CRUELTY TO ANIMALS.
[To THE EDITOR OP THE "SPEC7TATOR.1 SIE,—Between the railings that enclose the centres of our London squares smaller rails are often inserted to prevent dogs from entering. In Norland Square, Notting Hill—and probably in others—these smaller rails are about 2 ft. 6 in. high, and are sharply pointed. This height is ingeniously calculated to impale a lively dog, should he be eager to enter the forbidden ground, for the rails are not high enough to prevent his making the attempt, and not low enough to enable him to make it with impunity. It is, of course, quite right that dogs should be excluded from the gardens; but this might be done without inflicting torture or death upon the poor animals. For instance, the inner rails might be made a foot or so higher, or they might be made blunt, or a horizontal rail might be placed on the top, or wire netting might be used, as is often done in the case of private houses. The occasion of this letter is the fact that I have a dog who has been most seriously, if not fatally, hurt by one of these hideous spikes, and the veterinary surgeon states that they are a frequent cause of injury to dogs, and even to young children. I do not know whether the attention of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has been directed to these instruments of torture; they certainly deserve as much attention as the more familiar acts of cruelty to animals we read of in the Police
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