DEER STALKING.

Waikato Argus, Volume X, Issue 957, 29 May 1901, Page 4

DEER STALKING.

TO THK EDITOR. ,-" SIR, —I hope I will not be encroaching & too freely upon your paper's space with V the followiug letter. It is as near as I I can recollect übont four years ago-inee ': tho restriction was takeu off deer in th# I 'Waikato and Pmko districts by the U 'Hon. J. G. Ward, then Colonial beoie* J* Wry, owing to tho destruction which ;. they wero doing to pastures, cropi and I fenced. At that time it was not unusual i to tee mobs of from 100 down to 10—in I tome instances oven up to 170—on a 1 less area than 20.000 acres. Ido iot ' v jnean ,to Say that those numbers were f aflTthat could be seen on that aoreage, .;.'; but that you could see that many to« V. gather in heids about perhaps half a 1 mile or 20 chains or perhsps one mile p or so apart according to the country. That 1b only a few years ago. »ud I do : not suppose at the outside thero have 1 bi:eu 3,000 deer killed in the WuiUato :- since the restriction was taken off, i-iid ;; you oan now have an idea of the nun.' er ■/of deer s.ti!l prot-cted. At the very -least I estimate them at 400,000 between ;'" Cambridge, Tirau, Mutamata, Richmond ~.D owns and Scotchman's Valley taking a .'circle. Many will no doubt laugh at thejideaas they used todoconcerningother '■j pests until they have to face the matter, 1 and say it's all bosh about there being '. so many. If any man who understands | deer will just go out without his rifle simply to see bow many he will see he i can easily calculate. They will not be seen in such large mobs now owing to "'r the numbers who are continually |§ frightening them, all the same they are U".- there, and it is to be very much regretted that property owners, etc., h.we such a jwj liking to protect them. Every deer 9 that is depasturing on turnips wi 1 '" destroy mere than several sheep will use. He is not satisfied with enough ', but will top ucres. I have seen grass y and turnip crops that, practically speaking, were sown for deer for they had the best of tho crop tefore the stoc'-i - went on.—l am, etc., Deer Ptalkeb.