EDITORIAL. 
207 
EDITORIAL. 
FALSE PROFESSIONAL REPRESENTATION. 
Our people are ignorant of the importance of Veterinary medicine ; 
our science is yet, and will be for years to come, in a low social stand¬ 
ing. These are, undoubtedly, the impressions that the ordinary practi¬ 
tioner will put to himself when thinking of the condition of the profes¬ 
sion in the United States. That there is much truth in these sad words 
no one will deny, but we think that they are exaggerated. 
No, we do not believe our people entirely ignorant of our useful¬ 
ness or of our importance. No, the science will not for years to come 
remain at a low social standing. 
For a number of years our professional position has placed us in 
the condition to see, watch and observe what was the true standard and 
appreciation of the Veterinarian by Americans, and we are satisfied 
that though it has made only small progress, though the improvement 
has been slow, still there is no doubt an elevation in the estimation of 
the people of the Veterinarian, and the gentleman of education receives 
now nearly a full and proper recognition from its employers. 
To the establishment of Veterinary schools we are certain this is 
due, and to the sending off of well deserved graduates we attribute much 
of the improved condition of the profession. In fact the time is fast 
coming when the necessity of a diploma, or of a lawful credential, will be 
indispensable to one who intends practicing. But we feel at the 
same time our duty to protect, from the beginning, the too confident 
stock owner against a class of impostors which are likely to rise, who, in 
fact, are already in existence—to a class of individuals who, too lazy or 
too ignorant to complete their studies, or who have been rejected at 
their final examination, at the time of graduation represent themselves 
as students, as graduates of such college, or of such a school. We 
have heard people say, “ Mr. So-and-so praticed in our part of the coun¬ 
try. He is one of your graduates, one of your pupils and often it has 
turned out that the person referred to has been either a rejected candi¬ 
date for graduation, a student of one year’s standing, or, as in a recent 
case, one of whom we know nothing about. , 
Now, we might excuse a person to employ Mr. So-and-so, who 
says that he is a graduate of the Royal Veterinary College, of Dub- 
