THE DEER HERDS AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14950, 28 September 1910, Page 5

THE DEER HERDS AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT.

TO TUB EDITOB. Sir.,—l' havo just read Mr B. Hardcastlo's letter on tho development of stags' hovhv deerstalking, and his strictures on the Otago Acclimatisation &>cioty and -on my statement regarding tho age at which . <i stag i becomes a twelve-pointer or a royal. By the tone of his letter, Mr Hardcaetlo seams to me to think that ho is tho, only person who knows anything about , deer and their habits and about how tho i' Hawea jod deer herd should bo treated. ; He . treats on. the development of the North Otogo 6t.ags' horns as if ho watched .ho growth of the stag up to six years of i ago day by day, month by month, and year by year. If ho had done this, instead I of seeing them only for about a fortnight in their wild state each year ho would not havo made tiro 'foolish, and ridiculous statements that ho has about the develop- , irent of iioms, Ono cannot Jielp being , amused at the stretch of his imagination : and at what he is, trying to make others believe by his wiritings and by some heads ho has got whereby he hopes io strengthen his very erroneous theory by ocular demoni stration. Mr Hardcastle seems to base his theory on what ho has seen while stalk- . ing tho North Otago herd, although he | could never see tho samo stag two years in succession to know it again. Now, if I ho had some stags in an enclosure where j he could sec them, overy [fortnight in no year for six o? seven'years, then his I views might have some weight, became ho could speak with some authority and from • facts which lie had actually -i-eon,. and could prove' his statements .by pro- ' dueing ■ each stag's horns dropped . by them each . year, of thoiv life, showing the development caoh vear. ■ Sir . Hardcastlo seems to think that I am • basing my opinion on my experience with ;my own herd. Ho is quite right, except I that I am basing it as well on what others j havo proved with mo, and also.on what I : hi,ve seen while stalking a month nearly every season since'lßß9, since 'which time I j have missed only two seasons. I, will now give experiences from what I. have seen weekly' for the last seven years in regard I to the development' of red N deer stags' . heads. I started my herd with two fawns , tbjafc I got from Mr D.) Bell, of Timaru ! Creek, on tho Ist May, 1903. They would then -bo five ihontlis old within a'week or so, and they were caught by him when very I young on tho Timaru Bun, and wera I descended from the North Otago hord, which is of the pure Scottish ; blood that, Mr Hardcastle says, develops slowly. They wore very poor, and badly grown when I g>ot them,,and wore nothing like tho size of tho fawns that I saw whilo out on the mountains stalking, that '. season. In .- July I firet noticed that the young stag's j horns were beginning to grow : . I caught him, and could feel little knok under the skin about halt an inch long; these weio the burs-from which the horns started to grow early ■in September. At - this time : the stag was eight months old, and was ;. getting ihis two first points, 'which grew ; to tho length of 14 inches, and they wero ' full-grown and the velvet cleaned off them on February 23, 1904. Tho stag was then ; 15 months old. Next season the horns j were shed on September 23, 1904, and he ■ immediately started to grow a set of ninepoint • hams; which wore fully developed I and cleaned on February 23, 1905. -Tho 'ago of tho stag 'at this time was .two years and threo' months, and he bore a head of nine points. These herns were shed on September 20, 1905, and a set of eleven points started to grow. This would havo been a .twelve-point head, but one of tho tender points of the bays got cut on j barbed wire, and it shrivelled up and grew a small knob' instead of a point. Theso I horns wero -full-grown and cleaned by | February 22, 1906, tho. stag then being ; three years and :three months old. These horns wero shed on September 20, 1906, and a new'set of irregular horns, started to girow—ono of these had four points on tho top, the other; had -three, and both the tray points .were absent, and this left only eleven-point horns. These wero cleaned on February 22, 1907, .the- stag being four-years and. three months old, , and but for the inisahanoo: of tho.brays, not developing he would havo been a thir-teen-pointcr. I had one young stag got by ( this sire. Ho grow his first points at one year and three months; at two years and three months he'had ten points; and at three-years and three months-he .had a royal ■ head. ' - I did not keep these,two stags longer, as the Otago Acclimatisation Society gavo ; me.three deor that it got from Victoria, and I started to breed from them. The Vio-toria-n .stag was a fawn when I got him, and his first spikes were 18in long. These wore cleaned off at one year.- and - three months. Ho had 10 points at two years and threo months. 12 at thro© -years and threo months, 12 at four years and three months, and 12 at five years and three months. Tho weight of the last set of horns was-about a third heavier than any of the other sets. He> cast his horns today (Soptember 2), and' it is tho first time I have seen a stag cast his horns before September 10. I have four of this stag's progeny running with him now. One is a fawn, on w v hich the horns have just started to-grow, ago eight months; another is a spiker, with points about Ift long, age one year and eight months; another is a 10-pointef, ago two years and eightimanths; and the fourth is an. extra good royal with well-shaped horns. The ago of this last when he. cleaned these horns was three years and three months. I might say that this stag'last year had five points on one horn, while on tho otlier there were two straight upright points, about the- same length. This was caused by his trying to jump over a fence when we woro- catcning some of the. others. He struck the tender horn, when it' was about 3in loiig, on tho wire, and cut it, the. result being apparently a | bad malform, and if ho had been seen in the Dingle ho would, havo bean shot'by somo would-be'sportsman who reckoned that he knew all about malforms. The emallest number of points I have 6een grown bya6tag of two years and three months is eight points, I have been j told by several North Island men that the jred deor in tho north develop their horns j thej-same as my own- herd do, and they I havo been '-dye-witnesses to tho foot. I i havo seen all sorts of heads when out | stalking—some poleys,. some with points ■lin or sin long, some with four points,'' ; seme with five and six, and I have seen ; somo with flat horns, and I may say that j all I havo seen like the above are sickly, | weedy-looking brutes, which no doubt lost j their mothers when very young, and never ! got over their starving, Theso arc tho j sires that have been left by tho | sportsman to bo bred. from. The latter kills tho good head in the early rutI ting ssason, and; then wonders "why ; the deer are not so good as "they used to be a few years ago. In Timaru Creek, the Lower and Upper Dingles, Mount Jones, and the Humter Country, I have seen spikers much better j tllaiu any I have bred; also better 10- . pointers and 12, better horns,- lafgeT frames, - and in better condition than any J, have, and I fail to seo the reason why these well--1 conditioned doer in their wild state should not develop horns quite as quickly us my herd, do, or oven more so, as they are in a natural state, and not cooped up as mine nro in a small naddock. 1 may also state hero that Mr flardcast-lc says that deer mature at six years of age." I know by oxperience that a hind is full grown at : three years old, and a stag at fom—that | is in body and bone. They might get ; fatter after that in some seasons. Their hoirns, I know, get longer and, heavier even' year up to six years.' This is as far as my experience goes, but I think that • un»'«v the same! oanditipus their hums ' will get hea,vier up to about 10' years. If Mr Hairdcast-le can give better proof of . the development of deor horns than C can lin New Zealand,or North Otago (that is proof by actual eye-witnesses), I will ixi quite willing to follow him, but I think iie will have rather a hard nut to crack. - 1 shall now touch on the article "Deerstalking," by Mr' Hardcastle. By what right does Mr Hardcastle claim that the

Otago Aeelimat.isa.tion Society always does the wrong thing- regarding red deer? Does he mean to set himse|f up a-bovc the body of men that compose the society! t am quite sure that everyone will admit that the society has done splendid work both in regard to the, introduction, of deer andthe introduction of fish, thereby providing plenty of sport for sportsmen in ,Otago! It also did flood work with game birds, but these have disappeared because landowners have been compelled to lay poison for rabbits, and also from, other causes. Ir_ is wonderful what the society has doiw with the little money it has had to work with, considering the little encouragement that it gets from the powers that be and a number of people. What .self-confidence Mr Hardcastle must have to judge the conduct and acts of tho society because it does not suit him and his little fads a.nd peculiarities in regard to red deer! I consider that the society is acting vrisely (and I think most people will a,grce witfi me) in regard lo the alteration of die opening of tne atnlking season from the Ist" to the 10th of Aprih This will tend to tho preservation of the herd, as the rutting M-a*on' starts about the 25th March, and will give, the geed and strong stags 15 days' service amongst tho hinds before they arc shot at and dis-

turbed. Tlie society must consider the deor herd as woll, as the sportsman, whoever he may be, and few indeed seem to have objected to the course it has taken. It is well known that the strongest stag gets flio most hindt) when loft to nature. 'flu's is as it should be, and is tho reason why wild deer do not deteriorate. 'ln Scotland, I understand, a stalker has to shoot ihe 6tag pointed out.'to him, and he is not allowed to kill tho stag' that ie wanted for, the "stud. That is how the Scotch herds (ire kept up. Here we have licensed shooters to kill four stags, and all through the rutting season stalkers are molesting the hinds and distributing them Ito the weaklings, killing the good and wounding them before they serve the hinds No doubt it is this".more than anything else that has caused the deterioration of the herd, and the sooner it is put a. 6top to tho bettor. J, (or one, am .pleased to ceo that tho. society has made !a. start to save its herd, and has made up its mind to do the right thing and not the . wrong. Sportsmen will take out licenses just the 6amo whether the'date is lato or early. 1 see that. Mr Hardeasllo supposes that tho council has' adopted -iiy, so he presumes, erroneous idea—that, is, that lie shoots deer at three and u half years old before they have had an opportunity of serving the hinds. Ifl have done anything to cause the society to considor the herd moro than the shootere, then I am well pleased, although 1 am- «. shooter myself. My object in suggesting that deer with 10-s than 12 points should nob bo killed is that if, you kill eight-pointers you will have feiver 10-pointers, anil if you [ kill eight and 10-pointers you will have still [fewer twelves, and I contend'that if 12'j pointers only were killed ■ thero would bo plenty for every shooter, without shooting ithe "miseries" tin heads of which a I lot of stalkers carry homo; or leave to lie land rot, a« was the case in the Dingle j Valley a few years ago. -Thero is no doubt that some of tho shooters .will be disappointed at the opening of the season being postponed, but if they look at.it in the right light they will see that it has been dona for the best—that is, for tho herd' and for shooting in future yeans. I do not ivell see how. to keep shooters ■ from clashing, unless the arrangement work? that the society now has, and apparently it worked nll ; right lost year. It would bo impossible to got 30 or 40 shooters to agree where to go when they are scattered all ovjr the country, and oven to'get them to agree- if they were all to meet together., -..•-.'

• I fail to see (and I hardly think others will) wherein Mr Hardcastle' makes a hit by saying that the Otago Acclimatisation Society seems to be catering • far, the moneyed class by asking far a' deposit of £3 when a, stalker applies for a block 111 stalker took out a license, and then applied for /i block, 'it would not bo necessary to have a deposit, Without'a deposit anyone could take up a block, and, then not tdce out a : license. In., a case of this sort the-society would riot bo abb to allot the Hock in time for the beginning of the eeaeon to another party; but if a deposit has to' b» paid,' then no one would apply unless ho intended to tako out a license, as he would only have to pay the extra £2 for it,, and I do not eec that this, would mako any difference to a stalker, whether he' were rich or poor, as long as he intended to have ,a license. At the same time Mr Har'dcastle seems'to me to'-hold out money as a pill, and to nhf.w that the society .is wrong 'in- trio alteration :of the seascn. Ho instances eomo of the moneyed, class, who, he thinks, may ba. deprived- of deet'-staiking, and hn names a certain gentleman ■ who would bring and.6pend plenty of, money. By doing this would not Mr Hardcasfclo, and not the society, be catering {or the moneyed class?. No doubt, he will say, "For advertising doer-stalking in North Otago," and by doing so bring more of the moneyed olass hero to stalk. Tho society, will'say, "The more of that sort the bettor, and of,the poorer sort, too,"' The,poor raaji and the. rich, will stalk. at whatever date the season is, as long asthey get plentj of deer' and an, aUptted piece of country to, shoot over without disturbance. There is,sufficient ground to shoot over in Otago and Canterbury. Some parts are good, and some not, and the stalkers will have to take their chance of a block. Everyone cannot get the best, or have a prior, right, yeair after .year, to occupy a certain block, as fonie Canterbury gentlemen seem to think they .have.'-.

It ia a wonder that when Mr Hardcastle mentions an instance of jumping a camp Jji 1901- he did .not aiehtion names. Probably ho refers to his "jumping" ia portion of my shooting right for that season, and also a, portion, of Mr Jame6 Begg's. He wrote copiously about it'at the time, and made out that I acted meanly; • I made no reply as I thought it very unsportsmanlike to squabble over sport. as little boys would do over, .a game of .marbles. I will give the position, and others can judgei I would .not have thought any more of this incident had not Mr Hardcastle referred to it after 1 so many years, but I cannot, let it longer'' go unchallenged. The poation is this: In the season of 1903 Mr D. Bell, of Timaru Station, gave mo the right to shoot over the Cotter's clearing Hock for the season of 1904, Mr J. Begg got the block next to me—namely,. tlie head, of the Dingfe When I got to Mr Bell's place,' three days before the season opened, he told me he' had just got a note from Mr Hardoastlo, saying- that he was going to Cotter's clearing, I told Mr Bell that if that was so I 'would not'go there, when there was plenty of. open ground elsewhere to take,up. .Mr Ml insisted, however, that I should- go, and said that he had.sent Mr Hardcasbks a wire saying that he had given me the right to occupy Cotter's block,- and that he had sent' a main, who Was to guide : for mo to rig up a tent,- and that he had given him a letter to say that I had engaged tho block-. Mar Hardcastle, arrived with four others at my camp .the night after I got there, and wanted me to divide my block with him. This I would not do, and, as iuy party had three licenses, it would ho out of the question to have eight'shooters' on so small a. block, especially when, lower down tho Dingle, there were two unoccu-. pied blocks. . I Hold Mr Hardcastle whore I was going to stalk first, and, while returningl to oamp the seoorid night of the season, I found that-.he. had camped just on the, boundary between Mr ,1. Begg's block and my 'own. one, and he and his party. 6hot over my ground and Mr Begg's until the end of their season. That was a "jumping," and I 'suppose Mr Hardcastle has mentioned it to show what he would do again should he not gain his own ends otherwise. • •

, While writing on the subject of the •development of deer, I may eay something about the Blue Mountain fallow deer hoiu There is a good. deal of discussion about tho herd b regard- to,the scarcity of good heads, and the reason of the degeneration. Some .give the want of new blood as the reason;' others the want of food and tho overstocking of the forest. My opinion is that it is tho indiscriminate way in which the herd has-been killed and wantonly shot, and the reasons I give are as fol-low:-In 1887, when licenses wore first issued, I took out a license ond wont deerstalking; for the first- lime.: I .was surprised to see the _ number of deor that were on tho mountain aad the great number of bucks that had well-developed heads, while young deer with small heads were in t.lw minority. There also seemed to bo as many stags as docs, This was tasiiy explained, as the deer hiid not been shot, with the exception of those that had been poached. Tho result was that all the stags had- bad time to develop fully matured heads,- and tho only bucks, with email hoads were tho young ones. I continued stalking year after year, arid every season I noticed that tho good heads were getting more difficult to secure, but that there were a much larger number of young bucks, and that the does were getting more numerous than the stags. The reason was that all the good heads were being shot, and that the number of bucks was thereby being reduced. This has continued until at the present time the does have increased at bucli a rate that I think I would be well within the mark in saying thai, there were 30 or 40 does to every decent buck, and that there is only an occasional buck that is matured and old enough to shoot for the value of his head. . The result is that men holding- licenses to shoot four bucks have to shoot young deer to complete the number.'

I hold that if the society had controlled the killing of young 6tags 'chere could havo been quite as many stags shot, and that, every year. the.ro would have been plenty of gcod' heads for the stalkers. The way )o have done this (and it is not yet too late) was, and now is, to restrict shooters to kill bucks with developed heads with' a palmate of. say, not less than four or fivo inches instead of allowing them to Mil bucks of eight points. There is no such thing as points in estimating the value ot a buck's head. Heads are judged by palmate, weight, and shape. Bucks with what aro termed'eight points and up to 12 or 13 points are not worth setting up, and a. number of shooters, judging by the number of small bucks on© sees king shot on the hill, simply 6'noot them for"the sake of shooting. They have a look at them, exclaiming '' Another degenerate! the herd is running out," and go to look for another to let drive at It isoitiful io sec the number of young- stags lying about at Iho end of tho shooting- season; if they had

been lift (or another year or two they would have had heads worth killing and m'oimting. I would suggest to Bio Otago Acclimatisation Society that it start tliia coming season- and license stalkers to shoot fallow bucks only with a palmate of foiir or fivo inches, and that tho season should ■ not- start till April 20, and .continue until May 20. This would givo the best stags a chanco to serve forao of the does bafoio being- disturbed or killed. Tho rutting, season, as far as I am able to judgo, starts about.April 10. Tho shooting season com- ' mences on that date, and consequently tho bucks get no chance except, perhaps,- a' few of the old follows that have taken to'' tho deiiso scrub and. wisely stop thore until '■ tho shooting is over. Thero are so many license-holders on tho Blue Mountains, and : there is such a small oxtont of .bill where .the deer stop, that whenever a buck starts rutting thero are three or four rifles • pointed at him, and ho is either killed ordisturbed and driven away from the does. This, I contend, should'Jiot bo, as it il ; opposing tho law of the. survival of the •'.'' fittest; but tins is what is being done by " the majority of our deerstalkers in Otago. ; By leaving the deer unmolested during* : a portion, of tho rutting season stalkers'-'" would not do so much damago to the'herd ' ao under the ; present method. In regard to the question of new Wood it is sometimes benehoial to introduce new blood, and, if a better strain ban '■-.■ ba ; ' Mewed, I %nk jt might bo advisable';*, '■' get 601,10. fallow deer,, as-the sooiety } laß ' ■■- decided to do, and. I-am. sure that it will meet with general approvaramongstspW ' men,-- I disagree with those who say that hero is a scarcity of feed, and to prove V ho abundance I may instance the condi- - Hon of the mountains about 10-or-12-'" SW "'hen they were overrun with-V labbite so badly, that one could ■ hardly ' m»pass,, and at that time-thcy were almost > useless » a sheep run. Not, lth«rT£m" comparatively few ■ febbita, and til© ' is increasing and getting so. much bitter f that, instead of carrying, about 5000 sheep Knm er } Jl . th6 , n wui>fcains-carry aboil" 16,000, and carry them well.' Now, if fed-' ' "*>' not plentiful, this could not lxvT ■wilt admit that thero': is not so'much' bush ' feed for deer; nevertheless, there is' .»■". ' air, amount of ■ broadleaf (their principal bush food),. Mid, with the extra- grass '•'-" since the rabbits disappeared, there should,''■1 am sure, be ample feed for them; If the daylight poaching which in rampant)' v ln . lie Blue Mountains at '.all. times were abobshed and. the herd wero given; a chance .to-recover from the effeots of'indJs.'criminatey killing young deer, I tliitVj'•:', tlmt heads, as good as any of thambro ,: •ancient ones, might be secumd ■ by ; sUlters, • . . '. :-

. In conclusion,'.!, would touch on tho culling of red and fallow deer. from what I Jiayo observed, it is 'almost impossible-, to know, at a distance, whioh are good,hinds and which, are inferior ones. A'"very' young hind rearing a fawn, looks a sorubbr animal ■' compared to a matured doe or a barren one, and in the' effort to outl mo- ':■ bably the young hind would'bo killed. 1 The '"• - onjy ones that we could be sure were v nb '"''■' good would bo the. very small does; or :.- those thait, had (received, injuries wliioli ■ could bo detected by lameness. With re-' , gard.to red deer, stags, and: fallow deer-'' bucks it k \ve.ll known, that they are few . ; in comparison to the numbers of the lands'The reason I think is this, tliat a. small. ■' number of red deer stage, in proportion, to. v: the hci"d,' and a very large proportion of ' tho fallow deer, bucks are shot. Arooagst''. those shot,there will be a number.of"■ the best. Then, there are those trrat. are brag'.- ■' up by tho horns,in the bush; and,'again,-■ ',' those'. that are caught -by. the horns in v snowgrass and flax. A. large proportion' of : : tins, tot will no doubt bo tho weak and aged •' stags. Then there are those that are killed ' : m fighting by .being, gored and thrown;' over rocksj-tho bulk of these again will - ' bo aged and- weaklings) It will be seen ' by tSiia that Nature does :moro ja"tha. , 1 - way of culling the stags than the does, ' and it will also show why there 'are ' fewer stags than does. In regard'tothe ■'; indiscriminate killing of deer that'-"-jia i going on, in tho Hawea. for the the skins and heads owing to the' forest ,' being'overstocked, I..think; this mode.'of'' killing is a preposterous idea. These doer • should not, be killed' in this, way, but if the i : number lias to be reduced all the small -~, and weedy,deer should .be: killed, and the .. largo'and strong,'ones left. : It would : not-; bo human nature for a• man.' that' is. m»k- • ■ ing his Jiving by killing for the value•:■.; that ho getefrom the skins and heads to' ' kill the weeds, that have- poor- skins and■'■""'' heads, for which he would get little, when' by ■killing' good deer ho could get'better : ; ; " value for his .labour. I. tWnk; men em- , ployed to kill be^paid by ,tho\} d<iy, and all the-skins and heads of ;tl» v' deer they kill should be sent to the society. The society-would then see what,sort; .of. >'' deer were being' killed, and if the men em.:,:.' ployed wa-o worthy of their hire. Ithink I have given my viewß fully in,:';'; this long, letter, and whether they .a.ro v J right or wrong I will leave it to deer-'.' : . stalkers • to ■ judge/ As far as I am con-;.,' corned this* correspondence will be ended] ■ I am, etc., - ■ W. Tjufoiid, . .' ■ Clifton, Waiwera South. .\ ■ ,