Correspondence, etc

Correspondence. i\I ORE A~IERI CA ~ P IR ACY.- The dishonesty whi ch has long stai ned th e reputation of American booksellers, who seldom lose an opportuni ty of seizing upo n an y English book and issuing it in th e United Sta tes, without the permission of either au thor or publisher, who are th ereby robbed of their property in the most barefaced m a nner, is again exemplified in the case of Fleming's "Veterinary Obstetrics." Mr. A. Cogswell , 24, Bond Street, New York, is the culprit this time, and he advertises as follows : "This work is one of the most valuab le tex t books on veterinary science published, a nd the publisher, in issuing an Am erica n edition, has made an exact reprint of the lates t London edition, incl udin g 2 D illustrati ons, while th e pri ce has been reduced to onehalf that of the English publication." The morality of Yan kee publi shers has yet to be di scovered ; it is ce rta inl y not to be found in th ei r bu siness transactions. ALFORT VETERI)IARY SCHOOL.-The French Government evidently do es not believe th at the Vcte rinary Schools are benefited by a llowing the teachers to die in harness- or, rather, to succumb to sen ile degeneratio n while yet th ey are teac hers. First, 1\ I. Rey was retired from the directorship of th e Lyons School, then Lafo sse from T oulouse, and now Reyna! retires from th e Alfort School. T heir posts a rc fi lled by comparative ly young me n, who have abundantl y proved that their c ranial sutures were not prematurely ossified. Chauveau is director of the Lyons School, llaille t of th e Toulouse School, and Goubau x, th e pro tcm. director of the Alfort School. All th ese dire ctors have g ive n a mple eviden ce of the ir fit ness for th e fun ctions imposed upon th em, not only by th e very successful ordeal they underwent before they were appointed teachers, but a lso by th ei r well-known labours subsequently. VETER INARY H O~OURS.-The R cv7tc dt!s Lours Srit!nlijiqucs mentions that the professors of the l\Iuse um of ?-Jatura l Hi story of Pari s, being called upon to nominate cand idates for th e cha ir of General Physiology, left vacan t by the death of Claude Bernard, placed among the first in th e li st the name o f~{ . Bouley, of the I nst itute, Inspec tor of the Veterinary Schools of France, and one of th e most d is tin guished ve terinarians in Europe. Ve teri nary Surgeon Zundel, of Mulhouse, Alsace, has bee n d ecorated with th e Order of Stani slaus by th e Emperor of Rus sia, for hi s wri tings on Veteri na ry Sanita ry S cience and Police. At th e jubilee of the U nivers ity of Copenhagen, Professor Stockfleth, of the Veterina ry School, had th e d e~ ree of Doctor of l\Iedic ine conferred upon hi m, while Professors Bendz and llarfo ed were elected D octors of Natu ral Science.

Qrat-rcdpantrt tuc, etc. H O;\EST CO;\IP ET JTI ON AT THE LONDON ROYAL VETERIXARY CO LL EGE, VERSUS T HE I NTERESTS OF THE VETER I XARY PROFESSION Al\D ITS PRACTITIONERS.

T o the Editor of tlte V ETERI:-
68

The Veterina1y J'ourua!.

adjourned to the eveni ng of that day six weeks, when it is proposed to h old the same (with the sanc ti on of the President), at the Roya l College of Veterinary Surgeons, Red Lion Square. It is to be hoped tha t every member who has the interests of the profession at heart will be presen t, and take his pa rt in the di sc ussion ; and also those ofthe professors who can see the damagi ng influence the Camden T own School reg ulations ha1·e on the publi c and the prac~itioners, so far as the practice of th e institution is co ncerned. It is rathe r surprisi ng that after your \·ery able " leade r ., on this subject, in th e :\ovember number of the VETERil\Ain· J Ot..:R:"i.\L o f I ~f; , four years should elapse before act ion is taken to redress the \Hon gs to which the metropolitan practitione rs ha1·e so patiently sub mitted for so very many years. I\Ir. Rowe said at th e meetin g that it arose fro m the fact that no one dared venture to" bell the cat." H oweve r, now this important duty has been done, I do tru st th e mem bers will dispro\·e your a spersions on them, in your J ournal of Augu st, 1S7 5 (pp. 110 and 11 1), which says . . . . . "The great majority of the profession keep a loof from aiding in any undertakin g, the advantage of which to them, under the present r/gime, they cannot be made to see." My belief is that th ey not only sec, but .f:cl, the disad1·antages of the prese nt state of things, and the reaso n for their reti ce nce is a " fe ar " of th e Principal of the St. l.'ancras School, with a disinclination to mar the happi ness of hi s colleagues in tutorial lt~t;·as, with whom most of us arc on terms of friend ship and esteem. The position of the Principal of the J~ nyal College at Camden Town, has been, from its foundation, th at of" Emperor " in th e world of Veterin ary l\ledicine. Heretofore, he has been the dispenser of all favoured " posts," the ;.;u ide of our " powers," a nd the "infallible " director of all the concerns of Veterinary Science in England. A nd who has been to blame for a ll this- the body of the profession, or its President? 1\1 y opini on is that the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons should ha1·e come out to th e public gaze years ago : the President and his Cou ncilmen bei ng (or should be), the sages of the An and Science, and take their responsible posi tion as the Directors of Veterinary Science in Eng-land, and never permit any School or T eac hing College, Principal, or Professo r, to direct or dictate. And it is to be hoped that the outcomings of this present movement will develop their responsibility to the profess ion and the publ ic, and lead to the assumption of their legal duti es, rights, and privileges. Previous to the year 1843, the Royal Veterinary College stood alone as the represe ntative institute of Veterinary Science, held all appointme nts, had a ll the responsibilities imposed on it, and gra nted its diploma. In that year the I~o y a l College of Veterina ry Surgeo!1S was :ounded, and for \\·hat purpose? \ \'hy, th e government of th e profession, its advan ce ment, and the examination of the students from the schools or colleges that were, or might be, thereafter establi shed, not only in England, b•a the United Kin gdo m. For years after the new foundation, th e \"Oice of the ,·arious profes sors of the R oyal Veterinary College was he:1rd abO \'e a ll others in council assemblies, and this continued do 1m to almost the present day. Let the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons take its positi on upon fa ir and jus t grounds, and if those in office now fa il to atta in the proper status for the college in the profess ional world, th en the profession must, a s one body, m ove it to its pedestal. In Dickens' dictio nary, and also in \\' hittaker's, no mention is m a d ~ of a Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, yet we fi nd a R oyal College of Sur;;eons, and a Royal Vete rin ary College, with its princip3.1 and teachers. Hall" is thi s? Be all this as it may, now the movement has bee n started, we must keep 1/W
Corresp ondmce.

6g

The GoYernors of the Royal Veterinary College h a,·ing the interest not on lY of their institutio n at heart, but the Veterinary A rt also, can not, and I a:n ·sure ,,·ill not, refu se to hea r the 1·oice of the practitioners, and will give the depu t~ttion a fair h earin g. It may ho11·e,·er be asked by them, why h ave we not heard of all this before? The ans1\·er is plain. A Field or a Mavor, those bo rn 11·ith the College, and a favou red fe11·, cared n ot for the College and its terms; the Army.-Vete rinary Surg-eon 11·as not in teres ted or affected by its terms either; it was only the h :1rd 11·orking, sober, h onest, intell igent and n eedy practitioner who fel t th e wei g h t. Complain or murmur he dared not, fo1· fear of di spleasing his teacher, whose frien ds hip h e needed if in a fix with a client. Hi s life (I mean professio nal, of course) depended on the summing up of the infallible teacher. So, as I h a1·e stated, the well to do, es tablished, leading practitioners care not ; the Army Veterinary S urgeons care not, and were not interes ted until you, ;\f r. Editor-a n army man-had th e barefaced effrontery to wr ite t hat "leader" of yours referred to by me ; and n ow, four years after· -.,·ards, we ha1·e action taken by a fee ble few. :\Iay th e little beginning lead to a large end ing, as the old proverb :;ocs. \\'hen our p resent Principal went in for the refon~1 he is wont to speak of, wonde rful it appears, he failed to see the pernicio us effect o f th e " Competition " on the g radua tes; and ha1·in g a rranged for hi g her fees from them, ofie;·e d the m som e commen surate ret urn " for bringing him more money," and better edu cati on .. . . . Pardon me, my dear Sir, I must heave a sigh . . . . \ Vas all thi s done by our dear old Princ ipal for th e cause of science, ele,·a tion of our profession, a nd th e attainment of better pospects and positi on in Society for our youn g gradu:Hes ? You obse n·e, truthfully, in your leader re ferred to, "the subscribers are a ll m~n of opulence ; " if they cont ract thus with th e poor we co uld understand it, for it is next to " n othing" as a charg-e, a nd if a learned professor assesses his fe e by contract thus, as a teacher, at 11·h:tt a mount will the public assess the fc c of the taught? The sys tem is damag ing, not only to th e interest of the profession in g eneral, but the Col lege also. I believe the students are injure d, fo r how many valuable and interestin~ cases wou ld the College a cquire from the metropo litan practitione r, did they but exist on terms of friendship and esteem, h;n·ing interests in common, and all working for one common end or objec t, "the advance men t of scientifi c: an d practical research comb ined." A far better prospect for advance th an the system of competitio n ! \:Vhat chance h .-~s a graduate, however well educated, agai nst such a collegiate system in side, and the acqu isitio n of all the most choice appo intments outside? S ure ly thi s can be n o inducemen t for young men of good family to join the p ro fessio n. And you must ofier some fair inducement ; for a young man who now embarks in practice has a very uphill road before him, and unl ess he stoo ps to associate with groom or coachman, he fa ils to get support ; for h is " diploma " docs not g ive him that social statu s which will warran t h im to ::~pp rm ch the owners. So, what with hi g her fees and education, the competition ins ide and ou t of t he College, a young man of good fam ily shou ld hesitate before h e steps into the profession, for the return is qu ite inadequate as th1 ngs now a re.

·

Ho we,·cr, all this can, by hon est efiort, be put in orde r, a nd then we must see 11·hat ca n be done t o stay th e opprobriolls remarks cast on us, as to our O~J taining a sou nd knowledge of Cattle Pathology-<'Z"d
;o

The Veteri11ary Journal.

Now what are we to say in reply to such a sweeping rem a rk in an agricultural pap~r of wide circulation? Our Coll ege has no practical cou rse of study; where, th en, are the students supposed to acquire it? How th e n ew arrange men t ''"ill satisfy the examiners and Royal Agricu lt ural Society, time will sh ow; but surely more rational means for obtainin~ a kn o wledge of the ox, cow, sheep, a nd pig, will b e di scovered, than the pe ramb ulatio n of teache r and tau ght in a cattle market. Goodness knows wh at the dealers and drovers will say! :\ly letter has no" · exceeded the usual limit, yet it is with reluctance I put don·n the pen. Defore I do so, I would ask your readers to peruse your "Editorial," or leader, in !\' o\·ember, 187 ;, "Journ al," between this and n ex t m eetin g. Du ri ng th e twenty-fi ve years I have been in the professio n, I have see n much impro ,·ement, a nd h ope ere I quit it to sec the " road" made smoot h for th ose who a rc to follow me, and that the remark the late 1\Ir. Mavor once made, "that th ey manufacture Veterinary Surgeons at Camden Town, and then stan·e them to deat h by ruin ous comp etiti on," can nc,· cr be repeated. r a m, dear s ir, yours, etc., R OBERT \V ,\RD, F.R.C.V.S. London, vV., J une roth, I 879· 0~

THE

DETENTIO~

I N TilE UTERUS OF THE lESTR .\L PRODUCTS I N THE LOWER Al\ D!ALS. T o l ite Editor rif !he VI·:n ;RJ:s'A RY jm..: RX .\1.. SIR,- I h a,·e to thank l\Ir. i\lacGillinay for taking up th e atovc s ubje ct, \\·hich was ope ned by me. \Vhen I did so, I did n ot intend to appea r again upon it, as my experience of thi s di so rder was limited ; but as .Mr. l\iacCillivray, in hi s criti cism of my remark s on the case whi ch I re corded in the Jfay number of thi s journal, has miscon strued certai n terms, I feel called upon to give a n explanation. The suggestion of scroful a a s a cause for the excess of th e fluid fo und in the uterus, in my case, was purely hypothetical, inasmuch as there was no conco mitants to warrant such for a ce rtainty. l\1 y employin g the term "scroful ous matte r " in a rather desul tory manncr has led :\Ir. i\I acG illivray to mi sin terpret my meanin g . By" scrofulous ma tter," I meant "scrofulous " pus (or pus dep ending upon a scroful ous cachexia). That the la tter may be form ed upon a mucous surface without lesions essentially scroful ous, is a fact too "·ell known to require further comment from me. The mucous membranes of scroful ous subjects arc Yery susceptible to diso rdered a ction, and the mu cous membrane of th e uterus excep tionally so, the slightest cause sometimes producing a purulent d ischarge. From this, coupled with the cha racte r o f th e conten ts of the uterus, which we re purulent, I was induced to favo ur the theory of scrofula. The reason I did n ot m ention the smell of th e fluid in my case, was because I did not come into possession of th e uterus until three d ays after the heifer ha d been slaughte red ; and after so lon g a time, in hot weath er, th e smell wo ul d not be the same as it would have been wh e n take n from th e body. But I ha ,-e a di stinc t recoll ec tion of what it was like, viz., slightl y putrefacti\"e, bu t offensive. I can not agree with :\Ir. :\lacG illivray that th e colour of the fluid in m y case is confi rmatory of his theor y of th e earlier periods of men stru;,.tion, a s the colour is really nothing to go by. If l\Ir. l\lacGillivray wi ll review the cases recorded on this subject, h e will find that the colour o f the fl uid is almost as vari able as the "shades" ; and, ind eed, th is is co m pa tib!c with hi s

Correspondma. nwn argument, when he asserts that a chan6e takes place in th e retained products ; thi s induces a n abnormal secreti on from the mucous membrane \ 11 ·hi ch is generally mu ch in excess of the c:cstral products), either dropsi cal or nu rulent, and this, in my opinion, is \\·hat makes the colour so variable. · I co rroborate i\1 r. l\lacGill inay's observations as to the character of the ,estral products fou nd in the uterus when an animal has been slaughtered whilst rutting; but I ne \·er found th e quantity amounting to two ounces. This might be accounted fnr by th e a n imals being slaughtered during th e \:a rlier part of th a t period. :\s they belonged to a butc her, and had bee n bought recently, I was unable to lea rn wh en they came in heat.- I am, si r, you rs respectfully, GEORGE GRAY. llakewell, June 14/!t. THE PH.OVISIO::\Jl\'G OF :\lE N AND HORSES DURING WAR.

T o the Editor ojl!tc VETE RI XMI.\' JO U R::-<'AL. SII<,- .\lthough England loses considerable quantities of horse.flesh 1\'hi ch i,; suitable for the alimentation of the public, yet well·informecl people kno\\' perfectly well that in France thi s fl esh is sold a nd eaten li ke th a t of the ox o r sheep, and that \\·hat can sen·e as nourishment on this side of the Channel may also be e mployed in th e same way on your side. It think 1 am e ntitled to be heard on this point. But what appears to be less kno\\'n, c\·en in France, is that dur ing war, and on every occasion when necess ity demands it, horses, ca ttle, and even sheep may be nourished w illt the jltslt "/animals of their own kind. England having at thi s moment several arm ies in the field, 1 bel ieve it will be usefu l, with a view to dimini sh th e pri\·ations and sufferings of men and horses, to make known the following r/wmt' of experiments made by :\L Laguer: il: re, a French l'l!ilitary Veterinary Surgeon, durin g the siege of :\letz :-" 1. There are occasions wh en it l)ecomes imperative to utili se the flesh of e\·e ry animal whi ch has died or hee n killed, for the sustenance of horses. 2. The rep ugnance of the horse to tlesh is far from being so g-reat ::IS is ge nerally believed. By a si mpl e preparatory tra ining, in diminishing th e ordinary rati on, or even in suppressi ng it altogether for one or two fe eds, horses can be rapid ly accustomed to a tles h n:l.{ime. 3· Horses perfec tly digest ei ther raw or cooked flesh, even n·ith more fa cility, a nd e specially m ore completely than they diges t vegetable !;ubstances. 4· H o rses fed on flesh thrive, fatt en , and gain in vi gour and energy if thi s subs tan ce is g iven in addition to the ordinary daily rati on, or even as a substitute for a large portion of that rati on. 5· The flesh may be t:i\·en raw to a ce rtain number of anim als, but it is preferable to cook it completely by boiling it, wh\: n it can be given in the form of draught. 6. Cooked or un cooked, the fle sh should be vety fin ely di\·ided, reduced to hash, then triturated and mixed with other more or less alimenta ry sub· stances chiefly destined to se n ·e a s a vehicle : leaves of trees, vines, straw, hay, gorse, grains, roo ts, or any oth er vege table producti ons. \ \The n circum stan ces permit, some common salt sh ould be added. 7. Only a very small <.j Liantity of flesh should be !{iven at first, and the allowance should be pro:.;ressive ly increased. 1 haYe given a s much as two and three kilogramm es dai ly per horse, and then the fles h formed a lmost exclusi~·e ly the diet. 8. Certain horses readily eat the fl esh-mixture from the hand, and for the majority it is better to employ the musette. For others it is preferable to place the mixture on the grou nd or in the manger, if the latter is present. 9· Several horses at once eat morsels of raw fl esh if it is only dusted with bran, flour, or grains, or placed between tree leaves ; ll'hile later these same animal s take the flesh without the slightest preparation. 10. Finally, if horses absolutely refuse the animal regime, it will be easy to 0\'ercome their

72

The Vetcn"nmy :Journal.

repu gnance by drying the CO(I!:·ed flesh, r educi ng it to powder, and making it form part of the composi tion of prepared bread with salted vegetab le substances." I ought to add to the above, th at :\1. Laguerri ere had made numerous e xperiments before recommending, in cases of extreme necessity, the use of horse or ox-flesh as horse food . I am co nvinced that in th e unfortu nate campaign in South Africa, the English a rmy mi gh.t profit from the p receding obsenations, and this is my reason for making them known. I am a ware that people placed in ordina ry conditions " ·ill laugh at my proposal to make horse eat horse ; but it is not for these persons th at I write but for soldiers, and for horses dying from hunger, as I have witnessed them so frequentl y during war, and especially in th e Crimea, Africa, etc., while considerable quantities of horse-flesh were allowed to rot . Yours most respectfull y, E. D ECROIX, R etired Principal Vcf('n·nary Smgeon, Frmclt Army . [We sincerely thank our esteemed colleague for his valuab le obse n ·ations and hints, a nd urgently recomme nd them to the notice of Arm y Veterinary Surgeons and medical men, feeling sati sfied that they may be remembered with profi t should the circumstances alluded to e ver occur in th e ir experience.]

CORRECTIONS AND ANSWERS. IN Mr. Merrick's raper in the last issue of the J ournal, the dose of Chlorat e of Potass should be two dradmiS, instead of two ou t~ ccs. AMATE UR. - The Secretary of the R oyal Coll ege of Veteri nary Surgeons will furni sh a Regi ster if you apply for it. I n th is country no ex amination or special qualificati ons are required in order to become a professor, or rather a teacher, at a Veterinary School. In France and Germany it is ex tremely diffi cul t to obtain the post, and candidates have to give evi dence of ve ry exceptional abilities, eithe r by competition or otherwi se. N.B. - \Ve shall have much pleasure in allud ing to the subject next month.

Communications, Books, Journals, etc., Received. COMM UN ICAT IONS have been recei ved from J. \ V. Hill, \ Volverhampton; J. T emple, Aberdare; \V. Broughton, L eeds; J. R. Dewa r, l\Iidmar, Aberdeen; P. Beattie, '.furriff, A benleen ; A. Rutherford, E dinburgh ; Dr. Dolan, Halifax ; P rofessor Law, Cornell University ; Professor Steel, London ; S. Locke, Manch ester ; G. A. Banham, L ondon; i\'1. E. Decroix, Principal Veter inary Surgeon, France ; T. H. Merrick, K ettering; G. Gray, Bakewell; G. R. Dudgeon, Sunderland ; D. Hutcheon, Liverpool; Dr. D olan , Halifax; J. :\IcFadyean, Ed inburgh. BOOKS A: