VETERINARY EDUCATION. 
45 
VETERINARY EDUCATION. 
By D. McEACIIRAN, F. R. C. V. S., V. S., Edinburgh, 
Principal of the Montreal Veterinary College. 
[Continued from Page 17.] 
-- 
Let an European visitor pass through the rich agricultural town¬ 
ships of either the United States or Canada—let him note the vast 
numbers of domestic animals which go to form our herds which repre¬ 
sent so much of our national wealth, and which are just objects of our 
national pride; let him examine our herd books and stud books, inquire 
into the great expense and trouble we go to in importing the best 
blood which Europe can sell us; he will be astonished to findliow little 
we are behind even old England herself in the quality of our animals. 
The lavish expenditure on buildings for housing our animals, the 
comfort and care we bestow on them will surprise him no less; but 
what must be his astonishment when he discovers that these vast herds, 
this enormous wealth, is for the most part left to chance when attack¬ 
ed by disease, or worse still, to the mercy of uneducated charlatans, 
yet such is the case. 
It is a deplorable fact that so far, in the United States at least, 
even the vast amount of government property in the shape of cavalry 
and artillery horses, are entrusted to the care of uneducated practi¬ 
tioners, who hold no commissions, and receive less pay than many 
ordinary laborers. Is this as it should be ? Surely not. Why should 
those in charge of our valuable herd be a whit less thoroughly educat¬ 
ed, or occupy a less important position .than the same class in 
England, France, or Germany? 
We have now reached an era in the history of Veterinary Science 
in America, which demands that each member of the profession will 
do his duty to himself, his country, and his profession, by insisting 
henceforth that this noble science, valuable as noble, for by its proper 
utilization, millions of dollars which under present circumstances are 
lost annually, may be saved—must and will be wrenched out of the 
hands of the impostor, and be practiced only by those qualified by 
education of a standard, arranged and acknowledged by some recog- 
nized authority. 
«> 
