APPENDIX. 211 



Salmon Ponds, Wallacetoion, 



Southland, N.Z. 



1 May, 1876. 

 My deab Sie, 



I do not think it was ever my lot to take up 

 my pen with so much pleasure as now, for when I 

 wrote hy last mail, I had the fear of the old luck 

 haunting me, and although I believed the Ova would 

 turn out well, and the shipment prove a success, I 

 would not allow myself to he too confident after so 

 many disappointments. As the Ova have now nearly 

 all hatched, I may at any rate congratulate you, 

 as the remainder rests with us. I own I did not 

 expect so good a hatching. Your Ova have hatched 

 as truly as if taken from one of our own rivers, 

 scarcely a death at hatching, and, contrary to my 

 expressed belief, are strong good fish ; some of those 

 I mentioned as looking too pale in the lower lot of 

 Ova I placed by themselves, and most of them 

 have hatched off good fish. I have not at present 

 seen any deformed fish to signify, as in the Oberon 

 shipment, and the hatching, at any rate, is a per- 

 fect success. Of course I can only approximate 

 to the quantity hatched, and can best explain it 

 by saying that my idea on looking over the boxes 

 after all were laid was that I had about 25,000 in 

 all; the next morning I removed 1320 from Mr. 

 Buckland's, and 4972 from yours, or, in round 



