CORRESPONDENCE. 
861 
commercial colleges, while those schools endowed or maintained 
by the various States have suffered no serious diminution, if any 
at all, in attendance and find their work on the whole moving 
on hopefully, not especially in New York, but in the United 
States generally, yet their requirements for matriculation and 
time of attendance are constantly higher than those of other 
colleges. 
It is so with the medical colleges, those heavily endowed and 
financially independent command just as good attendance with 
four years’ course and high entrance terms as under prior condi¬ 
tions, hence the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New 
\ ork is not clamoring for a lowering of entrance requirements, 
and Johns Hopkins Medical School increases its attendance as it 
raises its admission, which now rests at a college degree as sl 
minimum for entrance. 
The veterinary matriculation requirements do not seem to 
ns so ridiculous and excessive as to the editor of the Review. 
We do not know of a branch of learning required which is 
not of value to the candidate for a veterinary degree. He is 
not required to pass an examination in Greek, Uatin or Hun¬ 
garian, geometry, calculus, music or painting. He may, if he 
elect, be examined in botany, chemistry, zoology, physiology, 
French or German, any or all of which the editor of the Re¬ 
view will agree with us would materially aid the student. 
The law demands that the veterinary student shall be fairly 
versed in Fnglish, and this we think the editor will agree is 
well, even though one prominent college does not require a stu¬ 
dent to be able to read or write until half through his course, 
the educational methods being somehow adapted to overcome 
the necessity for these “extras” during the first half of the 
course. 
In short, the laws of New York require that the student 
shall before entering have accomplished four years of high 
school work or its equivalent, permitting him to substitute al¬ 
most any branch of learning for any other one, holding firmly 
to but few basic ones like English. 
The advance in requirements has admittedly been abrupt, 
from no requirement in 1895, to two years high school work in 
1896, thence to four years high school work or its equivalent in 
1897. this abruptness, no candidate being barred in 1895, 
and two years academic work required for 1896, those entering 
in 1896 were not candidates in 1895, anyone who could not 
enter then could not hope to enter in 1896, and work as he 
