306 
FREDERICK A. LYONS. 
be clearly recognized airiong^tliefamily of sciences to whiebit be¬ 
longs, that I could not trace its genealogy too tar back. II o 
it is a very young member of the house, it belongs to the most hon¬ 
orable and ancient of families. It must therefore support the drg- 
nity that falls upon it from its lineage. 
Tf veterinary medicine has hitherto been lookec upon 1 _ 
certain amount of disrespect, and it cannot be domed that th» » 
the case, it is not for the reason that the study m itself is unseie mh 
or one unworthy of the attention of the highest grade of intellects. 
It is simply owing to the fact that its true character has not been 
properly set forth and recoguized-that the requirements neces¬ 
sary to its intelligent study and practice have not been du y ap 
predated. Few of its practitioners, especially in our own count, y, 
have regarded it as anything more than an art, and most of the 
have been guided solely by empiricism, which is so dangerous 
when unfounded on correct principles, in lack of prope. scien 1 
“in 6 ’view of this evil, then, what is it that is needed to ex¬ 
alt the profession to the elevated rank in which it belongs by just 
richt 1 Not alone that it should he practiced with apparent sue 
cess; that its professions as to being able to cure this disease 
and to alleviate that one, to restore to soundness a crippled ani¬ 
mal and so on, should be verified. This is not sufficient. A grea 
deal of this may be done by empiricism or by chance. It is nec¬ 
essary it should be cultivated for its own sake in a true scienti 10 
spirit, more than heretofore. Not merely in view of practical ap¬ 
plications, though these will follow, but for itself as an abstract 
science. In other words, practical utility may sa ie y >e e- on 
of sight for a while, and the science cultivated simp y for the ab¬ 
stract and seemingly unpractical truths that it will yield. 1 ns 
may seem fanciful and devoid of useful results, but it is certain 
that benefits, which may not be clearly seen, would follow. 
Has not the science of astronomy been studied in a purely ab- 
stract manner 1 Yet what important, yes, inestimable results have 
accrued from it to civilization! Where would be the boasted com¬ 
merce of the nineteenth century if we were not enab led to take 
„nr latitude and longitude, and find the position of a stop on the 
