FOXES AND THE EVERLASTING QUESTION 171 



infinitely quicker and more reliable means of gaining 

 the same end; and free, too, from the disturbance 

 of game caused by the destruction of foxes by 

 hunting. 



Hunting is a sport, and sport is a luxury. Hunt- 

 ing is a luxury productive, at the end of a day's 

 sport, at the best of times, of no greater commercial 

 asset than two or three dead foxes, which, if rescued 

 before they are too much disfigured by hounds, may 

 fetch the fancy price of half a sovereign each, for 

 the sake of their skins their flesh being worthless, 

 even for sausages. Shooting is a sport and a 

 luxury, but at the end of a day's shooting there is 

 generally several pounds' worth of good food of 

 intrinsic value, which either can be given away or 

 turned into hard cash. The amount of valuable, 

 easily marketable food obtained during a day's shoot- 

 ing is proportionate, first, to the money invested in 

 production, and, secondly, to the skill of those who 

 shoot and of their keepers. The total value of 

 game produced, roughly speaking, should approach, 

 if not equal, the rent of a shoot. Working expenses, 

 keepers' and beaters' wages, and so forth, also will 

 be about equal to the rent. So, on shooting, a return 

 may be looked for equivalent to half the outlay 

 ten shillings in the pound. On the other hand, it 

 has been computed that each fox killed by hounds 

 involves an expenditure of a hundred pounds. So, 

 valuing all dead foxes at half a sovereign each, that 



