42 FIRST BIENNIAL REPORT [W. VA.' 



The tourists, who visit this state annually, in search of sport and 

 recreation, is conservatively estimated to number 350,000, spending in 

 this state each year, $18,000,000 to $20,000,000. During the years 

 of great panics and business depression in the United States, the State 

 of Maine was eery little effected, because of the amount of money left 

 in the state by visiting tourists. 



The records of the express companies, show that about 17,000 Vir- 

 ginia deer, and 500 moose, are each year taken cut of the state by> 

 visiting tourists, to decorate their homes, and thus constantly advertise 

 the great hunting resources of the state, and thereby induce their 

 friends and neighbors to spend their hunting vacation in this state. 



West Virginia has a larger wooded area, than the state of Maine, 

 and is admitted to be better adapted to the raising of deer. If by pro- 

 tecting our game, and affording good hunting to our own people and 

 to sportsmen from other states adjoining us. we can even keep a part 

 of this money here, we will certainly be amply rewarded for our money 

 spent in doing this. 



Many other states have awakened to the importance of this industry, 

 and are energetically working to make their hunting and fishing, at- 

 tractive, and are thus bidding for the patronage of these sportsmen 

 and fishermen, who will spend thear money in the places where the best 

 sport can be found. 



Game and Fish Propagation. 



As stated elsewhere in this report, it is believed that we have suffi- 

 cient amount of game left in the State, for re-stocking purposes, yet 

 there can be no question, but what there should be an effort made to 

 get this g.ime distributed more evenly over the State. Many counties 

 have thousands of ruffed grouse and bob-white, while other counties 

 have hardly enough of these birds left for stocking purposes. Arrange- 

 ments can be made to trap these birds in sufficient quantities, where; 

 they are very abundant, and ship them to sections where they are now 

 scarce, or eggs or young birds can be collected and sent to these locali- 

 ties, and thus, In a very short lime, have these birds plentiful all over 

 the State. 



While it is deemed more advisable to spend our money in protecting 

 our game, rather than in re-stocking, and also more certain of better re- 

 sults, to re-stock with our own native birds, rather than spend too much 

 money in experimenting with the importing of foreign game birds, yet 

 it would be well to take up the proposition on a small scale, and introduce 

 some of the birds into our State. We think also that it would do con- 

 siderable good to purchase a number of deer, which can bte done at a 

 very reasonable price, and thus assist in building up this industry. The* 

 wild turkey could likewise be increased very rapidly, if proper attention! 

 would be given to re-stocking. 

 The common bronze turkey, of which the wild turkey is the progen- 



