INTRODUCTION 9 



hunting goes into the pockets of men who possess, 

 either by ownership or tenancy, large holdings. As 

 a rule their land is pasture, with inclosures varying 

 from fifty to a hundred acres, in which barbed wire, 

 the bugbear of hunting, would be worse than use- 

 less. They are breeders of horses and livestock 

 rather than farmers in the strict sense of the word. 

 In order to keep their livestock within bounds they 

 must have strong fences, such as would stop 75 per 

 cent, of men who ride to hounds. To them barbed 

 wire means risk to their young horses and damage to 

 the hides of their cattle, since it is the instinct of 

 cattle to press against the barbs, with the result that 

 the hide, when sent to the tanner's yard, is found to 

 be blemished. Their fences are too strong to be 

 trampled down, and the damage done to their pasture 

 by a large field of horsemen and horsewomen gallop- 

 ing over it is infinitesimal. Moreover, as a rule, their 

 circumstances are such that they can afford to enjoy 

 the sport. Herein lies the crux of the case : the man, 

 who can afford to enjoy a sport, will support that 

 sport, whatever it may be, under any circumstances. 

 How much more will he do so when it brings him 

 financial profit ! 



The details of this financial profit will be first 

 stated in the form of statistics. There are 150 

 recognised packs of foxhounds in England alone. 

 For each pack we may assume that on the average 

 there are 100 horses used exclusively for hunting 

 purposes, i.e. 15,000 horses are kept in England for 



