EXPORTATION OF FISHES AND HATCHING APPARATUS. 997 



may uot prevent us from receiving tbe favor of a similar consignment 

 next season, it being our aim and desire to do all that we can to foster 

 and acclimatize everything useful and of benefit to the general public. 



Before concluding, I think it necessary to append my opinion in ref- 

 erence to the ova received, supposed to be whitefish. To this I demur, 

 and can only conclude that some mistake has been made, for the follow- 

 ing reason : The eggs were about the size of those from the herring, con- 

 sequently the inference would be they were too small for so large a fish 

 as described in your memorandum. 



I give this for what it is worth, and with the hope that, if the govern- 

 ment have been subjected to a mistake, such may be prevented in the 

 future. 



The ova received are probably from some such fish as our whiting, of 

 the genus Clupea, and not Coregonus albus, as supposed. 

 I have, &c., 



S. C. FARE, 



Honorary Secretary. 

 Dr. Hector, 



Colonial Museum, Wellington. 



Geological Survey of New Zealand, 



WelUngt07i, March 9, 1877. 



Dear Professor Baird : I am sorry to say that we had not much 

 success with our whitefish. The first lot, I wrote you, experienced many 

 delays, and when they reached the hatching-ponds only about 400 fish 

 were saved. They thrived well, but by a telegram just received I learn 

 that they have been all lost; I presume escaped from the ponds. I made 

 better preparations for the second lot, and had half a ton of ice ready at 

 Auckland to bring them down to town. They reached here the third 

 day from the ice-house of the big steamer from which they were trans- 

 shipped at Auckland, and were, as far as I could judge without opening 

 the box, in good order; at least there was plenty of ice around them. 

 I therefore sent them on to the extreme south, where they will have the 

 best advantages at the great ponds at Makarewa, but unfortunately 

 they had to be transshipped at Dunedin, and the steamer that was to 

 have taken them on got wrecked. This caused a week's delay, and I fear 

 some injuries, for the curator of the i^onds telegraphed to-day, "Boxes 

 opened, ova all gone, only black scum left." I will have the matter 

 thoroughly inquired into and inform you. Meanwhile we can only 

 wait till next season. You will be glad to hear that about forty rivers 

 have been successfully stocked with salmon from the December ship- 

 ment. A glorious success so far. 

 Ever yours, very truly, 



JAMES HECTOE. 



Prof. S. F. Baird, 



Washington, D. C. 



