THE NEW HUNTING m 



A new literature has been born. It Is the 

 literature of the Out-of-doors. It is written from 

 the world viewpoint, rather than from the study 

 viewpoint. Man is not the only, nor even the 

 chief, actor. Even the stories of animals of the old 

 time do not have the flavor of this bright new 

 literature. Not so very long ago animal stories 

 were often told for the purpose of carrying a 

 moral — they were self-conscious. Now they are 

 told because they are worth telling. The real 

 moral is the interest in the animal and the way in 

 which it contrives to live, not in some extraneous 

 literary appendage that tries to make an application 

 to human conduct. No longer can one write a 

 good nature-piece until he has intimate knowledge 

 of the animal or plant in the wild, and has tried to 

 put himself in its place. Perhaps the old school of 

 literary effort is not losing ground ; but it is certain 

 that the new is gaining. The new literature is 

 founded on specific technical knowledge, but it 

 embraces all the human sympathies. It is the 

 outcome of the study of objects and phenomena. 

 The first product was scientific literature. The 

 second is the lucid resourceful nature-writing of the 

 present day. There are new standards of literary 

 excellence. 



The awakening interest in the nature-world is 

 strongly reflected in the game laws — for these laws 

 are only an imperfect expression of the growing 

 desire to let everything live its own life. The 

 recent revulsion of feeling against the shooting of 

 trapped pigeons, as expressed in agitations before 



