The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1903-07-19
FARMERS AFTER DEER.
Great Damage Done by the Animals
In cornfields of the Northwest.

From the New York Sun.
This is the season when the farmer Of
the northwest grabs his rife and goes
out to break the game law with pride in
his heart and a desire that he had a game
warden tied somewhere so that he could
shoot between his toes. The farmer is
after deer now and he is after the deer
because the deer are after his corn.
Scattered through the woods In the
Superior country are many small farms
that have been cleared within ten years
past. There has been a considerable
though quiet immigration to that region,
and a majority of the immigrants have
been men of agriculture. The deer is to
them a very serious animal. They regard
him as a peril, and outside of liking to
eat him, shoot at him as a duty.
The strongly protective laws Of some
of the western states have resulted in a
enormous increase of deer While there
ore many hunters In the woods each fall.
there is a huge amount of thickly tim
bered territory, and the hunters cannot
begin to account for 1.-THE Of the ami
mails.
Many more OF them are slain by wolves
than by human beings, but they continue
to increase and probably will continue
to do so until there is a change in the law
which permits the killing of only two
animals In a year and limits the time OF
the killing to November.
There is nothing a deer likes better
than young standing corn and it will ex-
ercise considerable wit and do some tall
jumping to get it. It is the farmers pur-
pose to preserve the corn at all hazards
and he will break the law in order to do
it.
It is no trick at all TO kill the deer I'M
der such conditions. The only thing the
farmer tries to do is to avoid being
caught after the killing is done. That
may give him some trouble II the war
densl are active.
The field shows In the morning that a
deer has visited it during the night. I'm
less the farmer has been inexcusably
careless the animal got in by jumping
the fence. Its impact Will be plainly
marked. and it win be certain to return
on the next night. jumping the fence at
the same place and keeping this up until
it is killed or has enough Of corn.
The farmer has choice of lying in
wait In the field at night near the point
of entry and shooting the deer as 1t
comes inf the night is 10 be of bright
moonlight (and deer do most Of their
feeding on such nights he will probably
adopt this course-or he may follow the
deer's track outside of the fence find
what runway 1t used coming to the field
and wait for the robber there.
Or he may wait near to the trampled
part of the corn. knowing that the deer,
once inside will approach II much less
suspiciously than 1t will approach the
fence. Or he may leave his gun hanging
on its nail and set a sharp stake Inside
the fence at the point of entry waiting
for the deer to fall on 1t when he leaps.
Any one Of these methods is apt to be
fatal II the farmer knows anything about
the business, and he is apt to know
good deal about 1t If he has taken up
homestead In the woods and made his
clearing on It, He will not use a head
light to shine the eyes Of the deer, be-
cause he does not knew whether or not
he may shine the eyes of a game warden.
and Of dark night In July the headlight
is conspicuous mile away.
There are hundreds of deer slain each
summer In this way, and they are in
better condition now than at any other
time of the year. They have been feed
ing upon the lily pads and soft wet
grasses of the lakes until entirely recov-
cred from their winter fast and the
young corn they have been eating has
hardened their flesh and put singu-
larly delicious taste to it.
II the deer simply took such corn as II
could eat. and went off about its bus
mess, 1t Is not likely that the farmer
would risk arrest, trial, fine, and dis
grace to square accounts with It, He
would be willing TO lose 50 much and
say nothing about it.
But it is the habit Of the deer feeding
in a cornf1eld first to fill itself with corn
and fodder and then to break down and
trample five times as much as 1t has
eaten. The deer in this manner will de-
stroy a quarter of an acre Of corn In a
night, and If it's visits are repeated--as
they will be unless something happens
to 1.-THE incursions become weighty
matter to the poor man.
So the shooting of deer by farmers in
July goes on merily, and, since the farm
ers have majorities in all the legislatures
of these states, it is probable that they
will change the law whenever the ward
ems grow inquisitive.