 
yond a good sound English education, and got into the classics 
and other branches of learning, depend upon it, people who 
could afford to give their sons an education such as would 
enable them to pass such an examination would choose for 
them a profession in which afterwards they would be better 
remunerated. With regard to practical examinations, he did 
not think there was a chance of having them; there were so 
many difficulties in the way which he could see at a glance 
that he did not think they could be carried out. Mr. Greaves 
had said there were numbers of places that could be used for 
the purpose, but this was a point of expense, and that subject 
had been mooted already. 
Mr. Ernes said that the College of Surgeons lately ex¬ 
pressed a regret that they had not the opportunity whicli 
veterinary surgeons had of examining a living subject. Their 
practical examination was confined to the dead subject. He 
thought the difficulties would be easily surmounted. It was 
done in this way—a subject was dissected, or even a skeleton 
was dissected and laid on the table, and then the pupil had 
to answer the different questions which were asked him by 
the appointed examiners, or professor, or lecturer at the 
hospital. That was certainly the case with the College of 
Surgeons, and he believed it also to be the case with the 
College of Physicians to a certain extent. 
Assistant-Professor Pritchard said he understood that Mr. 
Ernes suggested that the student should be examined by 
putting practical questions with regard to pathology by the 
side of the patient. 
Mr. Ernes said that was so. 
Assistant-Professor Pritchard contended there was no 
precedent for that with the members of the College of Sur¬ 
geons. Perhaps it was not in the knowledge of Mr. Ernes 
