EDITORIAL. 
291 
be as easily obtained as human medical instruction, veterinary 
colleges being as numerous. The question, however, is, whether 
this sudden growth of schools of that specialty of medicine is 
going to be of much advantage, either to the profession or to the 
public, and if, instead of several small schools, it would not be 
better to have one large institution, under city or State supervis¬ 
ion, and if this governmental school is not possible, whether it 
would not be more in the interest of veterinary science, which is 
yet so young in America, to have all the separate schools unite 
together and form one large institution, with one object in view, 
namely, elevate the profession. We know that competition is 
the chief life to success, and that if A schools have between them 
an honest rivalry and a desire for constant improvements, stu¬ 
dents will be benefited—the school in that case which would do 
the best would be best patronized—but is this always to be the 
case ? Are not temptations to be so great that benefit to the 
profession will be but second or third rate considerations, especi¬ 
ally when, as now, the number of veterinary students will scarcely 
be sufficient to supply, in a satisfactory manner, all those veterin¬ 
ary schools? We fear not? 
The great difficulty in the permanent success of veterinary 
schools and long life has been that, up to recently, they were 
the result of mere personal efforts and private undertakings, and 
if what might be called a governmental school was started, these 
private institutions would be obliged to close their doors; in fact, 
it would be their duty to do it. New York State has been the 
only one where, so far, veterinary colleges had existence long 
enough to have them considered a success, and it is probable that 
their life will last for some time to come. But there are two 
other States in the neighborhood of that great one, viz.: Massa¬ 
chusetts and Pennsylvania, which also are going to work in the 
interest of veterinary medicine, and whose influence may be of 
some importance in the life of private schools. Harvard Medi¬ 
cal College has already opened her course of veterinary lectures 
with Prof. C. P. Lyman in the special department of veterinary 
medicine. This is a great opportunity for the Professor. No 
one who ever attempted to teach veterinary science, with the ex- 
