132 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
Wliat to do in order to recruit the New York veterinary 
schools appears to me, therefore, simple enough in theory, but I 
admit it will entail an enormous amount of labor and great per¬ 
sonal sacrifice of those most directly concerned in order to carry 
out the changes which must be made to suit the new state of 
affairs. The Cornell Veterinary School being satisfied and suc¬ 
cessful, as told by Prof. Williams, with a rather ungracious air 
of superiority, we let it stand nncontested in its desired isola¬ 
tion. But onr sympathy must be with the two New York City 
schools. They, too, have rights of their own, but which were 
visibly, almost intentionally, overlooked. They are both old 
and tried, have toiled hard and struggled bravely. They have 
a number of men in their faculties, the names of whom shine 
with lustre in the roll of our profession. The turn of events has 
struck these colleges squarely, and in spite of all the courage 
exhibited, their friends believe them in a critical condition. 
Surely they ought not to be allowed to decay or die. New 
York, the gigantic city of age and riches, will always nourish a 
veterinary school of the right kind, but only one^ and this one 
must be “up-to-date.” Let ns advocate, without fear or favor, 
that the two New York City schools shall consolidate into one 
in order to perpetuate the fame of both, to double their strength 
as a faculty, to lessen their expenses of maintenance, and to kill 
forever that futile and sterile rivalryship which works upwards 
back into the lives of their graduates, poisoning their profes¬ 
sional colleagueships and preventing the existence of a respected 
scientific body that can guide the destinies of the profession. 
After the two old schools have been welded into one, that 
new institution must search for material support. Students’ fees 
alone will no longer provide for maintenance of any scientific 
college provided with modern equipments, because the expense 
of acquiring and maintaining them has become too great. Fine 
buildings are not absolutely necessary; some of the renowned old 
schools of Europe are housed in decrepit walls—but their soul 
is great. The soul of a great school is its faculty, and half a 
dozen veterinary professors, which are known for their scholar¬ 
ship or great practical skill, will draw more students than fine 
buildings, fine equipments, fine locality and all the other fine 
things taken together in one basket. But scholarly professors 
are seldom rich and cannot lecture free of charge, or for the 
honor there is in it, and to the busy and skillful practitioners 
the time given to a lecture is worth so much in money. Thus 
great faculties are expensive. 
