. Wright's book of poultry, revised and edited in accordance with the latest poultry club standards. from silver spurs of similar shape. Such then was cock-fighting ; such were itsmethods, its votaries, and the scale upon whichit was carried on in the days of our grandfathers,or perhaps some of our fathers. It is not sonecessary now as it was evenBarbarity \^ \i72, to declaim against theCock-fighting, cruelty of it, since its total sup-pression is only a question of time ;but it still seems necessary to point out clearlywherein the brutality, which we must stillascribe to it, really consists.
. Wright's book of poultry, revised and edited in accordance with the latest poultry club standards. from silver spurs of similar shape. Such then was cock-fighting ; such were itsmethods, its votaries, and the scale upon whichit was carried on in the days of our grandfathers,or perhaps some of our fathers. It is not sonecessary now as it was evenBarbarity \^ \i72, to declaim against theCock-fighting, cruelty of it, since its total sup-pression is only a question of time ;but it still seems necessary to point out clearlywherein the brutality, which we must stillascribe to it, really consists. That does not lie somuch as supposed, in the actual suffering of thebirds themselves. It is curious that some of theoriginal promoters of the Society for the Preven-tion of Cruelty to Animals expressly exemptedcock-fighting from their strictures. One of them—and not himself addicted to it—^points out howthe Game cock is kept in comfort till the day ofbattle, and then cannot be forced, but is actuatedby his natural instinct, and in fact remarks very much to the same effect;. Fig. 114.—Steei Spurs. the contributor already quoted remarks, If twococks are left together in a state of Nature, deatlito one or both is a natural result, but it is likelyto be the work of hours; whereas a battle withtwo heeled cocks in good condition rarely lasts 35-» THE BOOK OF POULTRY. five minutes, and a great many are struck deadmuch quicker than if their heads were cut cleanoff. It is indeed a somewhat mysterious fact, ofwhich we are assured by many whom weiniplicitly believe, that while the difficulty of(apparently) killing a fowl is proverbial, veryottcn a struck cock appears to die instantly: theexcitement and brain pressure having probablysomething to do with this phenomenon, whichseems a merciful provision of Nature, or ratherof that Power which overrules her metal spurs actually lessen, by shortening,the pain inflicted ; though there can be no doubtthat
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublishe, booksubjectpoultry
