CORRESPONDENCE. 
183 
had moral backbone, enough, at least, to save bis health and 
understanding. A student must be 18 years old to gain entrance 
here or in France. 
To any one who has read my papers, it will be evident that I 
am an active opponent to learning the dements of chemistry, 
physics, geology, zoology, and botany, in a school where veterin¬ 
ary medicine is to be studied. There are no words to express the 
earnestness with which I would implore Americans desiring to 
take either a French or German course, to lit themselves care¬ 
fully in these things before coming here, and bringing certificates 
with them of the grade of knowledge they have attained. I beg 
such young men to enter such a school as the Lawrence, or other 
scientific school, and to seriously apply themselves to these things 
for at least eighteen months: to chemistry, in a laboratory—all 
other is useless; and as to botany—the genuine elementary 
botany; that is, the true cellular development of theories and 
phenomena of plants—with this well learned, animal anatomy in 
its fine and coarse forms will be hut play. He should naturally 
be thoroughly at home in analytical botany, and also in the class¬ 
ification and characteristics of the animal kingdom. The gen¬ 
eral principles of comparative anatomy, he will find taught in an 
exceptionally fine manner in Berlin. It should be self-evident to 
the American who is going to undertake this venture, how much 
such a course will spare his health and mind; but to make it 
fully evident, I will call to his mind the fact that, in his first year, 
unless he does this, he will not only have to learn vocabularies in 
five different studies, and become at home in their technicalities, 
but will have to learn them also; whereas, by the above course, 
lie has only the language and the words to learn; and, being at 
home on the subjects, the words would almost come of them¬ 
selves by hearing the lectures, without any extra study. He can 
then give his whole force to those essentially professional, and 
not on himself, upon these side branches. 
I must again say, that no one need come here thinking he will 
get through any easier than a German; and to enable him to do 
well, I have advised him fitting himself in a way which will more 
than equalize the difficulties of a foreign language, for I take it 
