The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-11-01
THE EVENING BANN e
AM subscriptions payable in advance.
FRANK E. HOWE, Editor and Pub'r
THE DEER SEASON

Inc open StdSOu lOI uctI HuullNS
ended Saturday at sunset. The re-
turns of the number of deer killed
will not be all in for ten days to two
weeks but from press reports it is
variously estimated by different news
papers at from 5000 to 1000 The
usual guess is that two thirds of these
were doe.
With this number of deer killed in
one week the reports have come in
so thick and fast that the general inn
preston has been that the slaughter
was something tremendous but looked
at calmly and dspassionately the re-
verse seems to be true. Actually not
more have been killed than one years
normal increase and not enough to
make any serious inroads in the sup
ply of deer in the state.
year ago Commissioner Thomas
estimated that there were 10000 to
10000 deer in the state. President
Maxwell Evarts of the Vermont Fish
and Game League said last fall that
in his opinion there were $4,000 deer
in Vermont. For the purpose of con
servative estimate suppose there were
only 10000 a year ago. There must
have been at least 10000 fawns raised
this year, making the total 10000 at
the beginning of the open season a
have been killed it can easily seen
that there has been no unreasonable
diminution in the number of deer in
the state and that next years crop of
fawns. will at least make the supply
good.
The fact that the greatest slaughter
has been in the open land farming dis
tricts leads to the hope that the half
cosset deer-largely doe-have been
killed off and that the deer damage
bill next year will be only fraction
of this years claims The open land
deer that have not been killed have
had lesson as to the danger of get
ting too close to mankind and this
will have a tendency to drive them
back to the deeper woods.
1t is the universal verdict of the
Bennington county sportsmen who
have hunted in the mountain forests
that not five per cent of the deer in
these retired sections have been kill
ed. In fact no impression has been
made on the number. The forests are
full of deer tracks and traces and
they seemed just as plenty Saturday
as they did Monday.
1t is too early yet to view the thing
in fair perspective and for an impor-
taDt part results alone will answer
but, as far as it can be judged at this
time the outcome appears to justify
those who supported the new law.
The apparent result seems to show
that they were correct in their con
clusions The claim made in some
quarters that it would exterminate
the deer is proved to have been alb.
surd and baseless. The uproar some
have made does credit to their tender
heartedness, fine sentiment and elo-
quence, but their logic and judgment
arc utterly upset and confounded.
Another point of attack that the
law would result in the killing of
many hunters through their being mis-
taken for deer is happily proved with
out foundation Although Vernon
-ers are a rather cautious race. with
probably over 10000 hunters in the
woods and fields, it is indeed surpris-
ing that the accidents have been SO
few. The thorough agitation of this
point undoubtedly had good effect