EXAMINATION FOR DIPLOMA. 745 
(3) That the examinations should be limited to once a 
year. 
(4) That they be divided into three periods, and he held 
on different days, at intervals determined by the council. 
Having had the honour of holding the appointment of ex¬ 
aminer to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons for 
some period, I beg to express my concurrence in the major 
part of these propositions. 
But I beg leave to tell the council that, if they wish to 
accomplish these results, they must go hand-in-hand with 
the governors, directors, and managers of the schools of 
London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow; they must have the 
opinion and co-operation of the Board of Examiners generally, 
as to the best and most practical method of carrying out tins 
subject in detail, and they must have the concurrence of the 
veterinary profession. 
I am very sorry to say that I see little attempt on the part 
of our governing body to obtain either, but I think some 
good may be done by ventilating the subject by a friendly 
discussion in your valuable Journal. 
Presuming, therefore, that most of your readers are of opinion 
that the present examinations are not sufficient to test the 
qualifications of the student, I beg to submit a plan founded 
on that adopted by the Society of Arts, with whom I am 
connected, and therefore know to be perfectly successful. 
In the first place, we must suppose that the student has 
been duly admitted at either London, Edinburgh, or 
Glasgow, and the council have determined that there shall 
be an elementary examination. 
I propose that such examination shall be held at the end 
of the first session, or eight months after the student’s 
admission to college or school. 
That the examination be in writing, and extend over a 
period of three days, and for three hours each day. 
I do not bind myself to details, but in order that my 
proposition may be understood, I suggest— 
That on the first day the examination shall be confined to 
questions on the osteology and myology of the horse and 
other domesticated animals ; on the second day, to the out¬ 
lines of physiology and pathology ; and on the third day, 
elementary chemistry and materia medica. 
In order to prevent the students being put to unnecessary 
expense, the council propose that this examination shall be 
conducted by local boards, consisting of two or more members 
of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, elected by the 
examining board and conducted in this manner; that is to say— 
