The White-Tailed Deer 11 



in New York State in 1918 was 8,293 ; in Pennsylvania 

 in 1919, it was 2,913 ; and in Minnesota in 1919, both 

 bucks and does were killed to the tremendous total of 

 18,572. In 17 states east of the Mississippi River, an 

 estimate of the number of deer killed in 1910 was 60,- 

 150. These results have been accomplished by well- 

 conceived and well-administered game laws. At first 

 these merely limited shooting to certain seasons of the 

 year and protected the animals only while the young 

 were being born and partly reared. Later, more re- 

 strictions became necessary, such as shortening the 

 season, requiring licenses of hunters, limiting the num- 

 ber permitted to be killed by any one hunter, regulating 

 interstate commerce in game, prohibiting the sale of 

 venison, and wholly prohibiting the killing of does and 

 fawns. The so-called ''buck law," by which only males 

 can be legally killed at any season, thus completely 

 protecting the does and fawns, is on the statute books 

 of about half the states and there are fifteen states 

 (including Illinois and Indiana) in which deer hunting 

 is entirely prohibited for a period of years. 



Another recent development has been the estab- 

 lishment of both public and private preserves and 

 game refuges. Game farming is also practiced suc- 

 cessfully and deer are kept in semi-domesticated condi- 

 tions in large enclosures and sold under special regu- 

 lations for their meat or for restocking and propaga- 

 tion purposes. With the good laws now in force and 

 with the demonstrated capacity of the deer to thrive 

 in limited areas in close proximity to man, there is 

 every reason to hope that the White-tailed Deer, per- 

 haps the most attractive of all our game animals, may 

 remain a feature of our woodlands for many years to 

 come. 



Wilfred H. OsGoon. 



Curator of Zoolor/t/. 



[11] 



