142 THE CONDOR VOL. XI species of bird breeding on the island, wreck- ing hundreds of nests. MILTON S. RAY, San Francisco, California. April 29, 1909 [The above letter was sent to the State Game Commission, and the following is the substance of the reply. You will observe that in the new fish and game laws, there is a prohibition on the killing of Mountain quail and grouse up to Sept. 1st, 1911. The Mountain Quail have not recovered from the awful demands made upon them by the market hunters, when the quail were allowed to be sold in the market. Two years of close" season should show a great improvement, but it is my opinion that the sheep have had much to do with destroying the nests of both the quail and grouse. My observation regarding Mountain Quail is that in the northern part of the state, especially in Siskiyon and Shasta Counties, they are well able to take care of themselves by September lst; in fact, the people of that region tried to have the law open on August 15th. The Mountain Quail has a wider range than is generally supposed; I have seen them in Sonoma County, also in Mendocino at an elevation not to exceed 1500 feet. One reason why there is a difference in the seasons has been the influence brought about by the people living in the Sierras who claimed that unless they were allowed to shoot quail by the 1st of September, they got none at all, as their migrations commence shortly after; but these problems will work themselves out Our people are becoming more accustomed to the restrictions and there is a better sentiment all over. the state. In fact, the improvement has been most markt in the last four years and thrn the Legislature we can accomplish more now than we could five years ago. With regard to the Fatallone Islands, that is territory over which we have no jurisdiction. It is a Federal Reservation, just the same as the Presidio. The Treasury Department at Washington exercises control over the Islands. Having been a witness to the damag e done by dogs, a letter from you to the Treasury Depart- ment at Washington calling attention to the nmtter, or to the National Audubon Society at New York, might result in some order being issued that would tend to check this abuse. Yours respectfully, CHAS A. VoGELSANG Chief Deputy Fish and Game Commission, Thayer Museum, Lancaster, Massachusetts. Editor T?x? Co?'DOR:-- My collector, Wilmot W. Brown, Jr., is still in the Cape region of Lower California. His letters are so interesting, I thought the readers of the CONDOR might enjoy them, therefore I decided to publish them. The collecting of so many sets of such a rare bird as Craveri Mur- teller and the description of their nesting habits is indeed interesting. Joan E. (Letter no. 1): La ?az, Lower California, Mexico, January 20, 1909: From La Paz I went by sea to Buena Vista and from there by mules to Eureka which is on the coast and lies seven milessouth from Buena Vista. At Eureka I made a small collection while waiting for the mules from Miraflores to arrive. The most in- teresting species were a series of the Belding Maryland Yellowthroat, an Elf Owl and a Burrowing Owl. On the way to Miraflores I made a short.stay at Santiago and collected a fine series of the Belding Maryland Yellow- throat in the laguna.,there. Also took several Marsh Wrens and a Carolina Rail. At Mira- flores I spent over two weeks collecting while waiting for mules. I finally secured mules for. the expedition to El Sauz a Sierra, about two and one-half days' trip with pack mules from Miraflores. E1 Sauz being the objective point of the expedition and an excellent region for the rare Laguna Sparrow, Aimophilia ruficeps sororia, we pitched camp near a small mountain stream. We found it very cold up there, our tent many nights being stiff and heavy with ice. To get water for cooking purposes we had to break the ice. The eleva- tion above the sea is about 4,000 feet. We camped there for about 16 days and secured a large series of Laguna Sparrows. It was some- times difficult work in collecting them as they were found in very steep places. The species is not common there, as six specimens a day was the best I could do. Also collected three specimens of the very rare Xantus Screech Owl, and other interesting species of the Sierras. All are in excellent plumage. Front E1 Sauz we returned to Miraflores where a short stay was made and two more of the Xantus Screech Owls were collected and several specimens of the Elf Owl also. From Miraflores we took the pack mules to Santiago a?d camped at the Laguna within fifteen feet of the rules, and shot Belding Maryland Yellowthroats out of the back door of the tent. Also secured two more rails and some Marsh Wrens. But the most interesting were two fine full-plumaged Mex?ascops acantusi. My cook getting the malaria or fever we struck camp and returned to Eureka with pack mules and from there to Buena Vista; and two days later by sea to La Paz in the schooner "Laurita." The collection is packed in 5 cases and numbers over three hundred and seventy- five specimens. It contains every species of owl recorded from-Lower California--that is from the Cape Region as covered by Mr. Brewster's book. Of the Screech Owl there
