! 
 
 
 SF 907 
 .C33 
 
 Copy l VETEKlNABf SCIENCE, 
 
 I IMPORTANT 
 
 TO THE 
 
 Physician, the Student, and the Gentleman of Philadelphia; 
 
 GIVING AN ACCOUNT OF THE 
 ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE OF LONDON, 
 
 AND 
 
 A SIMILAR ESTABLISHMENT IN THIS CITY; 
 
 OF 
 
 A New Veterinary Forge, and Horse Infirmary, 
 
 FOR INSTRUCTING 
 
 CITY AND COUNTRY SMITHS 
 In that Important Branch of Domestic Science called 
 
 if hub M©aas?(a & rip's 
 
 A COMPARISON OF THE TWO SYSTEMS 
 
 BETWEEN 
 
 0im anii #or^e. 
 
 ALSO, 
 
 COMPARATIVE SHOEING EXPLAINED, 
 
 DESCRIPTIVE OF 
 
 A PLAN FOR DISSEMINATING THIS NECESSARY AND USEFUL 
 
 BRANCH OF SCIENCE THROUGHOUT THE 
 
 UNITED STATES. 
 
 By J. CARVER, Veterinary rgeon, 
 T. S, Manning-, Prin i 
 

 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 IT may not be improper, while treating on the manage- 
 ment of the feet, and the shoeing art generally, concerning 
 which public curiosity has been much raised, that a few ne- 
 cessary and useful hints should be given respecting smiths. 
 At the same time I cannot help indulging a bope that the 
 argument I sbal'l advance on this subject, may operate so as 
 to produce stronger conviction m the public mind of the 
 necessity of viewing this branch of domestic science in some- 
 what a different point of view, than has hitherto been cus- 
 tomary; and that although much may be effected to prevent 
 contraction in young horses, there are many, say seven out 
 of every ten, which have already been used in the city, and 
 which the custom of shoeing, with whatever skill and care 
 it may be executed, or upon whatever principle it may be 
 practised, is sure, sooner or later, to bring along with it some 
 evil. I therefore do not conceive it utterly inapplicable to 
 the present subject, if I say a few words in favour of those 
 smiths, who exercise the trade of shoeing.' Few men, I be- 
 lieve has more to do with this class of mechanics than my worthy 
 preceptor Mr. Coleman, and as no one vindicates their cause 
 more justhj or more readily than he does, I do it more cheerfully 
 myself, on account of having unequivocally laid to their charge, 
 one offence more than usually appears against them in their 
 criminal calendar, already sufficiently heavy. 
 
 But justice with him obliges me to say, that I know not 
 any mechanics, that are subject to'more indiscrimate censure 
 and abuse, and who are therefore on that account, more to 
 be pitied, than those who follow the occupation of shoeing. 
 For a slight irregularity or blunder which in a lock smith, 
 or jobbing smith, would be considered a mere venal fault, 
 is in the case of the shoeing smith, converted into a crime of 
 the deepest dye. On some account, indeed, it is natural it 
 

 4 
 
 should b? so, for a sober half hour will often remedy the 
 mischie by either of the former artificers; whereas days 
 and weeks, nay months, may be required to counteract the 
 evil consenuences of an unskilful, or careless stroke of the 
 hammer ofthe latter. Or it may happen, that the evil pro- 
 duced will admit of no remedy, and that the horse shall ci- 
 ther die of a lock jaw, or become incurably lame. 
 
 Now, though I am' far from meaning to palliate the fault 
 of negligence, and far less the crime of drunkenness, yet, it 
 ought to be recollected, that the shoeing smith lias an intri- 
 cate and complicated part of a valuable machine, (the internal 
 mechanism of which, he is but little acquainted with), to keep 
 in order; and that accidents are inseparable from the practice 
 of his, as well as every other mechanical art. Instead thereof 
 of vilifying and abusing a sober industrious smith, when such 
 a misfortune occurs, as laming a horse in shoeing, let it be 
 the endeavour of the proprietor, to convince that man, that 
 what has happened, has occurred from wounding the sensible 
 Lamii;, , and not pricking the quick as they call it. For this, 
 by alarming him more seriously on the score of the probable 
 consequence of future negligence, will have the effect of in- 
 creasing his caution; and I am perfectly satisfied, that if 
 it were once generally understood by practical smiths, that 
 the stale excuse of binding or pinching the foot, would no 
 longer avail them, this conviction alone, would produce great- 
 er circumspection on their part; and fewer horses would be 
 lamed, from a hasty or careless mode of driving the nails; 
 but so long as there exists such a strong feeling of hostility 
 in the public mind against these people as a body, it must not 
 only be productive of great injustice towards, and much in- 
 discriminate abuse of, individuals, but must, inevitably per- 
 petuate the evils so commonly laid to their charge; and thus 
 utterly preclude all hopes of amendment, in their morals and 
 conduct. 
 
 For, how often have I witnessed a stern austere employer, 
 accost a humble, sober, industrious smith, just about to enter 
 upon his labour in such a way, as if he conceived the latter 
 was intent upon wilfully injuring, or laming a horse. Now, 
 
is this the way, let me ask, to encourage the industrious me- 
 chanic, or to raise him from that degraded condition, which 
 the arbitrariness of custom, and the effect of vulgar preju- 
 dice, have reduced him to? or rather, would not a more humane 
 and enlightened policy suggest a mode of treatment diametri- 
 cally opposite to this? 
 
 Let shoeing smiths that .are sober and good workmen be 
 duly encouraged, and like other mechanics let them be enabled, 
 by the exercise of their trade, to earn as much as jobbing 
 smiths, and the other lower kind of artists are enabled to do; 
 and we soon shall see a different race of men step forward, 
 to wipe away the odium, which their craft has been indiscri- 
 minately exposed to for ages. For may we not see daily in- 
 stances of people giving preference to a jobbing Smith, or a 
 lock smith, in fact, to the vilest and most worthless mechanic, 
 especially if he has the character of being clever, for the em- 
 ployment of one half hour such a sum as they would pay 
 grudgingly to a shoeing smith, for five or six hours hard la- 
 bour. In this respect, indeed there is an absurdity in the pub- 
 lic mind, not easily to be accounted for. Few are so ignorant, 
 as not to be fully sensible and ready to admit, that the shoe- 
 ing smith has a very valuable piece of mechanism entrusted to 
 his care, which he is expected to keep in order, whilst he is 
 refused at the same time, the greatest of all human incentives 
 to industry, & proper reward for his labour. 
 
 I throw out these hints, the more freely and readily, be- 
 cause I have no interest in the advice contained in them, 
 knowing that my friends and the public in general must see the 
 motive by which I am still actuated in thus giving away in a 
 manner the secrets, as well as the profits of my profession. 
 If, however, I can blend a public good with my own interest, 
 I still reserve a sufficiency for my own comforts and wants. 
 I certainly deserve well of my country, and of those for whom 
 my long labours have been so faithfully exerted, to make 
 them see their own interests in adopting a more humane and 
 political, as well as an economical treatment towards those 
 honest and faithful slaves to their services, (the horse,) whose 
 aid and efforts are exerted for our wants ; and who is both our 
 

 slave and our support; who give profit to the poor and plea- 
 sure to the rich ; in health forwards our concerns, and in sick- 
 ness lends a willing assistance for our recovery. In a word, 
 nature has endowed km with that, perception, which yields 
 him the knowledge of every service we can and ought in gra- 
 titude to render him/ If, therefore, such be the qualities of so 
 noble a creature, surely he who has devoted his life and ta- 
 lents to the service and study of his infirmities, has surely 
 some claim to the patronage and protection of his country. 
 
 How ever, like many other evils in society, it is a fact, 
 much easier felt and perceived than remedied,- nevertheless I 
 am not without hopes, that what I have here loosely suggest- 
 ed, may be acted upon by the humane and enlightened, in such 
 a way as to be productive of some partial good, if not to my- 
 self, at least to the community. 
 
 At the same time it is equally clear to me, that, in order 
 to lessen these enormous evils, of stable mismanagement, shoe- 
 ing, &c. we have not by any means so much to learn, as to 
 unlearn. 
 
 For, the lessons of instinct are plain and simple. To ena- 
 ble us to understand these no learning is necessary to be ob- 
 tained; in order to decypher them no oil need be expended; 
 they are written in broad and legible characters, in the great 
 book of nature, by the finger of the Deity. 
 
 But the grand difficulty in the way of improvement, is 
 that thick mist of prejudice, which obscures the mental op- 
 tics, and prevents most people from discerning, not only what 
 is merciful and just, but even that which is economical and 
 politic. 
 
 If, however, we could but once be prevailed upon to shake 
 off the trammels of custom, and to forsake the beaten track 
 of fashion, and to tread in the path of nature and simplicity, 
 not only would the great cause of humanity be effectually 
 served by the change, but ere any great length of time could 
 elapse, men would begin to discover, that their own interests 
 are now intimately connected with mercy, in the treatment of 
 these animals, than at the first blush would seem to be the 
 case. But as long as people of higher classes shall continue to 
 

 advocate indirectly the cause of folly and cruelty, by sticking 
 for the present absurd system of treating and shoeing horses, 
 the prospect of amendment seems indeed disant, and any ra- 
 tional hope or expectation of seeing the thing accomplished, 
 is utterly hopeless. 
 
 Thus how often may one person of the above description 
 be heard to say, I cannot bear to ride a horse with a rough 
 coat, and therefore I will not give up my plan of clothing, nor 
 that of maintaining a comfortable warmth in my stables; there- 
 fore be sure John to shut too the left windows — and when it 
 snows, or blows hard, stop the crevices and bottoms of the 
 stable doors with dung, and the fumes arising from that litter 
 and urine will be sure to keep the horses warm. 
 
 A second — I detest the look of a large belly, and accord- 
 ingly I will stint my horse (even in summer) to less than one 
 half the quantity of water he would naturally be inclined to 
 take. 
 
 A third — I think my horse don't carry a good tail; besides, 
 it is too long to look handsome; I will therefore get it nick'd, 
 dock'd, and bobb'd. 
 
 A fourth— I think my horse's hoofs look much better when 
 glossy than dull, and for this reason I will order the smith to 
 rasp them, and my groom to oil them daily. 
 
 A fifth — My horse seems to wink his eyes very much. I 
 am afraid he is going to get the lock-jaw; people tell me he 
 has got the hooks — I will therefore send him to the black- 
 smith, who knows how to cut them out. 
 
 A sixth — I think my horse has not got a good coat; it looks 
 rough; besides, it stands on end, and he looks poor. I will 
 therefore order him to be bled in the mouth, three or four 
 cpi arts, and when he has suck'd the greatest part of this down, 
 lie will thrive and look well. People tell me that blood is a 
 good physic, and will make the horse thrive. 
 
 A seventh — My horse's ears are rough, long and shaggy ; 
 besides, they stand too wide; therefore I will not only order 
 them to be trimm'd out, but the greater part of them to be 
 cutofF!!! 
 
 Here is both wisdom and science combined. 
 
■ 
 
 8 
 
 Whilst, I say, in order to justify the absurdities of fa- 
 shion, We hear people of a superior class have recourse to 
 such arguments, I will not use the term reason, for that 
 would look like a desire to dignify nonsense. What rational 
 hope can be indulged respecting a change of system, in the 
 lower orders, who, it is well known, take the tone from their 
 superiors? 
 
 In short, until the nominally great, shall prove themselves 
 to be really so, by rising above such prejudices, and instead 
 of falling in with, and palliating such monstrous infringe- 
 ments of the rules of common sense, and such gross viola- 
 tions of the laws of humanity, as have been glanced at, shall 
 determine to make good sense and benevolence fashionable, 
 the great mass of absurdity of which our stable system con- 
 sists, will never be materially lessened. 
 
 For, until this desirable change be effected, it can require 
 no spirit of prophecy to be able to predict, that divines may 
 preach, and moralists inveigh, that philosophers may disco- 
 ver, and legislators enact, but all in vain ; for neither the 
 sermons of a Blair, nor the maxims of a Paley, nor the lec- 
 tures of a Davy or a Coleman, nor solemn acts of parliament 
 or congress will avail, in remedying these evils. 
 
 If, however, such a happy era should ever arrive, the bu- 
 siness might be said to be accomplished, and humanity will 
 have cause to rejoice. 
 
 As respects myself, let my sins be what they may in this 
 world, I shall die in the happy consolation, that when ar- 
 raigned before the supreme court of the other world, at least 
 no four-legged gentleman will ever appear against me. 
 
 J. CARVER, ^ S. 
 
To the Honourable Judge Peters, Dr. Mease^ 
 General Cadwallader, Roberts Vaucc, Reuben 
 Hams*, Jeremiah Warder, Wm. Sansom, John 
 Tomlinson, and Dr. Shaw. 
 
 GE3VT1EME]V> 
 
 DEEMING you so justly entitled to the first tender 
 of an Essay of this sort* from the station many of you hold 
 in public life, and the estimation which all your private 
 characters bear, that whatever presumption there may ap^ 
 pear to be, in making it without permission, I flatter myself 
 that I cannot easily be censured for the apparent improprie- 
 ty of this address. 
 
 I cannot forbear offering some remarks respecting the Ve- 
 terinary Profession, independent of the subject of the new Ve- 
 terinary Forges, I aninow establishing in this city, with a vie\v 
 -of laying the foundation stone, for ameliorating the Diseases 
 of Quadrupeds in general, and in order to give encourage- 
 ment to those who may still feel a want of confidence in not 
 knowing its having assumed the form of a science, and to the 
 public generally, who have hitherto withheld their support, as 
 if it were a derogatory and hopeless profession. There is no 
 art, it may be maintained, so perplexed and difficult, that by 
 human industry and research, steadily and properly exerted, 
 cannot be rendered more clear and practicable; to accomplish 
 this, however, time must be allowed. Having now for some 
 months past commenced practice, and having performed seve- 
 ral successful cures in an epidemic disease, which made its ap- 
 pearance in this city during last winter; the resutt of those 
 inquiries being now before you, the progress no doubt will be 
 more rapid, and its service to the horse and to mankind will, 
 assuredly be felt. 
 
 Some disappointment has without doubt arisen, from un- 
 founded expectations of relief in desperate and hopeless cases, 
 where human art could not avail; and some, not finding their 
 interest served in this respect, have become rancorous ene- 
 mies to the establishment of the New Forges as well as the 
 profession. «« The Fruit has been sought before the Blossom 
 

 10 
 
 was unfolded." Still there can be no doubt, that if human 
 medicine and surgery have been aided by public establish- 
 ments, the vertininary art must admit of improvement by the 
 same means ; and that cloud of imbecility that has so long ob- 
 scured and stigmatised the profession in this country now pro- 
 mises gradually to be dispelled, and no doubt that in a few 
 years, there will not be a city, a town, or a country village in 
 the United States, but will have to boast a practitioner, 
 whose abilities may do honour to a great national institution ; 
 and if any exertions on my part, as a fellow citizen should 
 have been devoted to obtain this useful and desirable end, I 
 feel already the pleasing consolation that I shall die happy* 
 in having done my duty. 
 
 I cannot however conclude without the satisfaction of re- 
 cording the many marks of friendship and assistance shown 
 to me by Jeremiah Warder, Reuben Haines, the late Dr. 
 Rush, General Cadwallader, Judge P&ers and others, on the 
 entrance of my professional studies at my departure for the 
 Veterinary College. The services of these friends, with plea- 
 sure I acknowledge, have been most gratifying to me. 
 
 I cannot at the same time, fail to mention the friendly as- 
 sistance of Messrs. G. Morrison, Wurts, and Ely of Boston, 
 and others of this city, whose friendly aid while at college, 
 and at a period, when it was most wanted and felt. And not 
 less, also, do I feel indebted to the friendship of Doctors 
 Chapman and Hewson, for their professional and friendly 
 support and cheerful compliance in attending the examina- 
 tion of the death of Mr. Chancellor's horses. Not forgetting 
 my worthy and particular friend Mr. C.Watson, since my re- 
 turn to the city. 
 
 I have long foreseen, gentlemen, the innumerable difficul- 
 ties which still accumulate before me ; I feel myself however 
 sufficiently bold to encounter them, and although the task 
 which my present situation imposes on me is great, no exer- 
 tions on my part shall be wanting. Still, to exert every ability 
 to fulfil it, and if the public which now honour me with its 
 confidence, shall continue to encourage this well-meant en- 
 deavour to alleviate the sufferings of the brute creation, I 
 
Jl 
 
 shall also make every exertion to correspond with their can- 
 dour, by rendering myself useful in my station. 
 
 Some of you, gentlemen, are proprietors of a very conside- 
 rable stock of cattle,- and the many different maladies and dis- 
 orders, to which the whole species are particularly exposed 
 and subject, and which consequently, in gratitude require our 
 friendly aid and assistance; and as this branch of domestic 
 science called the Veterinary Art, which I have now the honour 
 to profess among you, has stood so preeminently useful in your 
 opinions, I flatter myself that the following sheets will not be 
 an unacceptable token of respect. All I mean by this attempt, 
 is to endeavour to be useful : 
 
 I only desire Mr. Pope's rules may be observed^ 
 
 " In every work regard the writer's end, 
 Ifot free from fault, nor yet too vain to mend." 
 
 And should this imperfect performance, for want of a bet- 
 ter, prove commendable to society, by these few hints which 
 I have drawn together, I shall with pleasing satisfaction re- 
 flect, that I have endeavoured to contribute my mite towards 
 the benefit of mankind, as well as the brute creation. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 Gentlemen, your respectful 
 And obedient servant, 
 
 J. CARVER, 
 
 Philada.f May, 1817. 
 
13K. CARTER'S 
 
 Repository, Veterinary Forge, 
 
 AND 
 
 HICDMSE QSHFUSS&&R7 
 
 9 
 
 FOR THE 
 
 Improvement of the Shoeing Jh% 
 
 ON PK0FESS0K COLEMAN^ SYSTEM. 
 
 As now adopted at the different Veterinary Colleges of England, Ire- 
 land, Scotland, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Russia, and British 
 India. 
 
 BR. CARVER, 
 
 Veterinary Surgeon and Professor of Animal Medicine, 
 
 From the Royal Veterinary College, London, 
 
 Respectfully informs his friends and the subscribers to 
 this establishment, that he has opened a Repository, new Ve- 
 terinary Forge, and Horse Infirmary, at John W. Greggor's, 
 in Zane, between Seventh and Eighth street, formerly the old 
 Spread Eagle, occupied by Mr. J, Tomlinson, where personal 
 attendance will be given to see the same properly conducted 
 on scientific principles. 
 
 Dr. Carver having long foreseen the want of such an es- 
 tablishment, with a view of obviating the many difficulties to 
 which gentlemen are often subject, of keeping their horses 
 sound in their feet, has, in conjunction with this branch of the 
 veterinary art, established a ten stall range of new Ventilated 
 StaMes, on the College plan, for saddle horses, where gentle- 
 
13 
 
 men for the annual subscription of Five Dollars per week, will 
 have their horses shod on the above system ; veterinary medi- 
 cal treatment, keep, exercise, and many other advantages of 
 advice in a professional way for that sum, and where gentle- 
 men may at all times apply with confidence, and depend on 
 dealing with a man of honour and integrity. 
 
 The grand object of establishing these forges are not only 
 with a view of curing and preventing, canker, corns, thrushes, 
 and contraction, four of the most formidable diseases to which 
 the foot of the horse is subject, and proves the entire destruc- 
 tion of many thousand horses in this city; but with the view 
 of introducing and disseminating the principles and practice 
 of the shoeing art, together with the intention of opening a 
 school of instruction, to which city and country smiths, are in- 
 vited to attend, and receive private lectures on the anatomy, 
 economy, and functions of the foot of the living horse, by 
 which means this useful and domestic science may gradually 
 become dispersed throughout the union. Medical students 
 are also invited to render themselves useful in their neigh- 
 bourhoods where they may reside, by receiving instruction in 
 the anatomy and physiology of the horse, by learning how to 
 perform operations and administering medicine, where no re- 
 gular, or scientific aid can be procured. Sensible of the ad- 
 vantages which may be made to result by obtaining a know- 
 ledge of comparative anatomy in this way, the young student 
 may, without disparagement to his profession, be rendering a 
 useful peice of service to himself and his country,- we may 
 then hope to see that the time is at length arrived, when these 
 things will be in a fair way of reformation altogether, and 
 that cloud of imbecility which has so long obscured and stig- 
 matized the practice of this profession, will gradually be dis- 
 pelled, and it must be the anxious hope of every liberal 
 minded and good man, that in a few years there may not be 
 a city, town, or country village in the United States, but will 
 have to boast a practitioner, whose abilities may do honour 
 to a great national institution. Divers other things might also 
 be noticed to illustrate the methodus medendi." 
 

 14 
 
 Dr. Carver will receive patients into his infirmary at the 
 usual charge of four dollars per week, with a moderate but 
 economical charge for medical treatment; but in extraordinary 
 bad cases where surgical operations may be deemed necessary 
 a further charge will of course not be thought extravagant. 
 
 CITIES, 
 COUNTRY TOWNS AND VILLAGES, 
 
 AND 
 
 PROPRIETORS 
 Mail and Stage Coach Establishments, 
 
 Will find it an object of great commercial, as well as domes- 
 tic importance to their own interests in obtaining smiths, and 
 inviting them to receive instruction and to establish themselves 
 on their different lines. In a political point of view, also this es- 
 tablishment may become of great importance which must be suf- 
 ficiently manifest; so fully of late, was the utility of it estima- 
 ted by the government of England, Ireland, and Scotland, in 
 their military and mail department, that an annual grant of 
 15,000Z. has been voted for the support of the veterinary col- 
 lege, and for the education of pupils for the improvement of 
 the shoeing art. 
 
 Proprietors of such establishments will therefore find it 
 their interest to consult Dr. Carver, or the following gentle- 
 men. 
 
 Happily for the profession itself, and much more happily 
 
 for the community at large, that similar advantages are be- 
 ginning to make some progress by the aforesaid establishment, 
 and it is to be hoped that the time is not far distant, when it 
 will be further honoured by a legislative contribution, under 
 which predictive ray of reformation, part of the present ge- 
 
15 
 
 Deration, may probably not only derive future advantage* but 
 live to see the former system rescued from ignorance and bar- 
 barity, by which it has long been disgraced in this part of the 
 world. The following gentlemen, therefore seeing the igno- 
 rance and incompetency of farriers and others, who have hith- 
 erto practised on the diseases of horses in this city, (and to 
 remedy this, and meet the evil, inthe most effectual manner) 
 have cheerfully stepped forward, to sanction and support it. 
 
 The Medical Patrons are 
 
 DR. CHAPMAN, Professor of Anatomy, M. M. 
 DR. HEWSON, Professor of Comparative Anatomy. 
 
 The Patrons friendly to Dr. Carver's New Establishment, are 
 
 Reuben Haines, Jeremiah Warder, 
 
 Roberts Vaux, William Sansom, 
 
 John Tomlinson, Dr. Mease, 
 
 M. Wurts, W. Wurts, 
 
 Mr. Morrison, Charles Watson, 
 
 Condy Raguet, Mr. Schlatter, 
 
 Wilson Hunt, Jno. Vaughan 
 
 Alexander Henry, 
 To whom proprietors of the above mentioned establish- 
 ments, city or country smiths may apply for an introduction to 
 Dr. Carver, and who on receiving the same, shall be supplied 
 with models of all the patent college Shoes, Hammers, Coun- 
 tersink Nails, Punches, Fullers, Instruments, and Drawing 
 Knives, &c. The Butteris must be abolished for the use of 
 the Drawing Knife, and smiths being instructed in the use 
 of that instrument, by Dr. Carver, will be entitled to shoe 
 on the above principle, for no less than $1 50 a set. Every 
 gentleman travelling to different parts of the United States, 
 and desirous of giving encouragement to the establishment for 
 disseminating this useful and necessary branch of domestic 
 science, will be entitled to a set of the model patent shoes, and 
 on bringing his horse or horses, to the forge for examination 
 to Dr. Carver, he will be instructed in their use and applica- 
 tion. 
 
16 
 
 Country smiths, respectable young men desirous of emula- 
 ting in this branch of the veterinary art, as well as to learn 
 the surgical, operative parts of the profession will do well to 
 apply before the ensuing winter. And every person being so 
 instructed, and found qualified, will receice a proper certificate 
 signed by the medical patrons, gentlemen and professor of the 
 aforesaid establishments as being better qualified to practice 
 with advantage to themselves and to the public. 
 
 Note. — Dr. Carver being a member of the London Veterinary Medical 
 Society, and having been instructed in the art of compounding veterinary 
 medicine at the college pharmacopoeia, has also established a small labora- 
 tory at his own house, where gentlemen, travelling to the different parts of 
 the United States, may be supplied with what medicines they may want. 
 City and country druggists desirous of retailing an arrangement of the 
 above ready prepared medicines, may be supplied also. Each article con- 
 taining a regular practical treatise on the complaint intended to be remov- 
 ed. 
 
 SUBJECTS 
 
 WHICH WILL BE TAUGHT AND DEMONSTRATED 
 
 TO EVERY SMITH, 
 
 ON RECEIVING INSTRUCTION, 
 
 AT THE NEW VETEMINJIBY FORGE. 
 
 1. AN introductory Lecture giving a general view of the 
 nature of the Shoeing Art. 
 
 £. The views commonly entertained of the Shoeing Art, and 
 causes of its defects by various characters, supposed to have 
 a knowledge of these things. 
 
 S. Reasonings founded on the natural foot, but are irreve- 
 lent on the foot being shod. 
 
 4. Various principles of shoeing, as they are called, exam- 
 ined. Good and bad shoeing pointed out. 
 
 5. One principle only— to follow nature as near as we can, 
 that defined and how to be obtained. 
 
17 
 
 6. Fitting shoes, and (Living nails, discretion; ! circum- 
 stances only, pointed out. 
 
 7. The difference of the foot after shoeing observed, with a 
 series of nine years experiments for accurately ascertaining 
 the effects of the shoe after being shoo, by B. Clark, F. L. S. 
 
 and V. S. 
 
 8. A variety of different experiments on the foot of the living 
 horse, explained, during my residence at the college. 
 
 9. A description of the foot and hoof of the horse, in which 
 their true nature is endeavoured to be established, not merely 
 as a defence for the foot, but as a non-resisting machinery for 
 the exertions of the animal and repose of the weight, pointed 
 out and explained. 
 
 10. Of the heels, apparent offices of the heels as elastic 
 beds for the weight of ihe animal, explained and pointed out. 
 
 11. The extraordinary state of the foal's foot, which does 
 not obtain its full developement until the fifth year, explained 
 
 and pointed out. 
 
 12. How the weight is received and distributed over the ba- 
 sis of the foot, exhibited, explained and pointed out. 
 
 13. Wall of the foot described; its curious termination in 
 the centre of the foot, explained and pointed out by dissection. 
 The bars as elastic processes also denned. 
 
 14. Of the frog, how a space in the foot is provided for it 
 by nature, as the elastic key-stone of the foot, demonstrated 
 by dissection. Also the cleft of the frog and the frog-stay de- 
 scribed. 
 
 15. Cushion of the frog and its uses described and demon- 
 strated by dissection. 
 
 16. An extraordinary hitherto undescribed part the cono- 
 ary frog band, pointed out by dissection. 
 
 17. The frog-stay described by dissection; the rupture of 
 that organ described and pointed out as the real cause of run- 
 ning thrush, by B. Clark, V. S. 
 
 18. The frog shown to possess the power of maintaining 
 its own figure; and the curious doctrine of shoeing smiths in 
 this respect, pointed out. 
 
IS 
 
 19. Their rcaaons for cutting the frog explained, and the 
 remarkable interruption to the growth of it from that cause, 
 pointed out. 
 
 20. How ascertained; its causes suggested, and the cutting 
 of it unnecessary, nearly in all cases. The frequent cause of 
 ragged frogs pointed out for the above cause. The natural 
 full grown frog, never ragged if never cut, pointed out. 
 
 21. The singular effect of shoeing on the frog described, 
 with its natural exfoliations considered and explained. 
 
 22. The different degrees of pressure the frog ought to re- 
 ceive when in health, and when in a state of disease, pointed out. 
 
 23. The sole, its singular mechanism exhibited by dissection. 
 
 24. Thickens by shoeing, and the wall also retarded and 
 disturbed in its growth by shoeing, explained. 
 
 25. The horny and sensible lamina described by dissection. 
 500 of the former surrounding the anterior surface of the 
 wall, with 500 of the latter plates of horn surrounding' the 
 posterior surface of the coffin bone, and coming in contact 
 with each other, is shown to support the whole weight of the 
 animal, proved by experiments at the Veterinary College. 
 
 26. The bearings of the natural hoof on the ground— its 
 natural exfoliations, &c. pointed out— its natural form at five 
 years old, as broad from heel to heel as from heel to toe, also 
 explained— never of an oblong form in a state of nature if 
 never shod. 
 
 27. On standing in the stable— how it proves the entire de- 
 struction of the foot for want of proper stable treatment and 
 management. 
 
 28. On shoeing— on neat shoeing— on levelling the toe— on 
 expanding of feet — how to be obtained ; together with a closer 
 examination of the nature of these things pointed out and ex- 
 plained—how and why the shoeing art has for so many ages 
 been involved in a cloud of darkness.* With conclusions how 
 this branch of the veterinary art may be drawn from contempt 
 to respectability. 
 
 Xote. The great evils produced by cutting, its causes and its remedies, 
 together with a number of experiments on different horses, tried at the 
 Veterinary College, explained and pointed out. 
 
Dr. Carver deeming it of great importance to rectify and 
 determine the weight of the shoe, recommends the following 
 to the notice of the public. 
 
 It is a matter of astonishment to see some horses with shoes 
 weighing each 3, 4, and 5 lbs. making together a burden of 
 12, 16 and 20 lbs. of iron attached to their four feet. It must 
 be obvious to common sense, that such an additional weight 
 fixed to the extremities of the leg, must be productive of some 
 inconvenience or other, by compelling the muscles and liga- 
 ments to greater exertion than necessary, beside other evil 
 consequences, as the weight forcing out the nails, and thereby 
 spoiling the texture of the crust, &c. Why then, we may ask, 
 do not the shoeing smiths, who are daily impressed of these 
 evils, and who are themselves the very authors of them, apply 
 themselves to the correction of their own errors? The answer, 
 I fear, is obvious, because he who is uneducated, and destitute 
 of sound principles in his art, cannot turn to real profit the 
 experience he has acquired, nor abandon the force of preju- 
 dice and custom in which he has so long journeyed ; but sa- 
 tisfies himself to imitate and repeat only whatever he has seen 
 or heard by others. 
 
 The weight of the shoes proposed by Dr. C. are as follow : 
 
 1. For wagon, cart or dray horses, from 2 lbs. to 2 lbs. 12 ozs. 
 
 2. For small horses of this kind, from 1 lb. to 2 lbs. 
 
 3. For largest size coach horses, from 1 lb. to 1 lb. 12 ozs. 
 
 4. The small size do. do. from 14 ozs. to 1 lb. 4 ozs. 
 
 5. For large saddle horses, from 1 lb. to 1 lb. 4 ozs. 
 
 6. For small size do. from 12 ozs. to 1 lb. 
 7- For race horses, from 3 to 5 ozs. 
 
 Dr. Carver's reasons for reducing the weight of shoes as 
 above stated are as follow : 
 
 If a horse can be made to travel as safe, find as long with 
 a light shoe of only a few ounces, why should pounds be ad- 
 ded ? By reducing the superfluous breadth of shoes, their thick- 
 ness may be increased without making any addition to their 
 weight. 
 
 I am, however, of the following opinion: that from the race 
 horse to the cart horse, the same system of shoeing should be 
 
 ■ 
 
&0 
 
 observed. The size, thickness, and weight of them only, should 
 differ. The shoe of a race horse must, of course, be lighter 
 than that of a saddle horse; a saddle horse lighter than that 
 of a coach or bat horse, and these last, more so than that of 
 a cart, wagon or artillery horse. Shoes have until lately in 
 almost every country been made too heavy; but if the iron be 
 good, and well hammer-hardened, until cold — a pound of iron 
 worked in this way may be converted into half a pound of 
 steel, and still answer all the purposes intended. 
 
 REMARKS AND OBSERVATIONS 
 
 ON 
 
 THE TRUE PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 SHOEING ART. 
 
 Many of my friends, I perceive, hold out hopes that by 
 the establishment of these forges a more politic system in 
 shoeing of horses is at last beginning to prevail, and though 
 a regular treatise cannot, at present, be written to explain 
 every tiling necessary on the subject, it is sufficient to say 
 that Mr. Coleman's System will be laid down and taught in 
 preference to any other; and it would be improper in me to 
 close this subject, without informing my readers, that the use 
 of the thin heel'd shoe lately introduced by Mr. James will 
 for the present be laid aside, except in very particular cases 
 that may require it, and that a shoe of more equal thick- 
 ness at toe and heel, will be more generally adopted, except 
 in cases of very low and weak heels, it maytbe made a little 
 thicker at the heel than at the toe. At the Same time it may 
 be necessary to explain here, that although the thin heel shoe, 
 which Mr. James introduced some time ago, did not pro- 
 duce all the advantages which were expected of it, but, on the 
 
1-W I 
 
 contrary, that it was found decidedly detrimental to several 
 horses; yet, on the other hand, I am quite satisfied that the 
 evils which it produced have been much exaggerated, though 
 certainly it did procrastinate the evils it was intended to re- 
 move. The amount of the argument I apprehend to be this, 
 that a principle, good in itself, was carried to an extreme, and 
 thus the frog, under disease, having by this means more duty 
 assigned to it than nature intended it to perforin, some evils fol- 
 lowed as an inevitable consequence. And when this shoe was 
 first introduced by professor Coleman out of the college, it 
 failed from the same want of caution as it did with Mr. James; 
 but those who are acquainted with the talents and discrimina- 
 tion of the directors of the Veterinary College, know better than 
 to believe them so bigoted to the thin heel'd system, as to ap- 
 ply it in cases as Mr. James did, directly repugnant to reason 
 and nature. No one (seeing its indiscriminate application had 
 brought it into disrepute) can blame professor Coleman, who 
 recommended it only where the foot has been put in a state 
 for its reception; that is, with high heel'd hoofs. And on this, 
 as well as in his lectures, and advice to his pupils, he always 
 lays the greatest stress, and certainly with reason ; for if the 
 foot is not properly prepared, any other shoe would fail, from 
 the same cause. 
 
 In this lies the difficulty, which is not to be surmounted, 
 except by indefatigable attention to the practice. No one, I 
 repeat, would suppose professor Coleman to have neglected 
 in his own practice what he so forcibly recommends to others. 
 The only shade of error that seems attributable to him, was 
 want of reflection. He published his system long before pu- 
 pils enough had been taught, and benefited by his personal in- 
 struction, so much as to know when the depth of the heels 
 would admit of its application, and when not. Now, had Mr. 
 James been regularly bred at the college, (had that been the 
 case), and had surgeons growing from under his hand, been 
 spread about in the country, and the system always been ap- 
 plied to proper feet, I am fully persuaded it would not 
 have failed, neither would Mr. James have committed the 
 same error here. 
 
But to bring it io bear on all kind of fact, or vice versa, to 
 make all feet fit to receive it, is another matter. Now, had 
 Mr. James lowered the heels of those horses' feet gradually, 
 by' five or six shocings, instead of doing it (as I understand 
 he did) all at once, lie would not only have effected his ob- 
 ject admirably, but have relieved my shoulders of a very heavy 
 burden of prejudice, and often very abusive language, from 
 grooms and coachmen, which I am in a great measure obliged 
 to bear until more time is allowed to convince them of the 
 error. 
 
 Had Mr. James been gifted with prophecy, his enemies 
 would have had abundant reason to open upon him; but his 
 inadvertency, as well as want of practical knowledge, is to 
 be blamed. Had I been Mr. James's counsellor, I would 
 have advised a very long period of trial before I had endea- 
 voured to render the thin hecl'd system universal. That it 
 is the only system possessed of powers to obtain universal- 
 ity, I am confident, not only because no other is natural, but 
 because it is a fact too well known, that this thin heel system, 
 is the only one which has been in use among the Asiatics for 
 ages past, and which I have myself been eyewitness to, dur- 
 ing many years residence in that country. 
 
 Nevertheless I am quite as certain, that the thin heel shoe 
 requires so much attention and professional knowledge, that 
 it will not be universally adopted for ages to come in this 
 country. And that Mr. Colemaivs seated concave shoe, com- 
 bined with his method of preparing the feet with a drawing 
 knife, being less liable to immediate mischief, will, in the pre- 
 sent state of veterinary science, be more generally adopted. 
 
 To elucidate this subject still farther — where is there a gen- 
 tleman in this city that has not two horses, whose hoofs, from 
 various causes, are differently constructed, and require dif- 
 ferent shoes, to one or the other of the above description. To 
 produce, therefore, a level t^ad, and not distress the muscles 
 and sinews by the application of a thin heel shoe, Mr. Coleman 
 recommend* t toe to be cut, but not the heels. The simple dif- 
 ference therefore between thick and thin heeVd shoes, properly 
 applied, is this, in one you have iron at the heels equal to two, 
 
2 
 
 o 
 
 and horn equal to six— in the other you have iron equal to one 
 only— and horn equal to seven— so that the depth of iron and 
 horn united when the thin heel'd shoe is judiciously applied, is 
 exactly the same, and no more exertion used by the muscles and 
 sinews in the application of one than the other; but if the thin 
 heel'd shoe is used before the horn is equal to seven, lameness 
 will be likely to ensue. 
 
 There are two things necessary to he attended to in shoe- 
 ing, viz. to cut the hoof, and apply the shoe. Before the hoof 
 is protected by iron, some part requires to be removed, and 
 others preserved. This part of the practice of the shoeing art, 
 scientifically, as I have before stated, and which cannot he 
 repeated too often, is of infinitely greater importance tliau 
 the form of the shoe; I shall therefore be as explicit upon it 
 as possible, taking for my guide, where I am justified by my 
 own experience, the method used by the ancients, and which is 
 nothing worthy more than the college method of paring out the 
 foot; and as the reader may observe of quoting Mr. Coleman's 
 lectures when necessary. Before the art of farriery had assumed 
 the form of a science, by the establishment of veterinary col- 
 leges, even in England, smiths in general attended chiefly to 
 the shoe, and not to its application, or the functions nature 
 intended it to perform; which error has for many ages heen 
 the source of so much mischief. For as Mr. Coleman in his 
 introductory lecture very properly states, « a watch, or any 
 other machine intended to regulate time, will perform its 
 functions in proportion as it is well or ill made ; but a horse- 
 shoe may be found mathematically correct and yet produce 
 lameness." For it is a fact that the best shoe that can be 
 made, will produce more mischief when applied to a hoof im- 
 properly ait, thsm the worst shoe when well connected to a 
 hoof prepared with judgment. And until my regular treatise 
 on comparative shoeing will appear before the public, it will 
 be enough now to prove the impracticability of using syste- 
 matically any particular form of shoe, and the consequent 
 fallacy of all inventions, that with the assumption and as- 
 sistance of novelty, are held forth as lures to the public. 
 Not so the paring out, and preparing the foot—for whatever 
 
24 
 
 kind of shoe is used, the concavity of the sole, in imitation of 
 the form given to the foot by the Almighty, must be preserved; 
 or, where that concavity is wanting, it must be obtained as 
 soon as possible. Paring out the foot, therefore, with the 
 drawing knife, as in the manner directed by the different ve- 
 terinary colleges, is now reducible to a system, in every coun- 
 try except this, and though the operation of it must be varied 
 discretionally, according to the different form of the soles, t 
 is not, as far as I know, susceptible of improvement. 
 
 I can without vanity say, that I have seen and witnessed 
 more methods of shoeing in different parts of the world, and 
 paid more attention to it, than perhaps any other man of my 
 age in this, or any other country; and although I know I am 
 fighting against very strong, though very unreasonable pre- 
 judice, yet, should the system I am now about to establish in 
 this city be fairly tried and encouraged, and compared fairly, 
 on experience, with others, and not immediately laid aside, I 
 am as confident of deceiving the expectations of the public 
 in this as I did on a former occasion with another system, by 
 which thousands in this city have been benefited. 
 
 I AM NOW GOING TO ADDRESS MYSELF TO 
 ALL FARRIERS, SMITHS, GROOMS, AND COACH- 
 MEN, who are able and willing to understand, without 
 stickling to maintain so many absurd notions of their own, 
 whose office it is to shoe, or see shod this valuable animal, 
 which is at present the subject of our inquiries. The com- 
 fort of horses, as respect their stable management, but 
 more particularly the management of their feet, depend 
 greatly upon the care and activity of grooms, and coachmen, 
 whose value when they possess, and are worthy of the confidence 
 of their masters is hardly to be estimated, and upon whom the 
 task often devolves of advising the smiths in the country, while 
 travelling. I would draw their attention to the following par- 
 ticular. 
 
 Firstly, That to remove the crust and bars, with a but- 
 teris in the fallacious hope of widening the heel thereby, is 
 not only highly injurious, by increasing contraction, but ulti- 
 mately produces permanent lameness. 
 
XJ 
 
 Secondly, That to pare down the crust and hars, so as to 
 bring them on a level with the horney sole, whatever maybe 
 the form of the shoe set on, exposes the sole to pressure, un- 
 der which, that part being filled with innumerable blood ves- 
 sels, extravasation is formed, between the sensible and insen- 
 sible sole, and thereby producing corns, and other diseases. 
 
 Thirdly, When the heels are sufficiently high, as before 
 stated, thin heeFd shoes are to be preferred ; but when the heels 
 are low, and the pastern joints long, or the action high, seat- 
 ed shoes with thick heels, as improved by Mr. Coleman, are 
 to be preferred. x 
 
 Fourthly, Whatever shoe is employed, it is absolutely ne- 
 cessary for the soles to he made concave with a drawing knife, 
 particularly between the bars and crust, in order to prevent 
 pressure on the soles. 
 
 Fifthly, That to a foot so prepared, almost any shoe may 
 be applied, and a foot not so prepared, almost any shoe will 
 cause lameness. ? 
 
 Sixthly, That the frog is the elastic key-stone of the foot, 
 possessing the power of maintaining its own figure when 
 constantly brought into contact with pressure, a circumstance 
 little known to smiths, or stable people, and that it is never 
 ragged, when it has never been cut. 
 
 Seventhly, Oil ought never to be applied to the feet of 
 horses with the view of supplying horn. Your horses should 
 in the day time stand without their litter, and the feet should 
 be picked out and washed night and morning. By observing 
 this, simple plan of treatment, you will hardly ever see a sand 
 crack, and but seldom a running thrush. 
 
 Lastly, Never cut the frog, nor never rasp the surface of 
 the hoof above the clinches, except in obstinate cases of con- 
 traction, you should be neoessiated to rasp the quarters to ex- 
 pand the heels — this last operation however requires the judg- 
 ment of a Veterinary Surgeon. 
 
 By adopting these few rules here laid down, you will at 
 least avoid the grosser errors which are every day committed; 
 and if you have sufficient courage to study a little more the 
 
26 
 
 necessity of acquiring the two principles of shoeing*, by ask- 
 ing for advice and information from me instead of being bi- 
 gotted to the opinions of your stable friends, Tom, Dick and 
 Harry, who cannot possibly know any more about it than 
 yourselves, public opinion will soon place you on a level with 
 men who are enlightened, and therefore useful to society. I 
 Will observe upon the whole, that the less substance you take 
 away from the natural defence of the foot, but on particular 
 occasions which may require it, the less artifical defence will 
 be necessary; therefore the nearer you follow these few sim- 
 ple rules, the nearer will you all approach to perfection in an 
 art, re hick has for so many ages been involved in darkness. 
 
, 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT 
 
 TO THE 
 
 Faculty, Gentlemen, Farmers, and Graziers, 
 OF PENNSYLVANIA. 
 
 THE branch of science which I have now the honour to pro- 
 fess in this department of Natural Knowledge, being altogether 
 new in this country, and the name by which it is called being 
 but little known, it becomes indispensable, therefore/to commu- 
 nicate, for the better information of the public, whatever may be 
 learned on this head. 
 
 Farriery is a name which it derived from the occupation of 
 those who practised it — who were in general Smiths, or Workers 
 in Iron, (Ferracius.) Veterinary is a word derived from the 
 Latin— Veterinarius, a term appropriated to express either that 
 part of medicine which regards the cure of animals, or the per-, 
 sons who practice that cure. What the true Etymon of the word 
 may be, is a question of some philological intricacy, though but 
 of little importance. It is sufficient here to Say, that the word 
 Veterinarius, as used by Columella and Vegetius, signifies a 
 practitioner in one particular part of medicine, namely that 
 which respects the cure of diseased cattlei and that art, Veteri. 
 naria, signifies the art of healing applied to the healing of cattle. 
 
 The word hippiatric, is a compound term, formed of the Greek 
 word Hippos, a horse ; and cutrace, medicine, which treats of the 
 cure of diseased horses, in particular, and constitutes a principal 
 branch of that division of medicine which treats of the diseases 
 incident to cattle in general and to all other domestic animals. 
 
 We have undoubted evidence that the art was cultivated in 
 very early times. In the infancy of medicine, when the art o 
 healing was confined to the rude elements of Surgery, it was 
 indiscriminately applied to the relief pf all accidental distresse s 
 to which the animal frame was liable, whether they occurred in 
 man, or in those animals which constituted his wealth, or wer e 
 
.28 
 
 the associates of his labours. In these times, many things occur-' 
 l"ed to attach the iriinds of men to the well being of their cattle. 
 They were almost solely used for tillage, and the dairy; and 
 the life and health of the herds was an especial concern. Cattle' 
 was the great medium of exchange, before the invention of coin; 
 and the riches of countries and individuals, were estimated by 
 the quantily of cattle and the laws of religion, Which religiously 
 forbade the sacrifice of any animal, but such as were in the most 
 perfect state of health. 
 
 Chiron the Thessalian, a person whom antiquity held in ex- 
 treme veneration, and who, from his transcendent skill in horse- 
 manship, and many other useful arts, was called the wise Cen- 
 taur, lived at the age of the Trojan war. This great man descends 
 to us as the father of medicine, and the instructor of iEscula- 
 pius in that art. And he was, on the concurrent testimony of 
 antiquity, profoundly skilled therein, as also in the cure and 
 management of cattle. 
 
 It would be to no purpose to trace this art minutely through 
 all its vicissitudes; it is sufficient to say, that the decline of the 
 Roman empire, and the decay of arts and sciences, occasioned 
 for some time the destruction of this as well as every other 
 branch of knowledge. But while Veterinary Medicine was lost 
 in the West, and was declining fast in Greece, it found an asy- 
 lum among the Arabians; a nation destined as it should seem 
 by Providence, to receive in trust the knowledge of Europe, un- 
 til emerged from the abject state into which it was plunged, it 
 Was able to reassume its intellectual rank. It is worthy of remark, 
 that the Asiatics appear to have preserved that part of the ma- 
 nagement of horses which consists in their treatment when dis- 
 eased, entirely separate from the business of the farrier; the 
 confusion of which, essentially distinct occupations, has been 
 hitherto the bane of veterinary science among us. — During a 
 residence of 15 years among the different nations of the East, I 
 have the satisfaction to say I learnt many useful lessons. 
 
 The great Lord Bacon, sensible of the .services he had ren- 
 dered to medicine by Zootomy with a view to comparative ana- 
 tomy, makes the following observation — 
 
 " The diligence of Zootomists, says he, may much contribute 
 to illustrate the doctrine of Androtomy — and both inform phy- 
 sicians of the true use of the parts of the human body, and help 
 to decide divers anatomical controversies, — farther, it would be 
 
29 
 
 lio new tiling for naturalists not professedly physicians to treat 
 of this subject; the naturalist may afford good hints to the prac- 
 titioners of physic, by trying upon brutes a variety of untried 
 medicaments or remedies, and by suggesting to him both the 
 events of such trials, and also what has been already observed 
 about the cure of diseases incident to beasts. 
 
 " The most skilful physicians might also, without disparage- 
 ment to their profession, do it an useful piece of service, if they 
 would be pleased to collect and digest all the experiments and 
 practices of farriers, graziers, butchers, and the like; which the 
 ancients did not despise, but honoured with the title of Hippi- 
 atrica and Veterinaria; and among which, if I had leisure, di- 
 vers things might be taken notice of, which might serve to illus- 
 trate this subject. 
 
 There are a few of the sentiments of ingenious men, selected 
 of many; but the.* are sufficient to prove, that from the period 
 at which veterinary medicine first attracted the notice of the 
 learned, it grew more and more an object of their attention. 
 
 T shall now follow the progress of this opinion no farther, but 
 observe, that after a course of many years, the government of 
 France undertook to give effectual assistance and protection to 
 this most useful part of Domestic Science, and to provide for it 
 the same advantages by which medicine had formerly advanced. 
 
 It will not be out of place to give here some account of the 
 means which the French government employed, in order to bring 
 about the desirable end; and which so justly entitles France to 
 the same honours with respect to the Veterinary Art, which the 
 world must ever concede to the school of Salerno, with respect 
 to medicine. • 
 
 Sensible of the advantages which must result from such an 
 institution, government granted a sum of 50,000 livres to defray 
 the expenses — providing a laboratory, dispensary, physic, guard - 
 ing-stables to serve as hospitals, forges, instruments, and uten- 
 sils; also rooms for study and dissection; in a word, everything 
 that might render the establishment complete. 
 
 The first school was opened in January 1T62. It was very 
 soon filled with native students, and in a short time their num- 
 bers were increased by foreigners— supported by the empress 
 queen, the kings of Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Prussia and 
 Sardinia, and the different Swiss Cantons. And within these 
 
O'J 
 
 few years past Spain, Portugal, Russia,'* and all British India, 
 have followed the example. 
 
 Dr. Rush, whose heart was ever w T arm for the introduction of 
 any new branch of science, which might tend to promote the 
 welfare of the animal creation, conversed much with me on ve- 
 terinary subjects, and laboured hard to prevail -on me to estab- 
 lish that pursuit in this city — but not having then obtained it 
 scientifically, I proposed to Dr. Rush and other friends already 
 mentioned my then intended pursuits at the college, — from 
 whence I am now returned and commenced practice. 
 
 COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. 
 
 BEING A BRIEF OUTLINE, 
 BY 
 
 COMPARISON OF THE TWO SYSTEMS 
 
 OF 
 
 MAN AND HORSE. 
 
 1st, When the Almighty created Man, he made a summary 
 of the world's fabric, an abstract of divine nature : in him he 
 ended his work: on him he stamped his seal, and sign of his 
 power, and portrait of himself. In these are the three principles 
 of divine essence ; in which essence these three principles are 
 united. Theologists call them by the Trinity; the Naturalist, 
 Matter, Spirit, and Motion; the Chymist, Salt, Sulphur, and 
 Mercury, the Anatomist, Body, Blood and Spirit; the Botanist, 
 Substance, Fragrance and Sap. But the philosopher comprehends 
 them all, and searches out the Triune, this first great cause, 
 from the Animal, Vegetable and Mineral Kingdoms; and with 
 his intellectual faculties soars into eetherial regions, and exclaims 
 with David: " I am fearfully and wonderfully made! Whither 
 
 * The emperor of Russia has lately sent over twelve veterinary sur- 
 geons and twenty-four shoeing smiths. 
 
31 
 
 can I go from thy Spiritl'l Ps. cxxxix. 7. 14. In fine, Man is> 
 a living and walking machine,xontaining within itself fheprin- 
 ciple of its motion and preservation, not only for a few years, 
 but sometimes for more than a century. Nothing, says an intel- 
 ligent physiologist, is a stronger evidence of the dignity of man, 
 and of his pre-eminence over the different species of brutes, 
 than the erect position of his body, and the majesty imprinted 
 upon his countenance. The same ignorant reasoners have at- 
 tempted to assert, that the upright posture of man is not natu- 
 ral to us; but the formation of the head and foot, as well as se- 
 veral other parts of the human body, clearly prove, that those 
 who thus argue are wrong. Other animals have their eyes placed 
 on each side of the head, so that they can see the horizon: but 
 man, were it not for his erect position, would faref .r worse with 
 respect to sight, than any of the brute creation. His eyes would 
 be turned directly towards the ground: and he would not be roIc 
 to shun a thousand dangers which other animals avoid by flight, 
 when their sight apprizes them of their approach. If, therefore, 
 any thing evinces, that nature destined man to walk with his 
 head erect, it is the very formation of his head. In his upright 
 attitude, he takes in at one view the heavens and the earth: he 
 can look upwards, and downwards, all around him: and so far 
 from having occasion to envy the posture of the creatures around 
 him, he may justly consider his own as a favour conferred on 
 him by Nature. 
 
 2d. The Horse* is a generous and serviceable creature; pos- 
 sessing the courage of the lion, the fleetness of the deer, the 
 strength of the ox, and the docility of the spaniel. By his aid 
 men become more acquainted with each other : he not only bears 
 us through foreign climes, but likewise labours in the cultiva- 
 tion of our soil; draws our burdens and ourselves; carries us 
 for our amusement and our exercise; and both in sports of the 
 field and the turf, exerts himself with an emulation that evinces 
 how eager and ambitious he is to please and gratify the desires 
 of his master. He is both our slave and our guardian ; he gives 
 profit to the poor, pleasure to the rich; in our health he forwards 
 our concerns, and in our sickness lends a willing assistance for 
 our recovery. „ 
 
 This fine spirited animal participates with man in the toils of 
 a campaign, and the glory of conquest, penetrating and undaunt- 
 
 y 
 
 / 
 
■ 
 
 32 
 
 cd as bis master, and views dangers only to brave them. In ex- 
 ercise of all kinds, his fire and his courage is irresistible, and 
 amidst his boldest exertions, he is equally collected and tract- 
 able; not obeying his own impetuosity, all his efforts and his ac- 
 tions are guided solely by his rider; indeed such is the greatness 
 of his obedience, that he appears to consult nothing but how he 
 can please, and if possible anticipates what his master wishes. 
 Every impression he receives, has a responsive and complete 
 obedience; he darts forward, checks his ardour, and stops at 
 command ; and the pleasures attendant on his own exertions, he 
 renews, or rather enters them in the pleasures and satisfaction 
 of man; nay, he serves him with all his strength — and in his 
 strenuous endeavours to please, he often outdoes himself, and 
 even dies in order the better to obey ! In a word, nature has be- 
 stowed upon him a disposition, both of love and fear, to the hu- 
 man race; she lias endowed Wtm also with that perception, which 
 yields him the knowledge of every service we can. and ought in 
 gratitude to render him. 
 
 Such indeed are the acute and generous feelings of this noble 
 nnimal, that he is ies3 affected with Ids bondage, than with the 
 want of our protection; pleased in the constant labour of our 
 lieal th, pleasure and profit, he feels no. distress but ivhat is caused 
 by our own cruelty and ingratitude. All he demands from us, 
 therefore, for a life of incessant labour, is a support and tender 
 return ; the attainment of which, creates in him his chief plea- 
 sure. If such, therefore, be the qualities of this noble creature, 
 surely he who has devoted his life to the study of his infirmities, 
 has some claim to the patronage and protection of his country. 
 
 Having described the qualifications of this noble animal, I 
 shall now proceed to give a brief detail of the difference of struc- 
 ture between him and man. 
 
 1st, In the formation of the brain, its structure is entirely 
 different, being reversed ; the cerebellum of the horse holds the 
 situation of the cerebrum in man. Its proportions are also very 
 different; the size of the brain in the Horse, being only in the 
 proportion of one-fourth of that in Man. The structure' of the 
 lungs of the horse, are also very different ; the pulmonary veins 
 being double in number to that in man. This of course allows 
 an easier transmission of blood from the lungs of the Horse, and 
 consequently occasions the animal to have its circulation less 
 hurried there, where speed is so often required. The pulse of 
 
83 
 
 the Horse is also different, being generally at a range*of from 
 55 to 46, though from 40 to 4.5 is the general medium ; while in 
 man, it is generally about 75, seldom under 60. In the Horse, 
 the arteries seldom take any disease, which is generally so fre- 
 quent and so fatal in man. With respect to the blood of the 
 horse, it has less serum than in man — because the horse is less 
 subject to dropsical complaints. 
 
 But viith respect to the nervous system, its proportion be- 
 tween the two animals is in favour of ourselves; the nerves be- 
 ing of course more numerous, in order to answer all those finer 
 feelings, as well as all those various sympathies so predominant 
 in the human frame ; whilst the horse, by nature limited in his 
 situation and pursuits, possesses a lesser proportion, therefore 
 wants that aeuteness and sensibility, which is so peculiarly con- 
 nected with that intelligence and understanding ordained him 
 by the Almighty. When we come to the basis of the structure 
 of both these animals, we find that at birth the bones of the horse 
 are more complete than in man, and that the process of ossifica- 
 tion has made a more rapid progress in the ivomb; the spine" of 
 the horse, by its greater compactness and strength, being more 
 fitted for support and strength, than in man. The vertebrae, or 
 bones of the back, are also proportionably firmer and better 
 united. 
 
 From the basis of the body, we come next to the organs. The 
 stomach of the horse being much less than in man, displays also 
 less sensibility ; the cuticular part to which the bott is princi- 
 pally attached being quite insensible, and does not retain so 
 long as man the food that is received into it. This organ con- 
 tains only three gallons of waterfj^When it is a well known fact, 
 from experiments tried in 1814, during my residence at the col- 
 lege, that a horse, from long deprivation, will drink 5 and 6 
 times that quantity. 
 
 t The changes also, which affect the assimilation, and complete 
 the process of digestion, are chiefly made by intestines, differ- 
 ent from man, and for this purpose a peculiar provision is made 
 by nature, that 'the alimentary matter may not be hurried too 
 quickly through the intestines ; for in the horse there is no gall 
 bladder, consequently the bile has not that acrimony, or power- 
 ful stimulus, or action, on the intestines, as in man. Neither is 
 there that necessity for hurrying the alimentary matter from the 
 
34 / 
 
 body of the horse, as in man, from its having less disposition, in 
 consequence of the food of the animal, to putrescency — Man 
 being carnivorous, the horse graminivorous. Connected with 
 the same cause, is the formation of the liver, which is more sim- 
 ple in the horse, being divided into seven small lobes — that of 
 man only into two — the horse being an animal destined for 
 speed ; man not. It is also secured by ligaments : one from the 
 diaphragm; a second, or a portion of the same, from the breast- 
 bone, by which means it can neither fall downwards, nor side- 
 ways ;,and the umbilical vein, by which the foetus is nourished, 
 becomes its suspensory, or third ligament; so that it can neither 
 push forward in galloping, or going down hill, nor press too hard 
 on the soft parts that lie under it. — It possesses however no less 
 than from forty to fifty hepatic veins, while there are few in 
 man. It is also more free from disease than that of man, or of 
 any other animal, and the simplicity of its structure may, per- 
 haps, be considered as the cause of this. 
 
 The sense of vision* in the horse is particularly powerful. He 
 sees better at night than most other animals, and sees stronger 
 •on each side than straight forward. He has no lachrydal duct 
 nor eyebrow ; man has both. As quadrupeds have -no hands 
 to defend those organs, or remove extraneous bodies from 
 the eye, nature has provided for them a seventh muscle, which 
 is denied to man, and by which means the eye is drawn into the 
 socket at the approach of danger. It is a firm cartilaginous mem- 
 brane, situated in the inner canthus of the eye — in health hid 
 by the eyelid, except a very small portion, which is black at the 
 edge; but when labouring under inflammation, it projects very 
 much forward, from the action*, of the retractor muscle drawing 
 the eye backward to avoid the superfluous rays of light. Thus 
 in tetanus or lock jaw, when all the other muscles are in a most 
 violent state of contraction, this membrane, which the farriers 
 call the haw, is drawn over the eye, by the action of the retrac- 
 tor. TJiis membrane, which nature has provided for the wisest 
 purposes, is often cut out by common farriers, which ignorant 
 and barbarous practice cannot be too much reprobated. 
 
 The caruncutee lachrymales also in the horse is black, while 
 that in man is red. This has a kind of fold of the conjunctiva — 
 
 f A treatise on the organs of vision of the horse, with plates, showing 
 the diseases of the eyes, their causes, symptoms and best mode of treat 
 ment, is now in the press. 
 
35 
 
 though not entirely covered, as in man. Its principal use is to 
 direct the superfluous moisture, secreted by the lachrymal duct, 
 to the puncta lachrymalia, from whence it is carried into the 
 former, and so passes into the nose by the ductus ad nasum ; 
 which in the horse is very long and membranous, biit in man 
 short and bony. The tapetum, or the inner covering of the cho- 
 roid coat, is half black and half green, the better to absorb the 
 superfluous rays of light, and also to assist and enable them to 
 collect those rays corresponding to their food while grazing. In 
 man those variegated expansions are wanting. . 
 
 His hearing is equally powerful, and his ears* arc covered by 
 strong muscles, which direct their position to the object present. 
 This is not observable in man. In the circulation from the heart 
 of the horse to the head, there is also a marked difference; the 
 supply not being exclusively dependent on the carotid es, for 
 their, arteries can be tied up in the horse without danger, where- 
 as the tying up of one of these in man, frequently proves fatal. 
 This operation has been performed in several instances with suc- 
 cess, in staggers and other diseases, to which that animal is sub- 
 ject. 
 
 The heart also is formed in some with two, in others three, 
 but in all the more perfect quadrupeds, with four cavities, form- 
 ing a complete double circulation ; but the distribution of those 
 vessels producing this, varies in different subjects. In man, the 
 aorta gives off", soon after its origin, the right subclavian, left 
 subclavian and left carotid arteries, the right carotid being 
 furnished from the right subclavian, so that, properly speaking, 
 there is no ascending aorta as in the human: besides there are 
 only four pulmonary veins in man, in the horse there are double 
 that number. In the sexual organs, the structure of the uterus 
 or womb, is peculiar in having horns, and the testicles in the 
 male show a secretory disposition in twelve months— now after 
 the testes of the human subject have passed the abdominal ring, 
 a complete union takes place between the vaginal or outer re- 
 flection of the peritonium, by which means all communication 
 with the scrotum and abdomen is shut out: this is a wise and 
 kind provision to man ; for, from his erect position, was it not 
 so, there would be a continual descent of some of the intestines. 
 Man is also subject to hernia congenita* but animals not being 
 subject to this, have not this opening closed; therefore in a horse, 
 a communication between the scrotum and abdomen remains; 
 
3 6 
 
 but from his prone situatjpn, neither congenial nor scrota 
 nia are but rarely met with. In the disposition of the horse, there 
 are many that never lie down, but sleep in an erect posture; 
 and contrary to what is the case with most other animals, the 
 horse does not lie down after eating. In five years the horse at- 
 tains his full growth, which in man, on the contrary, requires a 
 period of twenty -one years, showing less active powers of the 
 system, and a more complicated machine to complete. 
 
 But what will enable every one to form a proper judgment 
 betwixt the constitution of the horse and that of man, is the dif- 
 ferent effects of the same medicines in both. Thus arsenic has 
 been given to a horse in the quantity of two drachms, while one- 
 eighth of a grain is the proper dose, which is thought safe to be- 
 gin with, in the human subject. Tartar emetic, a medicine equally 
 active, has been given to the horse without any violent opera- t 
 tion, to the extent of three ounces daily: in man a single grain 
 is often too large a dose. Blue vitriol also has been given in the 
 same manner, to four drachms a day; verdigris in the same ex- 
 tent. Corrosive sublimate has been exhibited in an equal quan- 
 tity; and with respect to different narcotics, as hemlock, henbane, 
 nightshade, &c. &c. have also been given, under my own in- 
 spection, when in charge of the hospital stables at the Royal 
 Veterinary College, to a great extent to condemned horses, with- 
 out producing any sensible effect. 
 
 On this I might enlarge ; but T hope sufficient has been said 
 to show what is due to the improvements in this department of 
 Anatomy and Medicine, and to none am I more indebted than 
 to my worthy instructors professor Coleman* and William Sew-, 
 ell, Esq. assistant professor, for their correct anatomical views 
 of various parts of the animal ; for their tracing the causes of 
 many diseases as well as the difference in structure in both, to 
 their source, on which=the most erroneous ideas have been en- 
 tertained ; and for explaining their opinions by a proper analogy 
 between the maladies of the animal and man ; thus rendering 
 their explanation easier and better understood. 
 
 J.CARVER. 
 
 Regular lists of all the gentlemen who have studied at the 
 College and passed the Examining Committee are published 
 yearly. Those lists may be seen at any time by any gentleman 
 desirous of seeing them, by application to the author. 
 
O; 
 
 HISTORY OF THE 
 London Royal Veterinary College, 
 
 AT ST. PANCRAS. 
 
 The Royal Veterinary .College, is an institution first estab- 
 lished in the year 1792, at St. Pancras, near London. The pub- 
 lic are indebted for this truly national foundation, to the dis- 
 cernment and patriotic exertions of the Agricultural Society of 
 Oldham, in Hampshire. The first professor was Mr. St. Bell, a 
 Frenchman, who had previously signalized himself in this coun- 
 try as a veterinary anatomist, by dissecting the famous horse 
 Eclipse. The college is supported by an annual subscription. 
 The annual contribution is two guineas, but the payment of 20 
 guineas at once, constitutes a subscriber for life. In some recent 
 instances, the institution has shared the bounty of parliament; 
 an immense saving resulted to the nation from the appointment 
 of veterinary surgeons to the different regiments of British ca- 
 valry. 
 
 The views and objects of the college appear in the following- 
 statement printed by the authority of the governors. The grand 
 object, they observe^ is the improvement of veterinary know- 
 ledge, in order to remedy the ignorance and incompetency of 
 Farriers, so long and universally complained of. For this end a 
 range of stables, a forge, a theatre for dissections and lectures, 
 with other buildings, have been erected ; a gentleman of superior 
 abilities has been appointed professor, with other requisite offi- 
 cers. The anatomical structure of quadrupeds, as horses, cattle? 
 sheep, dogs, &c. the diseases to which they are subject, and the 
 remedies proper to be applied, are to be investigated and regu- 
 larly taught; by which means enlightened practitioners ofjifae- 
 ral education, whose $vhole study has been devoted to the vete- 
 rinary art in all its branches, may be gradually dispersed over 
 the kingdom, on whose skill and experience confidence may se- 
 curely be placed. 
 
 Pupils to the college, in addition to the lectures and instruc- 
 tions of the professors, and the practice of the stables, at pre- 
 sent enjoy (from the liberality of some of the most eminent of 
 the faculty) #ie advantages of free admission to their medical 
 and anatomical lectures. These pupils, previous to leaving the 
 
8S 
 
 college, are strictly examined by a medical committee, from 
 whom they receive a proper cei'tificate; and upwards of 500 
 have been examined and approved, left the college, and are at 
 this time practising in the different regiments of cavalry, and 
 various parts of the country, with great success. 
 
 Subscribers have the privilege of sending their diseased ani- 
 mals to the college, without farther expense than that of daily 
 food, and these in general form a sufficient number of patients 
 for the practice of the professor and pupils. On fixed days the 
 professor prescribes for the animals belonging to the subscribers, 
 who find it inconvenient to send them from home, provided the ' 
 necessary medicines be furnished and compounded at the col- 
 lege. Subscribers horses are there shod at the ordinary prices. 
 His royal highness the commander in chief having been pleased 
 to appoint a board of general officers, to take into consideration 
 the objects of this institution, and they have reported the conti- 
 nental loss to be very heavy, from the total ignorance of those 
 who hitherto had the veterinary department in the army. This 
 report his majesty approved, and henceforward to qualify for 
 the military service, a veterinary surgeon must be provided with 
 a regular diploma from the college. — A number of gentlemen, 
 subscribers to the institution, attend once a fortnight to inspect 
 the discipline of the stables, and see that the regulations are 
 duly complied with. 
 
 THE PATRONS OF 
 
 THE ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE 
 
 ARE AS FOLLOWS, VIZ. 
 
 His Royal Highness PRINCE REGENT, President. 
 His Grace the DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLAND, K. G. 
 
 F. R. S. F. A. S. 
 
 Vice-Presidents. 
 LORD PERCY, 
 
 GEORGE, Earl of Morton, F. R. S. F. A. S. 
 GEORGE, Earl of Pembroke, 
 PHILIP, Earl of Chesterfield, F. R. S. 
 GEORGE, Earl of Macclesfield, 
 His Royal Highness DUKE OF KENT, 
 GEORGE, Earl of Warwick, 
 Sir T. C. BUNBURY, Bart. M. P. 
 
ft 
 
 9 
 
 GEORGE HOME SUMNER, Esq. M. P. 
 THOMAS PELL, Esq. F. A. S. 
 GRANVILLE PENN, Esq. F. A. S. 
 Note. — This last mentioned gentleman is of the Penn family 
 of Pennsylvania, and is now living in England. He was the 
 friend and patron of Mr. Charles Vial De St. Bell, the first pro- 
 fessor of veterinary college; a great promoter of veterinary sci- 
 ence, and the gentleman who laid the foundation stone of that 
 institution. 
 
 The following gentlemen originally constituted the commit- 
 tee of examiners, for the purpose of granting diplomas to the 
 pupils of the college, when sufficiently qualified to engage in 
 practice. 
 
 DR. JOHN HUNTER, MR. HOULSTON, 
 
 G. FORDYCE, CLINE, 
 
 BAILLIE, A. COOPER, 
 
 BABBINGTON, HOME. 
 
 MR. ABERNETHY, 
 
 The present Examining Committee are, 
 H. CLINE, F. R. S. President, 
 Dr. BABBINGTON, F. R. S. 
 Dr. BAILLIE, F. R. S. 
 Sir EVERARD HOME, F. R. S. 
 J. ABERNETHY, Esq. F. R. S. 
 A. P. COOPER, Esq. F. R. S. 
 Dr. COOK, 
 Dr. PEARSON, 
 Dr. WILSON, F. R. S. 
 A. CLINE, Esq. 
 
 EDWARD COLEMAN, Professor, 
 WM. SEWELL, Esq. Assistant Professor, 
 Treasurer and Secretary. 
 Among the improvements of these latter times, the extension 
 of a regularly cultivated system of veterinary practice, and the 
 attempts to rescue the superior class of domestic animals from 
 the torturing hand of presumptuous ignorance, are riot the least 
 considerable, either in the view of humanity or life. 
 
 It is true, that during the various ages which have passed since 
 the days of Columella, the number of writers treating on vete- 
 rinary science, according to the best medical light which the 
 
40 
 
 times afforded, has been considerable ; but these works had ne- 
 ver any very extensive circulation. Competent practitioners were 
 wanting to put their precept in force ; and diseased animals were 
 either totally neglected, or confided to the unmeaning and ca- 
 pricious efforts of the illiterate vulgar. — Entirely to wipe away 
 this opprobrium on humanity and common sense, must infinitely 
 redound to the credit of the present times; and it is consoling 
 to be able to announce, that attempts are daily making towards 
 that beneficent end, by considerate and philanthropic characters 
 in various parts of our own and neighbouring country. 
 
 Ancient prescriptions and a false pride;, among the medical 
 faculty, compose the twofold cause which has hitherto deprived 
 our domestic animals of the benefits and comforts of regular as- 
 sistance. Cattle have always been doctored in every country, 
 either by their attendants or by men pretty nearly on a level 
 with those in point of education, who, on the strength of having 
 learned to perform the mo3t simple and common operation, and 
 from the want of able proficients, have undertaken the arduous 
 task of prescribing medicine. We need not wonder that in for- 
 mer times such professors were held duly qualified, since men 
 impartially committed their own persons to the hands of igno- 
 rant barber surgeons, and since so many absurdities of equal 
 magnitude subsisted, which like spectres and ghosts," have va- 
 nished at the approach of modern light; but it may well be 
 thought surprizing, that in this discerning age, when a liberal 
 education is universally acknowledged to be absolutely necessary 
 to the acquisition of medical science, that an illiterate farrier 
 should be trusted in the cure of diseases. Precisely the same 
 studies, physiological, anatomical, and medical, are requisite for 
 the veterinarian as the human practitioner. The animal economy 
 in its manifold relations, is generally fundamentally the same in 
 men and beasts, and governed by the same laws; the same ma- 
 teria medica is in a great degree applicable to both; but the great- 
 est skill is requisite, to form a judgment of the symptoms of 
 diseases in brutes, from their inability to describe their own feel- 
 ings, and the consequent uncertainty of their pathology. 
 
 Can there be a greater burlesque than the supposition of a 
 man's ability to prescribe physic for a horse, merely because lie 
 knows how to groom and shoe him ? or might we not also, with 
 equal reason, employ our own shoemaker to take measure of our 
 health ? The plea of experience is futile, from the utter inability 
 
41 
 
 (prima facie) of illiterate and uninformed men to investigate 
 the principles of science, and their total want of opportunity to 
 acquire by rote a rational system of practice. The whole stock 
 of medical knowledge of these practitioners $ usually consists in 
 a certain number of receipts, derived from their masters or fa- 
 thers, and which they continually rirfg the changes in all cases 
 right or wrong; and so fiercely are they bigoted to their own pe- 
 culiar nostrums, that they are totally incapable of all advice or 
 improvement — the common and unavoidable fate of confirmed 
 ignorance, since it is the highest point of knowledge, to know 
 that we still need information. They sometimes cure by luck, 
 seldom from knowledge, but often kill by regularly adapted pro- 
 cess. — How often has the miserable patient's shoulder been 
 pegg'd, and blown, and bored, by way of punishment, for the 
 folly of getting himself strained in the back sinews of the leg, 
 or coffin joint! How many pleuretic horses have been killed out- 
 right by ardent spicy drenches, which probably might have cured 
 the colic ! How many have been rendered incurably lame, from 
 the patent shoe being affixed to the wrong foot! — Let not the 
 reader suppose these to be mere flourishes, applied to the gene- 
 rality of farriers withi^ my knowledge. I aver them, on the ex- 
 perience of many years, to be literal truths; and by the tenor of 
 them, he may judge of the majority of that faculty throughout 
 Europe. Into such hands do we commit our distempered animals, 
 which have it not in their power to reproach us with their accu- 
 mulated sufferings; mankind from prejudice, indolence, or want 
 of feeling, neglecting those creatures which they can purchase 
 with their money. 
 
 It has been supposed that veterinary writers have been want- 
 ing. It was many years ago discovered in France, that the best 
 remedy for this defect, and the only adequate method for the 
 general diffusion of veterinary knowledge, and the rearing of a 
 sufficient number of persons properly qualified in that line, would 
 be to erect public seminaries expressly dedicated to the purpose. 
 
 We of this country came (late indeed) iato the same salutary 
 measures; and a veterinary college, as an hospital for cattle, has 
 been established in London, and others in various parts of the 
 kingdom. The propriety of these steps, and the benefits derived 
 from them, must be obvious in the extension of veterinary know- 
 ledge and the increase of practitioners. 
 
 6 
 
Fublic iastitutionfs, provided they are nut unduly favourm 
 with exclusive privileges, or armed with coercive and restrictive 
 powers, are ever most efficacious and contributory to the ad- 
 vancement of science. The scattered rays of knowledge are, by 
 joint and public means, best collected into a common focus or 
 centre, whence they are wi£h more ease and expedition diffused 
 and circulated throughout the whole body of the commonwealth. 
 The veterinary college* has also adopted a very judicious method 
 of disseminating the true principles of shoeing, by erecting for- 
 ges in different quarters of the metropolis, where all persons may 
 at any time have their horses shod, at the common price charged 
 to subscribers. — Prejudice, I know ; on more important occasions, 
 has often been trumpeted forth as not only harmless, but beneficial 
 among men? which indeed^svould be just, were there any general 
 utility in the continuance of ancient abuses. It is the grand bu- 
 siness of philosophy, to provide a counterblast for these interest- 
 ed or ignorant trumpeters. " 
 
 It has already been asked, for the advocates of our shoeing 
 and sow-gelding doctors, how they came to suppose, that less 
 medical knowledge would suffice to prescribe for the brute, than 
 for the human animal, who can orally depict his own feelings, 
 and verbally assist the physician in forming a correct judgment 
 of his disease. They seem to act upon the strange supposition, 
 that it is much easier for an illiterate man to penetrate at once, 
 as it were by intuition, into the arcana of the sciences, than for 
 a learned or well informed man to render himself skilful in the 
 nature and management of horses. — Can a man be the worse 
 farrier for having learned the necessity of making constant ob- 
 servation of his own, instead of acting by rote, and being guided 
 by a few arbitrary receipts, for knowing the nature of the medi- 
 cines he prescribes, the anatomy and animal functions of the 
 horse, and for making all such knowledge his study? 
 
 In fine, all at this moment appears obscured or bewildered, by 
 the ill-placed confidence of the owners of cattle upon the black- 
 smith of the parish; upon illiterate and conceited grooms, stupid 
 and listless shepherds; or upon a set of men infinitely more dan- 
 gerous than all the rest, who, arrogating to themselves the style 
 of doctors, ride about from town to town, and from village to 
 village, distributing their nostrums, compounded of the refuse 
 and vapid scraps of druggists' shops, to the destruction of thou- 
 sands, whose varied disorders they treat alike, neither consult- 
 
43 
 
 ixiz nature or art for the cause or the efifect. Miserable animal ! 
 bereft of speech, thou canst not complain, when to the disease 
 with which thou art afflicted, excruciating torments are super- 
 added by the ignorant efforts of such men, who, at first sight, 
 and without any investigation to lead them to the source of thy 
 disorder, pronounce a hackneyed, common-placed opinion on 
 thy case, and then proceed with all expedition, to open thy veins, 
 lacerate thy flesh, cauterize thy sinews, and drench thy stomach 
 with drugs, adverse in general to the cure they engage to per- 
 form. 
 
 Opposed to this barbarous and noxious practice, let us turn 
 our eye to that of the veterinary physician and surgeon. 
 
 We shall not find him occupying the attention of his auditors 
 tvith the accounts of miraculous cures he never performed; — or, 
 under the mask of sullen ignorance, endeavouring to attract con- 
 fidence; we shall not see him armed at all points with phlemes, 
 rowelling knives, and cauterizing irons, to rack and torment his 
 suffering patients; or with drenches or balls, to obstruct the ef- 
 forts of nature. — We shall see him with a cautious eye and ten- 
 der hand, surveying and examining, with discretion and judg- 
 ment, into the case before him; and as far as he can attain in- 
 formation from those who bring the animal to him, we shall find 
 him an anxious and patient inquirer; proceeding to explore all 
 the external signs, and to observe with great minuteness every 
 symptom which presents itself; and if he finds them so compli- 
 cated that he cannot with certainty proceed to give an opinion, 
 he will wait till some new, or more distinct appearances come 
 to his assistance. If, however, these signs should not show them- 
 selves, to give effect, he will then apply to the only resource left 
 him, that of compelling nature to develope herself, or, at least, 
 to show some indications. This he accomplishes through the 
 means of medical aid, administered in proper quantities, which, 
 by increasing more or less sensibly, the disease, produces som,e 
 discovery of its tendency. 
 
 Now that witches and ghosts of all kinds are flitting apace 
 off the scenes, it is full time for men to lay aside the expecta- 
 tion of all other uncaused effects. On these topics a celebrated 
 veterinary writer dwells, with peculiar force of illustration, as 
 he says " from a motive of justice, on account of the irrational 
 prejudice of too many persons concerning the Veterinary Col- 
 lege." 
 
44 
 
 « "Enjoying a public institution. in the metropolis, 1 ' says he, 
 " where veterinary science in all its branches is regularly taught 
 and practised, it remains for those who interest themselves in 
 the safety and well being of our domestic animals, to devise and 
 recommend the most proper and expeditious methods, of a ge- 
 neral diffusion of these benefits throughout the country. The 
 farriers of London were advised, by persons of influence, to al- 
 low their sons and apprentices to attend the college lectures 
 which are given, and which indeed is practised by several of 
 good repute. Those gentlemen of the medical profession attend- 
 ing the London hospitals, whose destination is for country prac- 
 tice, will surely perceive great probable advantage in the acqui- 
 sition of veterinary knowledge, even if they have no present in- 
 tention to profess that branch of medicine. Business, as is some- 
 times the case, with young practitioners, may run short at the 
 outset, and the leisure time might be both honourably and pro- 
 fitably employed in veterinary practice. Such meritorious and 
 humane occupation, could not possibly injure the medical cha- 
 racter of a medical gentleman in these enlightened times; on 
 the contrary, it would be more probable to procure him connec- 
 tions of the most valuable sort — and might be his passport and 
 introduction to the families of medical men." 
 
 Thus far we have stated the opinions of a writer truly inge- 
 nious, and most deservedly popular. Just, however, as are the 
 encomiums of this useful institution at an early period of its ex- 
 istence, yet we are bound more especially to acknowledge the 
 extraordinary progress which this institution afterwards made 
 (and is now making) under its present enlightened and truly 
 ingenious professor Mr. Coleman. This gentleman, to a natural 
 taste for these investigations, united a profound knowledge of 
 his profession, as an anatomist and surgeon — a foundation on 
 which the Veterinary Science could not but be erected with sin- 
 gular advantage. That this has actually been the case, our read- 
 ers must be aware that from the report of 1814, published in 
 London, brought over by Mr. Carver, that not less than 600 
 students have passed at this institution, who are now attached 
 to the different regiments of British cavalry, and also practising 
 in various parts of the united kingdoms; besides the different 
 articles in which Mr. Coleman's name 4 and writings have neces- 
 sarily been brought forward ; for which reason we close the pre- 
 sent article without entering on those particulars, which it would 
 otherwise have been our indispensable duty to have stated. 
 
45 
 
 THE CHARACTER 
 
 OF A 
 
 VETERINARY SURGEON, 
 
 In a limited sense, is one who practises the operative part of 
 the Veterinary Art, and whose views do not extend to the treat- 
 ment of constitutional maladies in brute animals. 
 
 The veterinary practitioners in general are named Veterinary 
 Surgeons — and this designation also attaches to those who en- 
 gage in all the branches of the profession, as they are required 
 in the different regiments of cavalry. We shall devote this arti- 
 cle particularly to the consideration of those qualifications which 
 every man engaged in it oifght to possess, in an equal degree 
 with those whose conduct and operation are exercised on the 
 human body. 
 
 There is undoubtedly no profession in which greater natural 
 qualifications are required than our own. The more liberal na- 
 ture' has been in her gifts, the more carefully the first impres- 
 sions have been cultivated by rational education— by so much 
 the better will a man be fitted for the practice of it. Youth, firm- 
 ness, dexterity, acute sensation, sound judgment and humanity, 
 are the qualifications which may be considered as necessary for 
 a surgeon, whether his patient be a man or a quadruped. 
 
 1st, We will begin by observing — that in youth strong im- 
 pressions are made on the mind, and that he who begins to study 
 on the brute as well as the human subject, from 'the earliest pe- 
 riod of life, will be most likely to acquire reputation. 
 
 2d, Firmness is the second qualification of a Veterinary Sur- 
 geon, and is indeed extended to the mind as well as the body. 
 It implies resolution to go through his operations, however ha- 
 zardous or severe, undisturbed by any accidental circumstances 
 — unmoved or unawed by the presence of spectators. It also 
 implies presence of mind to determine how to act under all cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 Dexterity, in using his instruments, is also a necessary qua- 
 lification in a A^eterinary Surgeon. It enables him to finish an 
 operation with all convenient despatch, and with the least pain * 
 to the patient, whether brute or human. 
 
 Acute sensation is extremely necessary also for a Veterinary 
 
4*5 
 
 Surgeon; for how often do instances occur in the acute diseases 
 of the horse, where the nicest delicacy of the touch is necessary 
 to distinguish the true state of the pulse. 
 
 Sound judgment is, on many accounts, of the utmost impor- 
 tance to the Veterinarian. It enables him to form judicious prog- 
 nostics, by which he may calculate the chances for or against the 
 event of any operation proposed. It is often not less useful in 
 deciding for the patient's possible advantage, than in preserving 
 his own reputation, and keeping up the credit of his art. 
 
 It also teaches him to determine with precision the time ne- 
 cessary for performing an operation, leads him to the choice of 
 the best methods of executing it, or perhaps furnishes him with 
 the more laudable and happy contrivance of recovery of his pa- 
 tient by more gentle means. 
 
 Humanity is the last qualification .mentioned as necessary for 
 a Veterinary Surgeon; and though last, not the least important" 
 and laudable. 
 
 This indeed is the cardinal qualification of all; it reflects a 
 lustre on the rest, and completes the true character of the man, 
 as well as of the surgeon. The exercise of it is required in two 
 ways; first, humanity in operation, and secondly, tenderness in 
 our subsequent treatment. Humanity in operating, should induce 
 us to put an end to our patient's sufferings, (whether brute or 
 human,) as soon as we can, and also to perform this severe though 
 necessary task after such a manner as shall be attended with the 
 least possible degree of pain, besides the pleasing satisfaction 
 resulting to ourselves, of having done our duty when actuated 
 by such motives. 
 
 Tenderness in our behaviour for the brute creation, needs not 
 an argument to enforce its necessity — it being no less honour- 
 able to feel for them than ourselves ; and surely the distresses 
 of brute creatures, and the pain we are often obliged to inflict 
 upon them, is sufficient to soften the hardest heart, and to raise 
 the emotions of compassion within us towards those mute suf- 
 ferers who have toiled in our fields, and lent the labouring hand 
 to help build our cities and our churches. 
 
 When dressings are either removed or applied, it should be 
 done with a gentle hand, and in a manner which would convince 
 the bystander that it is not the veterinary surgeon's intention to 
 give pain, even to the most inferior animal, if he can avoid it; 
 while a contrary conduct to this may ever prove an obstacle to 
 
47 
 
 his success in life; for cruelty will increase by habit, and at 
 length render his manners coarse and offensive, even to those 
 on whose liberality the emoluments of his future practice may 
 in a great measure depend. 
 
 We shall now come to consider the acquired knowledge ne- 
 cessary to make a good veterinary surgeon. On this point we 
 shall make one general observation — to wit, that the more ex- 
 tensive and universal a man's knowledge may be, from having 
 made these his pursuits and acquirements in various quarters of 
 the globe, (and which the writer has had every opportunity of 
 obtaining from early life,) the better fitted will he be for the ex- 
 ercise of his profession. N But, not to alarm young persons by 
 considering the subject too extensively, or by a vain display of 
 science, it is necessary here to mention that knowledge which 
 is absolutely necessary they should acquire. If they are as con- 
 versant as they ought to be, in the matter proposed to their in- 
 dustry and application in this work, the knowledge they will 
 then, have obtained cannot but raise a spirit of inquiry in their 
 minds, which will lead to more important exertions. 
 
 The next and most important acquisition is a knowledge of 
 the power and properties of Medicines. The various substances 
 of the materia medica — the different classes of the, vegetable, 
 mineral and animal kingdoms, so far as they relate to physic, 
 supply all the several applications used in Veterinary Surgery. 
 If therefore we arc ignorant of the qualities of these substances, 
 we may commit the greatest mistakes in the use of them. In- 
 stead of an emollient we may applv an escharotic, and instead 
 of a stimulating application, we may perhaps prescribe a sedat- 
 ive. 
 
 Without this knowledge it is impossible to practise our pro- 
 fession with any degx'ee of credit or success; though by some it 
 may possibly be argued that we should have learned these things 
 equally from experience. Nothing therefore can be more neces- 
 sary than a knowledge of the Materia Medica, and consequently 
 of Veterinary Pharmacy — which is nothing more than a know-, 
 ledge of the art of mixing and compounding the several articles 
 of the Veterinary Materia Medica, so as to produce a combina- 
 tion capable of effecting what cannot be done by any solid or 
 fluid substance singly. '/:'■'. 
 
 The last point to be insisted on, as demanding our particular 
 attention, is the study of Anatomy. The body of the Horse, the 
 
$8 ' 
 
 Cow, the Sheep, and the Dog, being the subject of our opera- 
 tions, how shall .we be able to perform them properly, if we are 
 ignorant of the construction of the machine on which we are to 
 "work. 
 
 A complete and thorough knowledge of Comparative Anatomy 
 is therefore absolutely necessary to acquire; and the method to 
 be pursued in order to acquire this knowledge, must be the work 
 of our own hands, in the dissecting rooms of those institutions 
 established for that purpose, in different parts of Europe. Mere 
 oral instruction is not sufficient; we may attend the most inge- 
 nious and instructive lectures in anatomy of the human subject, 
 without being fitted for the exercise of our profession. It is there- 
 fore necessary to dissect, to trace, and inspect, the several parts 
 of animals with our own hands and eyes'; and this with care and 
 industry. *■ 
 
 Note. Dr. Carver having experienced much loss of time, as well as in- 
 convenience, in getting the feet of several subscriber's horses in order, 
 owing either to the contradictory orders of the owner, or through the 
 chicanery or artifice of the grooms and coachmen, who being bigoted in 
 their own absurd notions, are constantly directing and ordering different 
 kinds of shoes, and the mode of applying them, in direct contradiction to 
 all principle, begs to inform them, that until this branch of the Veterinary. 
 Art is more generally studied, and better known and understood by gen- 
 tlemen than it appears to be by many, that no such orders can be complied 
 with. Dr. Carver at the same time informs them, that he will cheerfully 
 listen, and pay every attention to the opinion and wishes of every gentle- 
 man, to make any alteration that can, consistent with principle, be com- 
 plied with ; and which can always be done, either by a note, or by coming 
 themselves to the forge counting house ; but that no orders of a peremp- 
 tory nature from servants can be attended to. 
 
 He has seen and witnessed more systems of shoeing in all parts of' the 
 world, than perhaps any other man of his age, in this, or any other coun- 
 try—and to bring feet into a state of health, that has once suffered from 
 disease, is not only a very difficult task, but requires different means, by 
 which it is to be effected; and as those means are best known to the judg- 
 ment and practical experience of a professional man, proper confidence 
 must be placed in his abilities, in order to enable him to effect it. It is 
 therefore hoped that gentlemen seeing their own interests concerned in 
 this useful and laudable undertaking, will not be offended at this friendly 
 notice. 
 
 On the first establishment of the Veterinary College in England, many 
 evils of this kind soon crept in, which had nearly proved fatal to the esta- 
 blishment; but the humanity of the cause, by which thousands of useful 
 animals, which had been, and was still likely to be saved, prompted seve- 
 ral of the faculty, as well as hundreds of the first characters, to step for- 
 ward in its defence and preservation ; and not only in this way has a great 
 national benefit has resulted to the community, but to the brute creation 
 at large. 
 
 J. C. V. S. 
 
49 
 
 Veterinary College, 12th July, 1815. 
 
 These are to certify that Mr. J. Carver has attended the Veterinary Col- 
 lege as a resident pupil for three years, and having been examined by us 
 we consider him as qualified to practise the Veterinary Art 
 
 HENRY CLINE, Surgeon, 
 
 WILLIAM BABINGTON, M. D. 
 
 ASHLEY COOPER, 
 
 J. COOK, M. D. 
 G. PEARSON, 
 
 HENRY CLUI, j un . 
 EDWARD COLEMAN, Prof. 
 WILLIAM SEWELL, 
 
 Assistant Prof, and Treas. 
 
 Theatre of Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology and Surgery, October, 1815. 
 
 By Mr. Wilson, Mr. Charles Bell, and Mr. Brody. 
 
 This is to certify that Mr. J. Carver, veterinary pupil under me, has at- 
 tended a course of lectures on the human subject, and chemistry under 
 Sir H. Davy, jun. EDWARD COLEMAN, President 
 
 WILLIAM' SEWELL, Assist. Prof. 
 
 Royal Veterinary Medical Society, July 12, 1815. 
 < We hereby certify that Mr. J. Carver is a member of the London Vete- 
 rinary Medical Society, and that his observations have contributed to the 
 advancement of veterinary knowledge. 
 
 Signed by order of the Society. EDWARD COLEMAN, 
 
 WILLIAM SEWELL, V. P. 
 o. Duffield, Secretary. 
 
 To Mr. J. Carver, V. S. 
 
 The above veterinary diplomas have been examined and approved by 
 the President, Vice-President, Secretary and Members of the Philadel- 
 phia Agricultural Society. R. VAUX, Secretary. 
 
 Understanding that several malicious and ungrounded reports having 
 been in circulation, respecting Dr. Carver, Veterinary Surgeon, havinj 
 killed a mare of mine, which he never attended, I deem it my duty as a 
 fellow citizen and patron of Veterinary Science, to contradict any such 
 evil report as may have a tendency to injure the professional talents of a 
 man, whose services I not only estimate, but shall avail myself of, a$ oc- 
 casion may require. JOHN TOMLINSON. 
 
 Philada., 5th mo. 16th, 1817. 
 
 Having attended at the request of the parties an investigation of the 
 circumstances which led to the death of Mr. Chancellor's horses, we do 
 certify, that nothing came to our knowledge which ought to affect any 
 estimate which might previously have been entertained of the skill and 
 abilities of Mr. Carver as a practitioner of Veterinary Medicine. 
 
 N. CHAPMAN, Professor of Anatomy and M. M. 
 THOS. T. HEWSON, Prof, of Comparative Anatomy. 
 
 {£7° The Students of the University of Pemu 
 sylvania are respectfully invited in the ensuing 
 winter to attend a course of Lectures on the foot 
 of the living Horse, and the various diseases at- 
 tendant on Quadrupeds in general. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 002 866 778 4