384 With Bod and Gtin in New England 



Total 103 



The press of the State very generally condemns the idea of an open 

 season, and is supported by the real sportsmen. Our forests are not exten- 

 sive enough to warrant having much of an open season. The writer 

 believes Vermont is more attractive with a few live deer which can occa- 

 sionally be seen when driving than with an open season and consequent 

 slaughter of half-tamed animals. 



It is probable that sportsmen saw five does for every buck that was 

 killed. This is accounted for by the fact that the same does might be 

 seen several times, also that does are more liable to roam about with cows 

 and near habitations. This is especially the case during the period when 

 they are nursing their young, for at such times they seek protection from 

 the bucks, which have a habit of killing the fawns. It is probable that the 

 legislature of 1898 will repeal the present law permitting an open season. 



The wary fox still maintains his title of cunning by holding his own 

 against the hunters and trappers. The fox-hunter is a distinct type of 

 sportsman. The patience required in the pursuit of foxes familiarizes him 

 with the woods and with the animals' habits and runways. The successful 

 hunter must be even more cunning than the fox, and it is perhaps for this 

 reason that comparatively few sportsmen hunt them. About three thousand 

 foxes are annually killed in the State, most of them being captured in the 

 months of October and November. 



Coons also hold their own against the few who hunt them. 



The number of bears taken annually varies from fifty to sixty. Most 

 of them are taken in traps. Until 1896 the State paid a bounty on foxes 

 and bears, and the number of each killed in a season is based upon statis- 

 tics obtained from the auditor's office. 



Rabbit-hunting is a popular sport in sections of the State more 

 thickly populated. In Essex county and vicinity, rabbits are so plentiful 

 that the sport is regarded as somewhat tame and is ridiculed by the local 

 hunters. The best season for hunting them is in October and November, 

 before the snow becomes deep. Later on they are hunted when the crust 

 will bear the weight of a dog. Light snows are frequent, facilitating the 

 tracking of them on the crust. A drive of five or ten miles from almost 

 any village in Vermont will take the hunter to swamps where he can bag 

 from five to ten rabbits in a day if he have a trained dog. It is a most 

 simple form of hunting, as the rabbit will invariably circle around to the 

 point where the dog started it, and the hunter only has to be on the alert 

 and a quick marksman. 



