EDITORIAL. 
75 
PRICKING A L’AMERICAINE. 
To-day, though France is the birthplace of the veterinary 
profession of the world, it may be said that she is far behind 
other countries, even behind America, where the profession is 
only a few years old. Although the practice of veterinary 
medicine has had some attempts at legislation made in her favor,, 
still empirics have yet a great deal of freedom in their practice 
of the healing art, and if some of our States protect American 
veterinary science, if they demand of foreign graduates evidences 
of their ability to treat animals, not by their representing them¬ 
selves as a French graduate, a German thierarzt or an English 
veterinarian, nor even by the presentation of their diplomas^ 
but ask of him an examination before a board of examiners, the 
same does not exist on this side of the Atlantic, at any rate, 
does not exist in France. There is, then, an opening for some 
of our empirics who, having failed in obtaining a new protective 
law, as asked of late in New York, or who may desire to prac¬ 
tice without the annoyance of submitting themselves to legal 
regulations, it is a good opportunity for them ; let them come 
here and qualify themselves as American veterinarians. 
Farmer Miles, some years ago, came to Europe and intro¬ 
duced his operation for cryptorchids—but, if I am right. Farmer 
Miles did not assume any wrong title—he was a skillful operator 
—recognized as such all over the American continent, and it 
was his only claim. He had what he believed a valuable mode 
of operation—unique in his success—and desired to make it 
known ; he did this for the benefit of the profession. 
Farmer Miles is outdone to-day. An American veterinarian 
(?)—his name I am not sure of yet—is now traveling, I under¬ 
stand, all over Europe, and performing the operation of pricking 
by his method—an American (?) method, he claims—and he 
takes ; he has success—great success. 
His operation, I am informed, consists in two incisions, one 
on each side of the median line, close to the anus, of the skin 
and the inferior sacro-caudal muscle in its whole width, but not 
in its whole thickness ; two stitches in the wound ; the tail is 
