they carry. “Give them three stamps, they’ll kill 30

they carry. “Give them three stamps, they’ll kill 30 deer. . .Cart them off to some Chinese restaurant and get $100 apiece for them. It’s big business.” He acknowledged that orchardists face a problem with deer

damage to their trees but maintained that the destructive animals come from the protected Shenandoah National Park where no hunting is allowed. Increasing the bag limit here or lengthening the season will only “wave a red flag” to slob hunters in surrounding counties, Mr. Johnson said.

Flint Hill orchardist Charles Foster read from a newspaper clipping of apple and peach orchards closing in western Maryland due to deer herd damage and problems with migrant labor. He echoed the recommendation of Washington orchardist George Sharp: give hunters a third deer stamp and require that the third deer taken be a doe. According to one of Virginia’s Game Commissioners, Rappahannock has the highest deer population per square mile in the entire state, Mr. Foster said. “And we’ve got to do something about it. . .There are no apples on any tree for five feet up from the ground. . .We can’t kill enough deer in the seven weeks of hunting season we already have so there’s no way we can shorten the 3eason.”

“I’ve seen deer standing on their hind feet walking around plucking the branches as high as seven feet off the ground,” said Clyde Scott, who lives on Route 631 in front of Fosters’ orchards.

Increasing the bag limit won’t have much effect on the deer population, maintained Ron Frazier, reporting that in Alabama, where hunters are allowed one deer a day, most still take only one during the entire season. The increase in posted property is the cause of the deer herd’s growth, he said, proposing that landowners open their property to sheriffs’ deputies, volunteer fire departments and civic groups for hunting.

If the hunting season or the bag limit is increased, only Rappahannock residents should be allowed to