118 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



the same raised by hand would be worth at least $30 for a buck, or $45 

 for a doe. 



!\ry method of raising by hand is as follows: A tract of 3 or 4 

 acres, free of underbrush, in which the fawns might hide, is fenced off 

 from the main park. Early in May the does that are to drop fawns are 

 confined in this small lot. 



During fawning time the lot is carefully searched at intervals of 

 two or three days, and when a fawn a day or two old is found it is at 

 once tagged by tying about its neck a strip of cloth — red if it is a buck 

 or white if it is a doe — and allowed to remain with the doe ten days, 

 when it is taken from the park and confined in a 5 ft. by 10 ft. cage 

 made of one-inch poultry netting, lined inside with cloth and bedded 

 with clean straw. A 5 by 10 cage will accommodate 12 fawns. The 

 bedding must be kept dry and frequently changed for cleanliness. The 

 cloth lining is necessary to prevent injury. The youngster is exceed- 

 ingly wild at first and dashes himself against the sides of the cage in 

 frantic efi^orts to escape. 



If allowed to remain longer than ten days with the doe, it is often 

 impossible to capture the fawn except by a chase or by strategy. The 

 latter consists in biding your time until the fawn is found lying beside 

 a log, stump, or clump of bushes, when it is very stealthily approached 

 from the leeward to within springing distance and pounced upon before 

 it can get to its feet. When other methods of capture fail, it may be 

 run into a fish net in which it will become entangled. 



The fawns remain in the cage for two weeks, during which time 

 they learn to drink fresh milk from a bottle and become quite tame. 

 They are then allowed the freedom of an enclosure 20 by 100 feet for 

 two weeks longer, when they are given a still wider range. But they 

 must not be returned to the park, else they will become wild again. 



The adult Virginia buck, if raised by hand, often becomes vicious, 

 especially during the rutting season, and should not be trusted until 

 rendered comparatively harmless either by sawing off his antlers an 

 inch above the burr or by bolting a 1 by 4 hardwood board 3 feet long 

 across the tips of his antlers. The wild bucks never lose their fear of 

 man sufficiently to attack him. 



I would not advise beginners with small means to go into the busi- 

 ness of deer raising too heavily at first. Tt is better to begin on a small 

 scale, say 10 acres, and a herd of vigorous stock and let the business 

 increase along with the increase of knowledge gained by experience. 



Thousands of acres of rough land unsuited for cultivation that now 

 brings its owner no returns for his investment may, by converting it 

 into small deer farms, be made to yield the owners a handsome profit, 

 as well as much pleasure. 



