The British veterinary profession, 1791—1948

part of the treatise, which as a whole comprises nine parts devoted entirely to therapeutics. This is followed by a review of the historical sources and useful short biographical sections relating to Ibn Ezra and al-Haitham. The content of each part of the treatise, excluding the first which has already been dealt with, is described with reference to other medical writers. The psychological and symbolic significance of the remedies is discussed and the theories commented on in the light of modern scientific knowledge. An index to this fascinating elucidation of the text is given on pp. 339 ff. The problem of comparing the extant Hebrew manuscripts is dealt with in the section preceding the translation and commentary of the Hebrew text. Nine manuscripts are described and the distinction between the books of Nisyonot of Ibn Ezra and Segulot of Ibn al-Haitham made. The difficult task of exploring the relationship between the manuscripts, noting their similarities and differences, is clearly set out and the apparatus employed shows with admirable clarity the many variants between the texts by means of a novel graphical method. The work concludes with four plates of manuscripts consulted, a useful bibliography, and the index already referred to. The editors have every reason to be proud of the technical skill and erudition their work displays, and the Wellcome Trust can be well satisfied in having supported the publication of a considerable achievement of scholarship. A comprehensive history of the British veterinary profession would be a most welcome publication to many readers, especially those interested in the emergence of occupational hierarchies and a profession's role within society. The modern veterinary surgeon is a splendid example of upward social mnobility, his status before the eighteenth century similar to that of other skilled craftsmen, but strikingly improved from the 1790s with increased professional awareness and higher educational requirements. lain Pattison's survey begins in 1791 with the establishment of the London Veterinary College, under the direction of Vial de St Bel, whose early death from glanders made possible the appointment of a surgeon, Edward Coleman, as Professor. The choice was made by a prestigious "Medical Experimental Committee", which included John Hunter, George Baker, and William Fordyce. Throughout the book, Pattison deals harshly with Coleman, referring to his friends, such as Astley Cooper, as "cronies" and condemning him for earning some £3,500 a year from pupils' fees and army consultancies, commonplace sources of …