12—Lancaster Farming, Friday, December 9, 1955 Antlerless Deer "Season Open Only December 12 and 13-in Pennsylvania Antlerless Deer Season Dec. 12 and 13 Only The 1955 antlerless deer sea son in Pennsylvania will be ob served Dec 12 and 13 only- On both days of the season hunting hours will be 7 a- m- to 5 p- m., Eastern Standard Time- The hold er of a license tor this special season is required to hunt deer without visible antlers only in the county in- which the license was issued. Persons who took a legal an tlered deer in either the archery or “buck” season this year may not hunt for, take or kill, or stand on watch for another white tail in the antlerless deer season. Farm occupants permitted by law to hunt without license may hunt for antlerless deer on the same land as for other game- If not possessed of a hunter’s license, to which is attached a kill tag report card, such farm people who bag a deer are asked Jo report the fact to the Game Commission at Harnsurg. Five Reasons Listed Based on the findings of Com mission personnel and forestry officials, and on the recommen dation of sportsmen and farm ers, the authorities established the 1955 season for these rea sons: 1. Good herd management, and also in the interest of other wildlife. 2- Diminish damage to farm crops 3. Reduce over browsing of forests growths. 4. Lessen the incidence of highway accidents involving human safety and property damage- 5. Pre vent the wast'* caused by deer dying of malnutrition in winter- The Game Commission estab lished county quotas m relafion to the need 'of harvest in each locality- The license total for Pennsylvania’* antlerless deer season of th 5 s year was set at 240,250- On Dec- 1, county trea< surers from only the counties of Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyom ing still repoited ahtlerless deer licenses available- Prior to sea son, non-residents who have a current Pennsylvania hunter% license may purchase a license to hunt antleness deer. Past experience indicates one hunter in 5 or 6 licensees will bag an antlerless deer in the two day x season Therefore, the 1955 harvest will probably fall be tween 40,000 and 50,000 legal ani mals Weather and other condi tions will, howvrr, be factors de termining the total take in this •special season Ducks Are Here Latimer Reports The Game Commission’s wat erfowl specialist, Robert E Lati mer, reports a goodly number of ducks have been coming into Pennsylvania in the last two or three weeks He says that hunt ers equipped with decoys and duck boats, and willing to take rough weather, have been get ting good waterfowl shooting of late Typically, along the Susque hanna River, ducks have been feeding in nearby fields, Lati mer says The birds will stay as long as the waier is open and the corn is available, not cover ed by snow- Except for locally-reared ducks, waterfowl hunting during the earlier weeks of the season was ssscsasssob ■^ancsistcaa T. J. MATTHEWS 278R2 ' QUARRY VILIE CONCRETE PRODUCTS CO. THOMAS J. MATTHEWS, Gen. M*r. Phone 109R2 \\siv i.Tcrs&A.q v'xrgi xssauras jcssrsasssaca comparatively slack, but with the migration of the northern birds shooting has greatly improved. Latimer reports a “pretty good number of leg bands have been turned in to the Game Com mission so far this fall ” The wildlife authorities again request that hunters send to Harrisburg the band number, date and local ity of any banded waterfowl kill Such reports are of, great as sistance to state and federal wild life agencies in planning watei fowl management- Small Game And Bear Seasons Close Preliminary estimates on the small game and bear kills dur ing the 1955 seasons are being received by the Game . Commis sion at Harrisburg- The authori ties point out, however, the of ficial total for bears will not be available until all big game kill tags are in and counted A sur vey is being made by each Game Protector prior to reporting the estimated small game kill in his district, from winch division-wide and state-wide tabulations will be made. Generally speaking, the seasons were ‘successful’’- Early reports indicate the legal bear kill for the recent season may be slightly less than the 403 reported killed last year- The switch to wild turkey hunt ing by many hunters brought about a reduction in the amount of hunting in farm areas corm pared to forest areas. In several large sections of the state small game hunting, over the entire season, was gauged at less than last year- Nonetheless, early estimates of small game kills both farm and forest game in dicated the 1955 bag ol birds and animals was as good as that of 1954, in some cases proably bet ter in several parts of the state the hold-over of small game brood stock was reported as en couragingly good at the comple tion of the 1955 season Bear Kill Tags Due; Mall To Harrisburg Hunters who bagged a bear in the 1955 Pennsylvania season are reminded to observe the legal requirement that a big game kill report be mailed the Game Com mission at Harrisburg Rat Trappers Busy Season Ends Jan- 28 Trappers began making their muskrat sets at 7 a -m, Satur day, Dec 3, tne first day of Penn sylvania’s current rat season The lure of the traplme and money for Christmas urge many farm boys and other youngsters, as well as adults, from warm beds to cold streams and marshes before daybieak Compared to the sagacious mink the rat is easily trapped, making it the boys’ “meat”. The muskiat, an aquatic rod ent, is much sought for its dark, glossy brown pelt It most abundant furbearer in Pennsyl vania and, in total, provides fur takers with their greatest cash return The season for taking the “marsh rabbit” ends at noon Jan 28, 1956 The little furbearers may be taken in unlimited num bers All traps must be tagged with metal name tags A. H. BURKHOLDER 175 Concrete or Cinder Block. Chimney Block and Lintel. Steel Sash, Cement Paint. GIANT’S PLAYTHlNG—Resembling an out-of-this-world ver sion of a playground slide, this modernistic cement structure is a ski jump. ■ Located in the- Dolomite Mountains, near Cortina, Italy, it is being readied for the 1956 Winter Olympic Games, Considerate Hunters ' Draw Praise Says Nicholas M. Ruha, Land Utilization Assistant in the Game Commission’s Northeast Divi sion- “On the opening day of the 1955 small game season I as sisted Game Protector Bruce Yeager in patrolling Farm-Game Project No 9i. Montour County. This general area is one of the best ringneek sections in the state- Hunting pressure is ex treme, particularly on the first day “Cooperators on the project were apprehensive that unhar vested crops, especially soy beans, would be trampled and damaged- Many of the bean fields, were not posted with signs warn ing hunters to stay out because the farmers had expected to have the crop in before the sea son opened- Wet weather pre vented their doing so- The be havior of the hunters was never theless excellent There were un doubtedly $ few careless gunners who entered bean fields, but the percentage was so small compar ed to the number who acted like gentlemen the cooperators com mented most favorably on the fact- Project farmers I contacted declared that from the standpomt of hunter conduct, it was the best opening c!aj in years-” Hunter’s Dream Situation: This Bruim Comes Back William E- Fulmer, a Game Protector, reports the following: “The city of Bethlehem is build ing another large dam on i