20 CENTURY OF ENGLISH FOX-HUNTING 



offered to them for their shootings by the prosperous 

 money- mongers of London and the large towns. 

 Thus, in many hunting countries there has been an 

 influx of non-resident shooting- tenants, whose only 

 object is to obtain a big head of game without regard 

 to the hunting proclivities of their neighbours. These 

 tenants will profess to do all in their power to 

 promote the welfare of local hunting; but, even if 

 the professions were made in good faith, the power to 

 carry them into effect is infinitesimal, since they are 

 not on the spot to control the practices of their 

 keepers. Vulpicide is still considered a crime in 

 most hunting countries, and the man who shoots a 

 fox, whether he be master or keeper, has to suffer the 

 pains and penalties of social ostracism, which can be 

 enforced in the village alehouse, as well as in the 

 country-house smoking-room. The keeper is aware 

 of this, so he invented a more deadly and a more 

 cruel form of destruction than shooting, by " stopping- 

 in " the earths during the daytime in such a manner 

 that the strongest dog-fox could not possibly dig 

 himself out, and so ex necessitate rei must rot to 

 death with all the horrors of slow starvation. Com- 

 ment upon such inhumanity is unnecessary ; nor do I 

 believe that any non-resident shooting-tenant would 

 sanction the practice of " stopping-in." Unfortu- 

 nately, non-resident tenants are ignorant of the 

 doings of their keepers, who regard the fox as their 

 natural enemy. There is an old distich which says : 



" One fox on foot more diversion will bring 

 Than twice twenty thousand cock-pheasants on wing " ; 



