628 
WILLIAM HERBERT LOWE. 
whether the animal is to have treatment or not, and if treat¬ 
ment, to what extent and cost, his commercial value, rather than 
his necessity, being the chief factor in determining the matter, 
whereas, in human practice, no commercial value is ever placed 
upon a patient. 
Another difficulty, and the one that should receive the most 
attention in the consideration of routine manifestations and 
operations, is the importance and necessity of aseptic and anti¬ 
septic measures in all surgical procedures and dressings. In 
human medicine, again, our brethren have a decided advantage, 
so far as aseptic and antiseptic precautions and measures are 
concerned. The principles involved are essentially the same, 
but their application is far more difficult, and sometimes impos¬ 
sible, in veterinary surgery, as the means available to the vet¬ 
erinary surgeon for satisfying the demands of these principles 
are not equal to those in human practice. Purification of the 
air where the animal is kept, complete sterilization and preven¬ 
tion of infection, position, rest and immobilization in our patients 
are problems that to a large extent remain to be solved. 
Herbert Spencer says that knowledge is useful in proportion 
to its application. Aseptic and antiseptic principles of science 
are of real value to the veterinary practitioner only to the extent 
that he is able and painstaking enough to put these principles 
mto his everyday practice. It is a comparatively easy thing for 
any inodernly educated veterinarian to outline the principles and 
practice of aseptic and antiseptic surgery, and as a practititioner 
he may have the disposition, but he will not always have the 
opportunity and ability to effect complete sterilization of every¬ 
thing on and about his patient. 
The chief question at the present time is how to most per¬ 
fectly bring practice into accord with knowledge, so as to secure 
the best results in the ever-varying and widely different condi¬ 
tions in our routine work. It is my opinion that it is in the 
application of scientific facts and doctrines now well understood 
that the chief achievements in the near future are to be expected. 
In the past most all, if not all, the attention and credit was 
