CORRESPONDENCE. 
273 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
UPON THE MICHIGAN VETERINARY CONVENTION. 
89 Congress Street, Detroit, August 14, 1883. 
Editor Yeterinary Review: 
Sir.— A convention of Michigan yeterinary surgeons was 
held in Detroit, on the 31st of July, and after considerable dis¬ 
cussion, a State Association of veterinarians was formed. It is 
not my intention to give any detailed account of the proceedings 
of the convention, but rather to give my views in regard to 
some of the subjects which were discussed. I may mention that 
the constitution and by laws of the Illinois State Yeterinary 
Society were, in the main, adopted. 
According to the constitution of the Illinois Society, those 
persons who have attended a veterinary college recognized by 
the State Board of Health, are eligible to become members of 
the Society. This, however, was objected to at our meeting, on 
the ground that the State Board of Health has no special knowl¬ 
edge of the status of veterinary colleges, and the convention, in 
framing the constitution of the Michigan society, transferred 
this power to the State Yeterinary Association itself. 
There was a good deal of discussion in regard to the terms 
on which veterinarians, who have not graduated from a recognized 
college, should be admitted to the State society. The Illinois 
Society lays it down, that the certificate of two physicians, as to 
the standing of a veterinary practitioner, who has been in 
practice for ten years, shall render him eligible for examination 
by the Board of Censors of the Society. The Michigan conven¬ 
tion held that the certificates of two physicians would not prove 
the ability or standing of a veterinarian, as the training and ex¬ 
perience of the physicians have not qualified them to judge of 
his qualifications. The Michigan convention accordingly dis¬ 
pensed with the physician’s certificate, but they required that any 
non-graduate, coming before the Board of Censors for examina¬ 
tion, must pay a fee of $5. The examination is to consist of 
written answers in veterinary medicine and surgery, and a 
general oral examination. 
