193 OJ FOREST, GAME AND FISH WARDEN. 35 



lowing the water Irom their mining operations to flow into same, 

 which case was taken to the Supreme Court, and has not yet been; 

 passed upon by this Court. It has not been deemed advisable to make 

 further prosecutions along this line, until a decision is had in the case 

 referred to, as upon this decision, rests the whole question as to what 

 may be done in enforcing this statute against the coal operators. 



If it is determined that coal cannot be mined in West Virginia, at a 

 profit, and at the same time take care of this pollution, and it is believed 

 that the mining of coal will be of more benefit to our State than our 

 water supply, then the only course left is to exempt certain streams 

 of water, that must necessarily be used for this purpose, and from the 

 stand-point of propagating fish abandon them altogether, for it is 

 only a waste of time and money, to attempt to re-stock the streams of 

 West Virginia with fish, if they are to be killed almost every year, 

 by pollution from our coal mines. Some definite policy must be pur- 

 sued in this particular; if this pollution cannot be controlled, then the 

 only thing left to do, is to abandon such streams, and devote our efforts 

 to the re-stocking of streams that are not contaminated by mining op- 

 orations. It has been easy to enforce the law against the pollution of 

 streams with paw-dust, for the reason that this constitutes a violation, 

 without proving that it is deleterious to fish life, but all other pollu- 

 tion must be proven to 'J)e deleterious to fish, and, consequently, re-r 

 quires the water to be analyzed, and then passed upon by an eipert, 

 who can say whether or not it will kill fish, or an actual test made from 

 a sample of the water to ascertain results. 



Protection of Insectivorous Birds. 



If nothing e.'se had been accomplished by the restrictions of the 

 Forest, Game and Fisli Laws, the protection that it has given to our 

 insectivorous song bii.ls, from the thoughtless boy and roving for- 

 eigner, who killed, without distinction, every living wild creature with 

 hair or feathers, that came within his vision, it would be worth many 

 times the amount that it has cost. It is impossible to describe, .in a 

 few sentences, the great good done to the agricultural and horticul- 

 tural interests of our State, by the insectivorous birds that destroy* 

 thousands of insects that have become so detrimental to these inter- 

 ests. 



These insectivorous birds are now being recognized by both agricul- 

 turalists and horticulturists, to be one of the greatest assets that we 

 have, and \vord comes from every county in the State that these birds 

 have almost doubled in number, in the past eighteen months. 



There must be an awakening to the fact that the preservation ot 

 these insectivorous birds is the only safeguard from destructive rav- 

 ages on vegetation by insect pests. Mr. Butcher, President of the Na- 

 tional Audubon Society, in a recent report, says "The foundation of 

 the wiealth of the country, is biased on its agricultural and forestrjf 



