judgment he is wrong. Wallace, in his DARWINISM, has shown that the death occasioned 

 by creatures of prey is probably a painless one. Several cases are cited to prove this ; 

 among them the well-known instance of Livingstone, who thus describes his sensations 

 when seized by a lion: " He caught my shoulder as he sprang * * he shook me as a 

 terrier-dog does a rat. The shock produced a stupor similar to that which seems to be felt 

 by a mouse after the first shake of the cat. It causes a sense of dreaminess in which there 

 was no sense of pain or feeling of terror, though I was quite conscious." 



If, therefore, we may conclude that the Shrike's methods of obtaining food entail the 

 least possible amount of suffering, we must at least acquit the bird of the charge of cruelty. 

 But we may go farther than this and claim for the Shrike, and for all birds and animals of 

 prey, that they actually confer a benefit upon the species, the individuals of which they 

 kill. The victims which they seize and put to death are the least active and are generally 

 those which are diseased. The vigorous and healthy escape, and since these perpetuate 

 the race, increased vigor and health in the offspring result. 



John Watson, an English writer on game-birds, has shown that by the trapping and 

 extermination of Eagles, Hawks, Owls, Weasels, etc., sportsmen interfere with the balance 

 of power among wild creatures, and destroy the very agents appointed to keep the moors 

 healthful. As the Otter takes the Salmon blinded by fungoid disease, so Hawks and 

 the like capture the slowest of the Grouse. Now the slowest Grouse is such by reason of 



