A HUNTING ARGUMENT 249 



remain, but the stocks some would say alas ! 

 have gone from use for ever. 



The hunting man has a hundred reasons why hunting 

 is a blessing to the community. He argues that 

 hunting circulates gold every year to the 

 tune of seven and a half million pounds 

 Argument an( * that this is good for the horse trade, the 

 forage trade, for the blacksmith, the harness- 

 maker, and for an army of grooms. Then hunting 

 tends to keep at their homes in the country wealthy 

 people, who might winter abroad if there were no 

 foxes to follow. This means that many large estab- 

 lishments are kept open, servants are kept in food 

 and wages, local tradesmen stand to benefit. Further, 

 it is claimed that there is little to be said against 

 hunting we often hear how riders, horses, hounds, 

 and foxes all enjoy the sport ; on this point, how- 

 ever, we have no direct evidence from foxes. And 

 it is claimed that the amount of damage done to 

 agriculture is infinitesimal though farmers who 

 have had hounds over young corn, or seeds, or fine 

 fields of turnips, might bring conflicting evidence to 

 bear on the point. Perhaps the favourite argument 

 in favour of hunting is that the sport is good for 

 horse-breeding, and that the hunting-field is the 

 finest training school for cavalry. Gamekeepers 

 would be among the first to lament the abolition of 

 fox-hunting, for if it were not for the existence of 



