148 The Nature-Study Idea 



best hunting Is that which kills quickly. The 

 poorest — for both the hunted and the hunter — 

 is that which prolongs the struggle. The 

 "gamey" fish is the one most liked by anglers. 

 The "sport" of catching him depends on his 

 desperate struggle for life; and this struggle Is 

 often prolonged that the excitement may be 

 greater I Nature herself could be Indicted for 

 cruelty were not her practices dictated by inevi- 

 table conditions; but this fact does not release 

 man, who acts largely as a free and moral agent. 

 In nature, many animals meet violent or tragic 

 deaths. The bird of passage that cannot keep 

 up with its fellows Is caught by the hawk or 

 owl. The weaklings and stragglers are taken. 

 Raise the curtain of night and behold the 

 tragedies. Where are the graves of the unfit? 



Man is not responsible for the tragedies of 

 nature; but he is responsible for the tragedies 

 that he himself inflicts. 



The practices of any age are but the expres- 

 sions of the needs and motives of that age. 

 Much of the hunting Is dictated by the desire 

 of profits in money, and these profits often 



