CORRESPONDED OE. 
331 
public animals. Under such circumstances it will be seen how 
important it is for the young officer to know not only what con¬ 
stitutes proper hygienic conditions and surroundings, but what to 
do in an outbreak of serious disease. Such knowledge cannot be 
acquired at the usual schools of learning, while the school of ex¬ 
perience is not an economical one for the War Department. 
The opportunity is offered at this post now to teach in a prac¬ 
tical manner, many of the^ important matters relating to veteri¬ 
nary surgery. Chief among these are the proper feeding, water¬ 
ing and grooming of the animals in health ; the general care of 
the sick or nursing; how to treat the more common diseases, as 
colic, indigestion, influenza, pneumonia, etc.; how to care for 
wounds, sores, saddle galls, etc.; now to detect glan¬ 
ders and farcy, and what to do in case of an outbreak. 
Lastly, the student should be taught to know when a horse is 
properly shod, and how tell his age ; what constitutes soundness, 
and how to inspect for the purchase of horses and mules, or for the 
condemnation of animals incapacitated for further service. 
Such a course of instruction could, with little effort, be in¬ 
stituted here in connection with the school of application, for the 
post numbers nearly five hundred horses and mules, and can fur¬ 
nish material for a considerable number of clinics, which may 
readily be supplemented by a large variety from the city of 
Leavenworth. With an outlay of one hundred dollars or less 
the hospital and all necessary conveniences for teaching can be 
completed. In conjunction with the clinical teaching in the hos¬ 
pital, the farriers of the different troops here should receive in¬ 
struction in the compounding and administering of medicines, 
how to clean and dress wounds, etc. 
A. A. Holcombe, D.V.S., 
Fort Leavenworth, Vet. Surgeon , Dep?t of the Mo. 
Sept. 17,1883. 
SUBCUTANEOUS INJECTIONS IN THE TREATMENT OF UMBILICAL 
HERNIA. 
Dear Sir. —When lecturing to the class at the A. V. C., 
February 1st, 1883, subject: “ Umbilical Hernia,” you spoke of a 
French veterinary surgeon’s method, namely, that of using hypo- 
