Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 24.djvu/217

Rh V E S V E T 197 historic volcano, and which still form so marked a feature on the outer slopes of Somma, have on the south side served as channels to guide the currents of lava from the younger cone. But they are gradually being filled up there and will before long disappear under the sheets of molten rock that from time to time rush into them from above. On one of the ridges between these radiating valleys an obser vatory for watching the progress of the volcano was estab lished many years ago by the Neapolitan Government, and is still supported as a national institution. A continuous record of each phase in the volcanic changes has been taken, and some progress has been made in the study of the phenomena of Vesuvius, and in prognosticating the occurrence and probable intensity of eruptions. A wire- rope railway (opened in the year 1880) carries visitors from the foot of the cone up to within 150 yards of the mouth of the crater. See Volcanoes, by G. P. Scrope, 1872 ; Vesuvius, by John Phillips, 1869 ; Der Ausbruch des Vesuv im April 1S72, by A. Heim, 1873 ; Vesuvio e la sua Storia and Pompei e la lierjione Sottcrrata dal Vesuvio nel Anno 79, by Prof. Palmieri, Naples, 1879 ; Studien uber Vulkane und Erdbeben, by J. F. Schmidt, 1881 ; and &quot; The Geology of Monte Somma and Vesuvius,&quot; by H. J. Johnstone-Lavis, 1884, in Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc. , vol. xl. p. 85. See also GEOLOGY, vol. x. p. 240 sq., (A. GE.) VESZPREM, the chief town of a county of the same name in Hungary, lies between Lake Balaton and the forest of Bakony, about 65 miles south-west of Buda- Pesth. Veszprem is the seat of a Roman Catholic bishop, whose cathedral and palace, with the county hall and the gymnasium, form the chief features of the town. Veszprem is a station on the Western Railway system. Its four annual fairs are much frequented from all parts of the trans-Danubian district, and the trade in grain, wine, and home industries generally is considerable. The town is of very ancient origin, and was known to the Romans by the name of Cimbria. The queens of the Arpad dynasty used occasionally to reside here, and even now the queens of Hungary are crowned by the bishop of Veszprem. The place suffered much during the contentions between the Turks and the Hungarians and Austrians in the 16th and 17th centuries. The population numbered 14,800 in 1886. VETERINABY SCIENCE T I HIS science comprises a knowledge of the conformation and structure of all the domesticated animals, espe cially the horse ; their physiology and special racial and individual characteristics ; their humane management and utilization ; their protection from, and medical and surgical treatment in, the diseases and injuries to which they are exposed ; their amelioration and improvement ; their relations to the human family with regard to communicable disorders ; and the supply of food and other products, more particularly those derived from them for the use of mankind. HISTORY. There is evidence that the Egyptians practised veterin ary medicine and surgery in very remote times ; but it is Amongst not until we turn to the Greeks that we obtain any very the definite information with regard to the state of veterinary Greeks. Rg we jj ag numan me dicine in antiquity. The writings of Hippocrates (460-356 B.C.) afford evidence of excellent investigations in comparative pathology. Diocles of Car- istus, who was nearly a contemporary, was one of the first to occupy himself with anatomy, which he studied in animals. Aristotle, too, wrote on physiology and com parative anatomy, and on the maladies of animals, while many other Greek writers on veterinary medicine are cited or copied from by Varro, Columella, and Galen. And we must not overlook Mago of Carthage (200 B.C.), whose work in twenty-eight books was translated into Greek and was largely used by Varro and Columella. Amongst Until after the conquest of Greece the Romans do not ^ ie appear to have known much of veterinary medicine. U1S - Varro (116-28 B.C.) may be considered the first Roman writer who deals with animal medicine in a scientific spirit, in his De Re Rustica, in three books, which is largely derived from Greek writers. Celsus is supposed to have written on animal medicine ; and Columella (1st century) is credited with having utilized those relating to veterinary science in the sixth and seventh parts of his De Re Rustica, one of the best works of its class of ancient times : it treats, not only of medicine and surgery, but also of sani tary measures for the suppression of contagious diseases. From the 3d century onwards veterinary science had a literature of its own and regular practitioners, especially in the service of the Roman armies (mulomedici, veterin- arii). Perhaps the most renowned veterinarian of the Roman empire was Apsyrtus of Bithynia, who in 322 accompanied the expedition of Constantino against the Sarmatians in his professional capacity, and seems to have enjoyed a high and well-deserved reputation in his time. He was a keen observer ; he distinguished and described a number of diseases which were badly defined by his predecessors, recognized the contagious nature of several maladies, and prescribed isolation for their suppression ; he also made interesting observations on accidents and diseases of horses limbs, and waged war against certain absurd empirical practices then prevailing in the treatment of disease, indicating rational methods, some of which are still successfully employed in veterinary therapeutics, such as splints for fractures, sutures for wounds, cold water for the reduction of prolapsed vagina, hot baths for tetanus, &c. Not less eminent was Hierocles, the successor of Apsyrtus, whose writings he largely copied, but with improvements and valuable additions, especially in the hygiene and training of horses. Pelagonius again was a writer of empirical tendency, and his treatment of disease in general was most irrational. Publius Vegetius (not to be confounded with Flavius Vegetius Renatus, who wrote on the military art) was a popular author of the end of the 5th century, though less distinguished than Apsyrtus, to whom and to Pelagonius he was to a great extent indebted in the preparation of his Mulomcdicina sive Ars Veterinaria. He appears to have been more of a horse-dealer than a veterinary practitioner, and knew next to nothing of anatomy, which seems to have been but little cultivated at that period. He was very superstitious and a believer in the influence of demons and sorcerers ; nevertheless he gives some interesting observations derived from his travels. He had also a good idea of aerial infection, recognized the utility of disinfectants, and describes some operations not referred to by previous writers, such as removal of calculi from the bladder through the rectum, couching for cataract, the extirpation of certain glands, and several serious operations on the horse s foot. Though inferior to several works written by his predecessors, the Mulomedicina of Vegetius maintained its popularity through many centuries. Of most of the ancient veterin ary writers we know little beyond what can be gathered from the citations and extracts in the two great collections of Hippiatrica and Geoponica compiled by order of Con stantino Porphyrogenitus in the 10th century. It is unnecessary to dwell here on the progress of the In veterinary art during the Middle Ages. Towards the Middle close of the mediaeval period the subject was much culti- ge6