386 
EDITORIAL. 
month, and four $100.00 a month. Their allowancequarters, 
fuel, etc., are but little better than nothing, and certainly preclude 
the probability of a married man accepting them and the position. 
There is no use trying to ignore the fact that the veterinary sur¬ 
geons of the army are not properly treated. It is not right to 
expect of a member of the profession that he shall give his servi¬ 
ces for the same remuneration as is paid the shoeing-smith, the 
wagon-maker and the poorest mechanic. Jt is highly detrimental 
to the best interests of the animals in the public service, that the 
position of veterinary surgeon is so surrounded by unbearable 
conditions that it cannot retain the services of any self-respecting 
graduate in veterinary surgery. The order of March 27, 1879, 
providing for the appointment, in the future, of graduates only to 
army positions, was a good one, in so far as it went, but it needs 
to be supplemented by a provision of Congress, making the veteri¬ 
nary surgeon a commissioned officer, with sufficient pay and lank 
to maintain a respectable appearance, and to attract members of 
the profession, of at least average ability. The way matters now 
stand, the army will soon be without veterinary surgeons, or with 
those that are worse than none, for there are graduates in this 
country, no doubt considered elegible to army appointment, who, 
as veterinary surgeons, are unworthy of any trust. The interests 
at stake demand the establishment of a veterinary department, 
that shall have at least, a reasonable opportunity to prove its 
efficiency, and it cannot be acomplished too soon. 
NUMBERS OF THE REVIEW WANTED. 
We will be thankful to any of our subscribers for any dupli¬ 
cate numbers of the .Review. We have received several inquiries 
for missing numbers from persons who have incomplete volumes, 
and regret that we are unable to supply them. We have also an 
offer of ten dollars for the first volume of Fleming's Veterinary 
Journal . 
