WEST VIRGINIA 



HE state of West Virginia has an area of 

 23,000 square miles. A large portion of 

 the country is mountainous, and the moun- 

 tains are quite fertile. The valleys are also 

 fertile, and the generally mild climate 

 makes the state favorable for some varie- 

 ties of game. In some parts of this state 

 game laws are woefully disregarded, and this has 

 nearly exterminated the game ; there are, too, occa- 

 sional severe winters, which prove disastrous to the 

 quail or bob-white, generally known in this state as 

 partridge. At the present time a strong effort is being 

 made to protect this favorite game-bird, which no 

 doubt will restore some of the depleted covers. The 

 furred game of West Virginia is mainly deer, bear, a 

 few lynx, rabbit, squirrel, mink, and muskrat. The 

 principal feathered game is wild turkey, grouse, wood- 

 cock, quail, snipe, migratory shore-birds, duck, and 

 geese. Deer remain plentiful in some of the moun- 

 tainous districts. Most of the duck shooting is done 

 on the Potomac river, where their abundance varies 

 with the seasons. Wild turkey are likely to be found 

 between Cherry Run and Green Spring, on the line of 

 the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Moorefield and Rom- 

 ney are favorite hunting-grounds for local sportsmen ; 

 and Pocahontas, Randolph, and Webster counties, 

 where there are plenty of deer, are also good-hunting 

 grounds. 



