Evening star., 1898-04-08
DEER ON LONG ISLAND.
Farmers Declare They Destroy Crops
md Orchards.
From the New York World.

ana Orcharus.
From the New York World
There is a small but potent revolution
brewing about Sayville, L. l., and in the
course of a week or so they may hear of
IL in Albany. The trouble with the farm
ers is that some inspired legislator desires
to further protect the deer herd against
the farmers, whereas the farmers need
protection against the deer. So they say
that If the bill goes through they will rise
up and ignore it, and in protection to
themselves slaughter every animal that in
terferes with their turnips and farm truck.
The law now protects the deer, save on
four Wednesdays in November. Even with
the horde of hunters that harry the deer
on these days the herd has multiplied
amazingly. and with boldness foreign to
their general nature have raided every gar
den far and near, to the desperation of the
farmer.
The deer have a decided taste for tur-
nips, cabbage and cauiifiower. Last sea-
son their depredations were extensive.
Scarecrows and lanterns in no way intimi-
dated them, dogs could do nothing against
them, and it was against the law to
hound them except on the four days in
November.
In the midst of the deers' depredations
a delegation of farmers from Bohemian
vile protested to the board of supervisors
at Riverhead. They told the supervisors
that the deer were destroying their crops,
and demanded protection The supervis-
ors said they could do nothing.
49, Among these farmers was Carl Munkel
witz. He had tried everything to keep the
deer out of his cabbage patch. He set up
scarecroWS around the field and at night
hung out lanterns. After a night or SO the
deer got accustomed to these devices, and
in the morning Mr.. Munkelwitz found his
field torn up from one end to the other
and most of his cabbageS ruined
See here he said to the supervisors,
you won't let me shoot the deer so 1
can't protect myself against their ravages.
NOW, what am l going to do? You should
at least pay me damages"
The supervisors grinned at this and
guessed not. They had no right to pay
damages. but they told the farmer he must
under no circumstances shoot those deer
So Mr.. Munkelwitz went home and again
despairingly set outfi hiss scarecrows and
lanterns; but they did no good The deer
returned as usual and ins despair the cab
bage patch was abandoned.
In another orchard near Sayville nine
teen out of thirty-six young fruit trees in
one orchard were ruined by the bucks
They had either browsed upon the stems or
Knocked their horns against them until the
bark was worn off. A little farther to the
westward Is another fruit farm, where 100
young trees had been set out in the spring
Three days later the owner discovered that
the deer had browsed on fourteen of them
and that they were rstinel. The following
night the owner was ready for the deer
The law said he must not kill them. but
he said nothing of other, r,means of getting
rid of them. So when the moon came up
the farmer was waitipgii behind a fence
with an eight-bore duck gun loaded with
rock salt.
Late in the night a buck, followed by
two does, jumped the fence and after sur
veying the ground prepared to lunch off a
new batch of trees. The farmer allowed
all three to become interested in a young
Baldwin apple tree, and then he blazed
into the thick Of them. With snorts of ter
ror the deer leaped back into the forest
and were gone. An hour later another
hand of deer came into the. orchard When
they got in range the farmer let go at
them. and since then the orchard and gar
dens have not been nolested.
The farmers about here believe that the
new bill at Albany was drawn up af the
request OF. the, Long Island railroad and
the South Side sportsmen's Club. The
railroad wants the deer protected, for dur
ing the open season 1t obtains q tremen-
dous trade from the hunters that Journey
to the grounds. One day last year 1t was
calculated that 2.7O0 men with guns and
dogs ranged through the woods near here,