VETERINARY SCIENCE IN AMERICA. 
7 
Pennsylvania confer the degree of Doctor of Veterinary 
Medicine and Surgery.” Unfortunately he appended to the 
diploma announcing this signatures not his own, and so 
experienced the sovereignty of his state under the form of a 
visit from a constable and resulting incarceration. It is 
interesting to extract a passage from one of his letters : 
“This entitles you to the degree—Dr. Daniel Underwood, 
M.P.C.V.S. These letters differ only from the English by R, 
from Edinburgh by E, Glasgow by G, from Dublin by D.” 
In 1866 the Pennsylvania College of Veterinary Surgeons 
was granted a charter. It announced six officers, among 
them Isaac Mitchener, one of the leading men of his state. 
It had no building, gave few, if any, lectures, we may, 
therefore, conclude all Pennsylvanian veterinary diplomas 
as worthless. In 1878 an energetic “ plea for veterinary 
science,” by Mr. H. J. Smith, led to the attachment of a 
veterinary school to the University of Pennsylvania. We 
are not aware whether or no it still exists. 
In 1868 an important event occured. Professor James 
Law, F.R.C.V.S., was called to occupy the Chair of Veteri¬ 
nary Medicine at Cornell University. The subjects com¬ 
prised in his course are :—Principles and Practice, Surgery, 
Obstetrics, Surgical Pathology and Anatomy, Examination 
of Soundness, Principles of Shoeing (Physiological and 
Pathological). The course of study comprises five lectures 
per week throughout the academic year. Laboratory work 
on bones, skeletons, clastic models, pathological preparations 
and parasites, and clinical instruction ; anatomy, physio¬ 
logy, histology, zootechny, hygiene, botany, toxicology, 
pharmacy, and therapeutics are taught by professors of the 
agricultural department. Two degrees are granted ; after 
two years’ agricultural studies, and two years of special vete¬ 
rinary study, a candidate may present himself for the 
degree of Bachelor of Veterinary Science. And then, after 
two years of post-graduate study, may, by passing a satis¬ 
factory examination, reading a thesis, &c., obtain the higher 
degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. To give these 
degrees their full value Professor Law has constantly 
endeavoured to obtain a full veterinary staff to constitute 
the faculty of a veterinary department of Cornell University. 
This grand step, promoting the advance of veterinary surgery 
by making it a special section of university study, is un¬ 
paralleled in Great Britain, the only approach to anything 
of the kind being the lectures which Youatt delivered long 
ago before the London University, and those which are now 
perverted to pathology pure at the same place annually. 
