SOCIETY MEETINGS. 
63 
relations to the public health, as an inspector of meat and milk—the 
chief articles of food of well-fed humanity—of infinitely closer and 
greater importance than is possible to members of our sister profession 
or any other class of individuals ; for the veterinarian, by contact and 
training, is alone fitted as health mediator and judge of animal products 
for food consumption. (Not, by any means, however, for the reason ad¬ 
vanced by the man who knew all about swine; namely, because he 
“was raised among them,” and yet, I would not for a moment depre¬ 
ciate the advantages of association.) 
Having already strayed “ from the sublime to the ridiculous, ” let us 
allow our thought for a moment to dwell upon the aesthetic, and bring 
within our mental vision, using as an illustration, the Golden Rod in 
the early autumn. Thus, the mental attainment in medical science that 
is acquired through studious application to books may be compared to 
the bud. The after development, to the bloom, its fullness, of course, de¬ 
pending upon soil, environment, and the natural vigor of the plant, or, 
if you please, the talent and persistence of the individual. 
The Golden Rod, as an illustration in point, occurred to my mind be¬ 
cause of its being the national flower, and at the same time suggestive 
in name of the golden rule ; for, next in value to the mental attainment 
of an inspector of animal food products, would closely follow his practi¬ 
cal experience—the result of contact, handling and association. In fact, 
I believe it impossible to separate or differentiate the value of these two 
sources of education and development, since they must be so intimately 
related that either one without the other would fail to qualify an indi¬ 
vidual for the performance of the exceedingly important duties of inspec¬ 
tor of meat and milk. The family physician gains his most valuable in¬ 
formation through hospital and other practice upon subjects of his own 
race. By these means he learns to apply his knowledge, which knowl¬ 
edge, by association, experience and contact, becomes enhanced ; but 
the vety' means of his development, and the nature of his professional 
duties debar him, disqualify him, for lines of practical work which must 
of necessity fit the veterinary physician and surgeon for the functions of 
his office, and the fulfilment of the obligations he has assumed in the 
interests of science and humanity. 
Therefore, let the family physician, the agriculturist, the slaughterer 
and packer, the milk producer and vender, attend to his respective duties 
as such, leaving the determination of the fitness of animals and their 
products for food consumption to the veterinarian, who devotes his life, 
his abilities and his energies to the acquirement of such wisdom and the 
execution of such obligations as devolve upon him ; which, because of 
evident circumstances and conditions, make him a true savant in ques¬ 
tions of hygiene as pertaining to domesticated animals and their prod¬ 
ucts, and their relative values, uses, and fitness for human food. 
It is true that medical science (I use the term advisedly, for the 
greater number of its varied branches are true sciences) has made its ad¬ 
vancement chiefly through experimentation upon the lower animals. 
It is probably equally true that both branches are advancing in equal 
ratio. The results of such experimentation, however, as applied to the 
veterinary branch of medicine, lead to knowledge that is more or less 
positive, while, as applied to the other branch, and the genus homo, it 
can be but relative. 
