THE ZOOLOGY OF SPORT 365 



rivalry and emulation playing no unimportant part in the matter. 

 When the further evolution of civilization diminished the material 

 importance of hunting and fishing, these arts continued to be 

 pursued for pleasure as well as for profit; hence the origin of 

 modern sport. 



This is not the place to enter into a long disquisition regarding 

 the ethics of field-sports, but such of them as deserve the name 

 involve certain obvious fundamentals. There must be room for 

 skill, the quarry must have a fair chance, and every precaution 

 should be taken to prevent a miserable and lingering death on 

 the part of maimed or wounded animals. The hunter of "big 

 game" would no doubt add that "the greater the danger the 

 greater the sport ". Selous, for instance, remarks (in The Sports 

 of the Worldy. — " Lion-hunting by savages, armed only with 

 spears or bows and arrows, must have been incomparably more 

 dangerous, and therefore infinitely finer sport, than the pursuit 

 of these animals by civilized man at the present day armed with 

 modern rifles ". On the other hand, it is quite possible for a 

 recognized form of sport to become so highly artificial as to 

 demand hardly more skill to make a "bag" than would be 

 required to slaughter the inhabitants of the poultry -yard with 

 a shot-gun. Under such circumstances " massacre " and not 

 " sport " would be the proper word to employ. 



Our pluck, vigour, and enterprise as a nation are undoubtedly 

 due in no small degree to the influence of field-sports, and to 

 entirely exclude these from our national life, as some would have 

 us do, on the ground of cruelty to animals, would be as inex- 

 pedient as it is impossible. On the other hand, the view of the 

 matter which suggests that it is rather a pleasure than otherwise 

 to be hunted may be regarded as a little optimistic. Lady 

 Augusta Fane, for example, makes the following" remarks on 

 fox-hunting (in English Sport): — "Worthy folks who fancy that 

 they are more humane than their neighbours write about the 

 cruelty of fox-hunting, drawing fancy pictures of a poor, timid, 

 terrified little creature pursued by savage dogs, ruthless viragoes, 

 and brutal men! As a matter of fact, foxes constantly live to a 

 green old age, and defeat their pursuers season after season. 

 They do not even pretend to be frightened. How often we 

 have seen a fox break out of covert, look around, give himself 

 a good shake, and, whisking his brush, trot off without the 



