84 SPORT. 



SO ; and I myself shall be exposed to some animad- 

 version, I doubt not, for venturing to say a word 

 in defence or excuse of it. Admitting, however, 

 its unromantic, tame, and utterly artificial character 

 in the abstract, it is nevertheless in practice a sport, 

 and one in which scientific arrangement and skill 

 are requisite to insure success, although, unlike 

 fox-hunting or salmon-fishing, it is capable, as 

 regards its raw material, of being reduced to a 

 certainty. 



A friend of mine whose pheasants had bred badly, 

 but who was nevertheless anxious to show sport to 

 the guests whom he had previously invited to shoot, 

 purchased 500 live pheasants in London and turned 

 them down in his coverts. They happened to be 

 nearly all cocks, which are usually sold cheaper than 

 hens, and on one of his guests remarking on the 

 singular preponderance of the male bird, the host, 

 being a man of readiness and resource, promptly 

 replied, ** Yes ; ifs a great cock year!' But these 

 birds flew well, and looked just as wild as if they 



