And cases are by no means rare in which horses have been blistered with cantharides unmixed with lard; and repeatedly dumb patients have been severely fired and blistered by the uneducated on the "sound" instead of the "unsound" leg. In fact the list of such atrocities is a wearisomely long one, to say nothing of the superstitions peculiar to certain counties. In Devonshire, for instance, there is a supposed cure by magic, the name being "Whitewitches" or something of the sort. A nineteenth-century English savage takes a nail, which he dips into a pot of urine, and expects the owner of a cow who is suffering from milk fever, or any other ailment, to walk round. In the event of the patient recovering, the witch, of course, takes the credit.

The Whitechapel costermongers pin their faith to vinegar and whitening, or turpentine and beer; in cases of sprains this lotion is well rubbed into the affected part. Certainly this is a very innocent recreation-it has been said that the English take their pleasures sadly-compared with the number of times that lamenitis, sometimes termed "founder," or "fever in the feet," is mistaken for congestion of the lungs, and even tetanus, all of which require immediate treatment. Need we say more on this point? To dwell on painful subjects is exceedingly depressing, but we feel bound to lay a stress upon the eager way in which amateur vets, who have never received a practical or scientific training, delight in giving purgatives, without in the least taking into con

sideration how much the constitutions of their victims differ. Thank goodness the Ancients had no inducement to nearly pull a poor horse's tongue out or cause it to bleed, because they never gave balls; neither did they put their patients to excruciating agony by docking with unsuitable instruments. But they paid even more regard to regular feeding than many of us do now. They knew less about diseases, we readily admit; but this, in a way, was an advantage, because they did not jumble them up. Knowing nothing of our modern blister, they could not apply it, as some foolish people do now, without first of all clipping the hair off. But whether or not they got their fingers bitten off by dogs when giving them medicine is a moot point.

In the present day every amateur vet who respects the safety of his hands takes excellent care to force a stout stick into the canine patient's mouth, whilst another person firmly grips the dog by his ears.

It is not uncommon to torture the brute creation by unskilfully bandaging their limbs, or to choke pigs by administering draughts much too rapidly, and perhaps squeezing the breath out of them in the process.

The thousand and one unspeakable tortures that an unpractical, though not necessarily an intentionally cruel vet, can inflict on the wild and domesticated animals is almost past belief, and has unhappily brought reproach on his enlightened colleagues. The amateur vet, however, intensifies these sufferings.

Life being too short and civilisation too complicated for every man to be his own barrister, solicitor, doctor, or vet, those who really wish to learn the theory and practice of the veterinary art, without passing the stiff examinations at the Royal Veterinary College, should approach a difficult subject in a spirit of humility. We can conscientiously recommend the following standard works for their perusal :

J. MacFadyean has written "Anatomy of Domesticated Animals" and "Anatomy of the Horse"; G. Flemming, "Practical Horsekeeper," also "Horse Shoes and Shoeing" and "Horse-Shoeing"; Fitzwygram, Horses and Stables" and "Notes on Shoeing"; A. P. Chauveau, Traite d'Anatomie des Animaux Domestiques; C. Schwab, "Age of a Horse by the Teeth," "Veterinary Counter-practice,' "Materia Medica"; R. V. Tuson, "Pharmacopoeia for Practitioners of Veterinary Medicine."

Those amateur vets who are easily satisfied with a smattering of a noble science, whose branches spread over a large mental area, will find these books have been written to suit their tastes, namely

The writings of "Stonehenge"; "Veterinary Notes for Horse-owners," by Hayes; "The Live Stock of the Farm," by Morton and Pringle; Morgan's Translation of Xenophon's "The Art of Horsemanship."

Cattle. "The Bovine Prescriber," by Gresswell; "The Yorkshire Cattle Doctor," by Knolson.

Sheep.-"The Sheep Breeder's Guide." Pigs.-Garrett's "Practical Pig-keeper." Dogs.-"The Diseases of Dogs," by H. Dalziel. Poultry." Pheasants, Turkeys, and Geese," by W. Cook; also "Profitable Poultry-keeping," by F. Mackenzie.

Goats.-"Book of the Goat," by Pegler; "The Case for the Goat," by "Home-Counties."

Amongst well-known foreign writers, these names deserve praise: Champetier, Lechlainche, Dupont, Boucher, Schlieben - he wrote the “Horse of Antiquity"-Bayer, Paalzow, Haare, Captain Hube, Carl von Schmidt. In fact the amateur vet has the choice of cultivating his mind by reading the wisdom of thousands of good authors on the Veterinary Art.

The authors who filled the gap between Xenophon and the time when the Royal Veterinary College was founded, are indeed legion. It is a tremendous gap indeed! It would be tedious to give more than these already mentioned few sample quotations illustrating Greek, Roman, and mediæval writers. Let us think also of the store of knowledge which perished when Carthage was burnt; for we may feel sure that the slim Carthaginians were active horsemen, or they would not have killed so many Romans under Hannibal, Hamilcar, and other long forgotten cavalry leaders. Therefore we may conclude that the Carthaginians wrote on this subject, and their works all perished, unfortunately for us.

It is obvious from the above that some institution was necessary to establish equine knowledge

on a scientific basis, and this want being felt, the Royal Veterinary College sprang into being. But it did not start teaching pupils about the works we have already touched upon. The foundations were laid on quite a firm basis; viz. scientific anatomy, botany, chemistry, and other sciences which we will deal with when a brief sketch has been given of the Royal Veterinary College, Camden Town, a hospital for the treatment of animal diseases on the same lines as other hospitals devoted to human beings. Nevertheless if it had not been for those ancient and medieval writers on equine literature, the Royal Veterinary College would have made far less rapid strides in

science.

They are also indebted to doctors and surgeons who have made discoveries which have thrown light on Veterinary. The scientific discoveries of modern times have been greatly assisted through the invention and perfecting of the microscope.