500 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
ideas that have been exploded since the college days of his pre¬ 
ceptor, he obtains much that tlitere is but little time and opportu¬ 
nity to teach him at college, with the short sessions of English 
and American schools—facts that are unchangeable and wlucnhe 
must sometime learn. It seems to me any one who will carefully 
consider the matter, must agree with me, that proper office in¬ 
struction, before and between the college sessions, is an advantage 
which can scarcely be over-estimated. But the questions which 
come up at once are, What constitutes proper office instruction , 
and secondly, What are the facilities, in this country, for obtain¬ 
ing such instruction ? The first question is one, of course, about 
which there may be some diversity of opinion, but all will agiee 
in this, that the student should here be taught the grand prin¬ 
ciples which are to underlie his future professional studies, and 
that are to make him, not only a scientist, but an honorable, con¬ 
scientious professional worker. ^ 
The method practised by too many English and Scottish 
veterinarians, of sending their students to the infirmary and phar¬ 
macy, where they spend time with the hostlers talking horse-talk, 
for the want of better employment, or compounding balls of aloes, 
diuretics or liniments, cannot be too strongly condemned. It is a 
waste of valuable time that the practitioner is responsible for, and 
it too often lays the foundation for a careless, lazy, horsey indi¬ 
vidual who manages to slip into the profession, after a time, only 
to become a disgrace to himself and to those who, in name, are as¬ 
sociated with him. 
When the practising veterinarian accepts a student for instruc¬ 
tion he assumes a duty the gravity of which many but imperfectly 
understand or do not fully appreciate. It is not enough that the 
student be told to read whenever he finds time, but he should be 
told what and how much to read, then have his memory tested to 
see if lie retains and comprehends what has been taken in. His 
work in the pharmacy should be carefully superintended so that 
he may learn to be exact, skilful and dexterous—in other words 
make him a pharmacist, not a mixer of drugs ; teach him here also 
the physical properties of veterinary medicines, so that he shall 
be able to recognize them without difficulty, as well as the usual 
