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THE VETERINARY JOURNAL
to read the advertisements which are accepted, even by newspapers of good standing, to realise the growth of quackery which the "self-diagnosis habit" imposes upon a credulous public. Even the propaganda work done by the publication of such books as " Secret R emedies" and " More Secret Remedies" and the work of the" Select Committee on Patent Medicines" alluded to in the British Medical Association Journal article, only excited a passing interest on the part of the purchasers of these things; and the fact that, in purchasing patent nostrums, they paid so heavily merely for drinking water and harmless mixtures, is no deterrent to the purchase of a second bottle-and a repetition order is what the vendor of a patent medicine desires most . The stockowner wastes thousands of pounds in this way, and often by his delay in calling in skilled aid loses many valuable beasts; but his mentality is such that it is difficult to make him see that such a course is truly a" penny wise and pound foolish" policy. The article to which we draw attention will give some consolation to our veterinary readers in that they will see that they suffer in unison with their medical confreres.
RESPONSE TO THE ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE APPEAL. AT last the appeal of the Royal Veterinary College has fallen on fertile ground, and the result of the efforts of Messrs. The Odhams Press, headed by The Daily Herald, appear likely to reach the £25,000 which it originally set out to get. The response to the " slogan" effort has been magnificent, and as The Daily Herald can truly be said to be one of the most widely read papers of the people, one can judge from that of the great hold the love of animals has for the rank and file of the British nation. The effort made has been stupendous, and the response equally so. With a first prize of £15,000 t o look forward to, the slogan lovers have sent in their sixpences by the hundred thousand, and the task of counting out and checking the results has given employment to hundreds of workers. The Editor of Sporting Life, too, Capt. F owler, is well known as a great animal lover, and the results of his efforts alone in racing circles have already reached the sum of over £5,000, and are still continuing. With the benefit meetings which have been arranged, at his suggestion, by the Greyhound Racing Club and Greyhound tracks, the fund bids fair to reach at least £10,000. The efforts of Capt.Hobbs (of the Tail Wagger Club) , added to those of Sporting Life and Horse and Hound (the other sporting periodical whose kindly interest recently raised over £5,000 for the same cause) will for all time have the credit of having done this for British veterinary science at a time when money seemed almost impossible to get, and during the years of the worst financial stringency that the world has ever known. The effort they have put into things has enabled the rebuilding of the Royal Veterinary College to commence at last, and now it remains f or those in control to give of their best to design and equip a set of hospital, laboratory, museum, and other necessary teaching buildings, which will be a monument for all time, and b e worthy of the British Empire.