EDITORIAL. 
37 
ridicule which may be attached to the practice of that specialty of 
medicine, hut to the fact that in the greatest majority of cases, 
those who are engaged in veterinary practice are of the greatest 
ignorance; or, if regularly educated, have prostituted their pro¬ 
fessional standing by empirical and charlatanic conduct. 
This condition, however, is rapidly coming to its end, and that 
is, thanks to the establishment of veterinary schools on the con¬ 
tinent of North America. These schools have been private 
undertakings. It has been with them a hard up-hill work, and 
especially in the United States, where they had to depend almost 
entirely for their support and success on the energy of a few 
men, without any Governmental assistance; but nevertheless, 
their work will forever be marked on the stones of posterity, 
which will judge of what was good and what was bad in the per¬ 
formance of their labors. In the United States, though several 
attempts were made to the establishment of veterinary schools, 
we find, yet, that only two institutions truly came to a certain 
success. One was chartered in 1857, the other in April, 1875— 
the second being founded by the working faculty of the former, 
which was closed in March, 1875. These are now in working 
condition. While it is gratifying to see these two schools work¬ 
ing with the same object in view, it is to be much regretted that 
the revived school should, by erroneous statement, try to impug- 
nate the legal existence of the other. In some newspapers, and 
in their advertisements, she claims that she is the only school 
chartered by special act of the Legislature. This is correct; 
but why follow it by a misrepresentation of her rights in saying 
that she is the only one authorized to issue diplomas ? 
There are in the State of New York three ways by which edu¬ 
cational institutions can be incorporated : 1st, by special act of 
the Legislature ; 2d, by authority of the Board of Regents of 
the University of the State of New York; 3d, under the general 
law of the State, (laws of 1870, amending Act of 1848). These 
laws read as follows: 
Laws of New York, 71st Session, 1848. Chapter 319. 
AN ACT FOR THE INCORPORATION OF BENEVOLENT, CHARITABLE, SCIEN¬ 
TIFIC AND MISSIONARY SOCIETIES, PASSED APRIL 12th, 1848. 
