Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1916-10-03
Of leather would have good effect on

Furthermore, deer improve forest
land by eating out the weeds and low
brush, while they seldom, II ever, kill
the trees. eating only the leaves and
smallest twigs Although for the best
results an effort should be made to
tame them, they may be turned loose
In large enclosure where there is
suitable pasture and running water,
and allowed to shift for themselves
Thus deer farming seems to be a
proposition almost too good to be true.
Its possibilities are exceeded only by
those Of the well known Texas cat and
rat farm, where the rats were fed to
the cats and Sthe bodies Of the cats
Washington, d. c., Sept. 20. There
is 4 man in the Adirondacks who owns
! farm consisting Of seven hundred
acres Of wild mountain land. The soil
Is shallow and rocky and the land 10
covered with brush and timber. It
probably would not sell for more than
Ave dollars An acre. It Is impossible
to raise crops upon It, and 1t would
support only Z few head Of cattle or
sheep. Yet this man Is making a liv-
Ing on his land. He expects to make
a great deal more in the next few
years, and that without introducing
any improvements.
This man Is raising venison for the
market. His stock consists Of one hun
dred and fifty ordinary Virginia or
white tail deer. He has q standing
order from q hotel for two deer q week
and he sells the meat for twenty-seven
cents pound; while the horn and
hide are worth something more. Al
though this land would not support
any other kind Of live stock in num-
beers except possibly goats. this farmer
estimates that he can increase his
deer herd to the number Of five hun
dred without causing any scarcity OF
food; for deer eat twigs, leaves and
weeds as well as grass. Their only
rival in the matter of omnivorous ap.
petite Is the goat, and he is not worth
tenth as much
In the opinion Of scientists in the
United States biological survey and OF
men who have already gone into deer
farming, the native Virginia deer is to
be one Of the most important domestic
animals of the future and big money
is to be made in raising venison for
the market because of the low value
Of the land upon which 1t may be pro-
duced. Persons who advocate the rails.
ing Of the Angora goat in this country
estimate that there are, 250,000, 900
acres OF land in the United States
which would support goats, and are At
for practically nothing else. A large
part of this immense tract would also
support deer. The Adirondacks. the
whole Allegheny chain from Pennsy!-
vania to Georgia, the Ozarks, the
coastal wilderness Of the Carolinas
and the pine barrens Of Florida are all
potential deer range, capable Of pro.
ducing many pounds Of venison to the
square mile, which are now yielding
practically nothing in the way Of food.
In the mountain regions mentioned. q
few scrub cattle and razor back hogs.
both OF which have to be fed In win
ter. are the only live stock the land
supports, while most Of II Is wholly uE-
At for farming.
Learned economists have often
wrangled rs to whether man should
add to the number Of animals that he
has d0mesticated. some of them claim
Ing that he has already a. many as he
needs. while others say that he should
extend his sovereignty over animate
nature as rapidly as possible because
the exhaustion Of the supply Of petro-
leum Is going to make animal power
and animal products immensely more
valuable in the future.
Which ever side may be right. the
value to the United States OF domest;-,
eating the native American deer and
making our great tracts of wilderness
produce meat supply is obvious. It
will be one more method OF pulling
down the soaring beefsteak. Perhaps
equally important 1t will provide the.
means OF restocking wild lands with