Special report on diseases of the horse / by Drs. Pearson [and others].

Date:
1903
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Special report on diseases of the horse / by Drs. Pearson [and others]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    10/690 (page 4)
    and reputation would insure a valuable contribution. By adopting this plan the contents of the volume have been made ready for the printer within a year from the time the work was begun. While, on account of this method of preparation, there may not be quite the same uniformity of style and treatment which would be expected in a volume written by a single author, it is hoped that this will not be found objectionable, and the speedy completion and the cooperation of authors who have given special attention to their subjects will prove of great advantage. The need of a work on the diseases of the horse, which could be distributed to farmers as a safe and scientific guide in the treatment of this species of our domesti- cated animals, either when affected with slight disorders or serious illness, has long been felt. This obvious want has led to the preparation of the present volume, which is designed as the first of a series to cover the diseases of all varieties of farm animals. The writer would not advise the farmer in ordinary circumstances to dis- pense with his veterinarian, any more than he would advise him to treat the diseases of his own family, to manufacture his own furniture, or to be his own blacksmith. There are, however, only too many cases in which the veterinarian can not be pro- cured in time for success, if at all; and, consequently, the farmer who knows or has the means of learning the nature of the disease and the proper treatment will be able to save an animal when otherwise he would lose one. It is common for intelli- gent people to laugh at the idea of attempting to make every man his own doctor, his own veterinarian, or his own carpenter, and in an ideal condition of society no doubt this would be absurd. But under the conditions which actually obtain on our farms, the farmer who can use tools, if but awkwardly, often finds it extremely con- venient to temporarily usurp the functions of the carpenter; and he also finds that in many cases he must treat his ailing animals or allow them to suffer without treat- ment. Knowing this to be the case, is it not far better for the stock owner to have at his command the advice of veterinarians eminent in their profession than for him to follow the absurd, often barbarous, methods of treatment which have been handed down by tradition from the empiricism and ignorance of long-past ages? It is an extremely difficult matter to divest medical literature of technical terms and expressions more or less incomprehensible to the general reader. This has made scientific medicine a sealed book to the masses of our people, and there is no subject of which they are more ignorant. An attempt has been made in this work to present the matter in as simple language as possible, and while some of the authors have been more happy than others in this respect, it is believed that no great diffi- culty will be met with in any of the articles. While the subject has been treated in language of a more or less popular style and the book is intended as a guide to the farmer, its intrinsic scientific value should not be entirely lost sight of. In many respects it is a notable contribution to existing knowledge, and it will be prized by the veterinarian not less than by the farmer. No doubt there are some defects in this first edition which the experience of the future will enable us to remedy, but as a whole the book is one wThich can not fail to be of immense service in educating horse owners and in hastening the adoption of humane and scientific treatment in the disorders which afflict man’s most patient and faithful servant. The illustrations have been very carefully drawn by Mr. Haines, the greater part of the subjects being selected by Hr. Cooper Curtice. In cases where they have been copied due credit has been given on the plates, but it should be stated here that we are indebted to Hr. John S. Billings, of the Army Medical Museum, for the use of the Auzoux models and a number of specimens of diseased feet from which drawings were made. Very respectfully, D. E. Salmon, Chief of Bureau of Animal Industry. Hon. James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture.