With Hu1 deer lull in Virginia ruin1111 1 l.u

With Hu1 deer lull in Virginia ruin1111 1 l.u ahead of that ol hut year, importance ut scientific ivvulation ol the annual harvest is Strongly arrantuatid. With few. if any. othrr species of wildlife does the annual kill by the hunt ers play so vital a part as a tool of management. Objective. or course, is to keep the animal neither too few, nor too numerous for available food supplies, the Vir alia Game Commission re port s When proper balance can he maintained within environment limitations, it means better hunt in'. bi"ger trophies and In ave r rleer. while the numbers o! healf ly and reproductive animals are maintained d >wn through tea veal’s or inereased. Over and over lhey have learned in other Ft da s that when the liunters take too few animals in the annual harvest of surplus, it is worse than taking too many. With only a few exceptions, it has not appeared that competition for existing food lias yet become acute in tile mountains and it is indicated that most of the moun tain forests will suport far more deer than are now present. In the Eastern counties available natural browse varies greatly in abund ance Particularly in the en.-t. and to some extent in the western areas, crop damage, is becoming a more and more perplexing fac tor.