THE GAME BREEDER 



15 



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showed him around the place and told 

 him we were desirous of obtaining other 

 varieties of game birds. He spoke very 

 encouragingly and liberally, saying that 

 they (the Commissioners) were anxious 

 to encourage and not to hinder game 

 breeding. He told me to just go ahead 

 and get whatever we wanted and then 

 let him know, and he would fix it up all 

 right for us (to which I have a good 

 witness). 



Consequently, last Spring we secured 

 a number of quail eggs and after we 

 had seventy-five fine, thrifty little Cali- 

 fornia valley quail nicely started we sent 

 in an application for a permit. 



We obtained part of our eggs from 

 people who keep quail in their aviaries, 

 they holding the necessary permits for 

 keeping quail. 



Other eggs were taken in a field which 

 is irrigated. I took 16 eggs from a nest 

 in an apricot orchard (the orchard being 

 under irrigation), the owner giving me 

 permission to do so. Seventeen eggs 

 were given me by a man who was irri- 

 gating, the eggs having already been 

 covered by water. Fourteen eggs were 

 taken by my brother, the owner of the 

 field giving his permission. These eggs 

 also had been covered by irrigation 

 water which caused the mother quail to 

 desert the nest. 



Two weeks ago some men, who were 

 fumigating orange trees caught two 

 quail under the fumigating tent and gave 

 them to us. They would have been 

 killed if left under the fumigating tent. 

 They now are in our possession. 



We have hundreds of visitors at our 

 pheasant farm and every week people 

 are asking to buy quail, but our hands 

 are tied by the game commissioners. The 

 only liberty the game breeders of Cali- 

 fornia have is the Hberty of free speech. 



You may publish all or any part of 

 this. 



Yours for more game, 



Mary Rahlman. 



Subscribe to The Game Breeder, $1.00 

 a Year. 



Correspondence in the Rahlman Case. 



STATE OF CALIFORNIA. 



FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 

 Los Angeles, Cal., August 3, 1916. 



Rahlman & Rahlman, 

 Dear Sirs: 



Your letter of August 2 at hand, and I see 

 by your letter that the game farming business 

 is "booming." I am afraid there are some 

 disappointments in store for yourselves and 

 others as well. It will be impossible for you 

 to start a game farm with these 75 quail that 

 you now ■Jiave in your possession. You will 

 remember that when I had the conversation 

 with you on this matter I told you that you 

 would have to get your start from without 

 the boundaries of the State. , The eggs < given 

 you by parties irrigating were wild eggs and 

 belong to the people of the State as a whole, 

 and the eggs taken from private aviaries can- 

 not ibe used to stock your game farm, be- 

 cause all permits given to people owning pri- 

 vate aviaries read, "for propagation purposes 

 only," and are not to be used in a commercial 

 way, as those birds are the property of the 

 State ■ simply held by various people for scien- 

 tific, educational and propagation purposes. 



We are of the opinion that you will be 

 wasting time and money in feeding 75 quail 

 for this purpose, and we cannot give you a 

 permit to capture mountain quail, if you want 

 them for the same purpose. 



The pheasants are a dififerent matter en- 

 tirely, as there are no pheasants native to 

 California. ■> 



We are willing to give you a permit for a 

 limited number of valley quail if you desire 

 them for exhibition purposes. 



We will be pleased to hear from you fur- 

 ther in this matter. 



Yours truly, 

 Fish and Game Commission, 

 H. G. Pritchard, 



Assistant. 



STATE OF CALIFORNIA. 



FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



, Los Angeles, Cal.j Aug, 8, 1916. 



Rahlman & Rahlman, 

 Gentlemen : 



Your letter of August 5 at hand. We will 

 thank you if you will give us the names and 

 addresses of any person or persons who have 

 offered quail or quail eggs for sale. 



We are sorry that you do not seem to 

 understand the law which we have tried to 

 explain to you. Even if you had a breeder's 

 license now we could not give you a permit 

 for the quail in question. You should have 

 notified this office when you secured these 

 eggs ; you did not do so. You now have quail 

 in your possession illegally. 



In other words, when this law was passed 

 there was no provision made for the securing 

 of the stock, and it was understood that the 

 stock for the various farms should be se- 

 cured from without the boundaries of the 



