State

tv « •• г * jg | m\<' )\ Л1 ‘ J‘ r 1 zEr~-~- DEER BAIT. Lyman Deberry, in charge of the deer-trapping program on the R. J. Reynolds estate at Devotion, N. C., brings apples to the trap late in afternoon. The estate contains many old orchards and the 700 deer like to feed on the fallen fruit. Deberry has to keep the ground free of apples so deer will venture into his traps. (All photos by Ifemmer.) Deer Trapping It's «in interesting' work «iihI is helping' materially to increase the deer have been transported safely to the new Uwharrie Game Preserve in Montgomery County, Four deer were lost in trapping, and the others were released as too large to handle, or too old for stocking purposes. While Frank Eatman, Pittman- Robertson coordinator, is skeptical of Deberry’s weather-forecasting, he has had to revise some other notions about deer trapping. It had been anticipated the deer would be more easily trapped when snow and ice conditions made food scarce. On the contrary, it seems the Reynolds herds drift back into the mountains and seek cover in bad weather, and are not inclined to feed in the valleys until the weather moderates. Trapping has been best on sunny, warm days. When the project was set up, it was estimated it would cost $15,- 000 and take three years. It is now apparent that the goal of transfer¬ ring 125 deer will be reached in one season, at a cost of only around $5,000, and both Eatman and Game Commissioner Hinton James think the record is unparalleled in proj¬ ects of this sort. Sixty head of deer were placed on the estate in 1934 and they have increased to an estimated 700 head now. The tract, composed partly of abandoned farmlands, contains many old apple orchards which still bear some fruit. The traps, of the Wisconsin pole type, are set around these old orchards population in North Car¬ olina. By BILL S1IARPE Devotion, n. c.— The most successful deer-trapping ex¬ periment in the South is teaching game men a number of things, but to Lyman Deberry, leader of the project, it has pro¬ vided an infallible long-range weather forecast. Deberry claims that he can pre¬ dict the weather 24 hours hence by the number of deer he catches. When deer move around, but pass up the tempting apples in his traps, they are looking for cover, and you can expect ice or snow or cold winds. However, if they gobble up the bait, the weather will fair off or stay moderate for a couple of days. In a Pittman-Robcrtson federal- state project, approximately 140 deer have been caught in traps set on the 7,000-acre estate of R. J. Reynolds here. Of these, over 100 RABBIT OR DEER? That’s the question when trapping crew tours traps in the morning. Closed door shows something is inside, and what it is quickly becomes known by the terrific bumping and thrash¬ ing as trapped deer tries to get out. However, traps are built so small that deer cannot move around too much and hurt himself. Sometimes two deer are caught in a single trap.