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name of this species of haliotis, a mother-of-pearl shell). With regard to these, I have no suggestion to offer. The building of boats, cutters, and schooners has been carried on for many years, but in such a desultory va\,y that this cannot yet be ranked among our settled industries. I think, however, it would be difficult to find in New Zealand (except, perhaps, in the neighbourhood of Auckland) a more likely place than Paterson Inlet for such an industry to take root and flourish. Suitable sites and sufficient shelter and depth of water can be easily selected. The shores of the Inlet are fringed for miles together with abundance of rata excellently adapted for timbers and knees. Trees suitable for masts and spars are in fair abundance; while as to sawn timber, required for planking, deck-beams, and fittings, we have red pine, white pine, and totara of superior quality, all now to be had conveniently from saw-mills in the Inlet or adjoining bays. We have here large quantities of seaweed, which might be turned to profitable account by being turned into kelp as a source of iodine, a substance much employed, I understand, by photograpers, and also used medicinally. Gold-digging has been occasionally prosecuted by small parties of men, sometimes for months together; and I am told by an intelligent miner, who was so engaged, that £2 per week can be earned in this way without much difficulty. Platinum and garnets are associated with the gold. Silver is known to exist, but I do not know whether the ore is rich enough to make the working of it profitable. There are considerable deposits of titaniferous iron-sand. A deposit of kaolin, as mentioned by Captain Hutton, has been discovered in Stewart Island, in connection with which, as showing that we have several of the conditions essential to the successful manufacture of porcelain, it is interesting to know that feldspar is found in abundance at Port Adventure, also that much of the sand on the beaches is of a sharp quartzose character. Ido not know of the existence of other valuable minerals, but it seems likely enough that many may yet be found, as only a very small portion of our shores has yet been examined (as far as I know) by any geologist or mineralogist of note, while much of the interior is still a term, incognita, I suspect there is no other part of New Zealand, of equal extent, of which so little is known. As we have geologists of standing in the colony, and the lighthouse-steamer is employed occasionally very near our shores, I trust we may have a scientific examination made of at least our coast-line rocks at no distant date. I have, &c, Chakles Tbaiil.

No. 99. Mr. J. A. Mokgan to the Honorable John Hall (forwarded to the Chairman of the Royal Commission on Colonial Industries). Sir,— Christchurch, 11th June, 1880. I have a suggestion to make to you, which 1 think you will be pleased with. It is a scheme which will give several hundreds of the unemplo3'ed work, and would bring a handsome return to the Government on a very small outlay. It is to establish a large fishing-station in one of the sounds near D'Urville Island, where, as you probably know, there are very great quantities offish of all sorts, which should be dried and prepared something after the same style as haddock; they could also be salted in barrels for export. There are also large quantities of black-fish and porpoises, from which large quantities of oil could be extracted, which obtains a price of about 4s. a gallon. The outlay required for two such stations, with boats, huts, and boiling-down apparatus, would not exceed £3,000 or £4,000, and, I think, would materially benefit the country (as fish is very high in price), and would probably bring in a handsome return to the Government, and at the same time open up the country about the Sounds. The townships would be completely self-supporting in a very few months. I should be glad to assist 3 rou in getting all the necessary apparatus and putting the scheme in working order, should you think fit to adopt it. I have, &c, J. A. Morgan.

FISH-CULTUBE. No. 100. Evidence of Mr. A. M. Johnson before Mr. Commissioner A. J. Burns, at Opawa, 19th April, 1880. My name is Andrew M. Johnson. I have been about fifteen years resident in Canterbury. I was a farmer in England, near Birmingham, and then carried on fish-culture for amusement; in fact, I was amongst the earliest who started fish-culture in England upon the present system. I came to this country with the intention of following up fish-culture as a means of livelihood. I was eleven years managing the Acclimatization Society's grounds near Christchurch, and left there on account of the ill-will displayed towards me by the secretary. I have started fish-culture on this spot entirely at my own cost. I made this selection as being, in my opinion, the most suitable place to carry on the business. I have been here four years. 1 have been very successful—even, more so than I expected, under the circumstances. I get a ready sale for my young fish, principally in the North Island for stocking purposes, not for eating. I sell to public bodies, and also to private individuals. In one season I hatched out 30,000 salmon. I got the ova from the Wellington Society in the North Island, on the cmdition that 1 was to retain the half of the number hatched. I was very successful; I had 50,000 eggs, and reared 30,000 young fish. About 16,000 fish I returned to the Society from whom I received the ova. Of the remainder, I have sold a few, a number got out of the ponds during a flood in the Heathcote —I should say nearly 0,000 fish escaped in this way —a few of the large ones died during the hot weather last summer, and I have the remainder on hand. In connection with salinonhatching, I purpose erecting a salt-water aquarium for the purpose of breeding.- By this means I hope to have always a stock of eggs and young fish on hand, without the necessity of the old fish returning to the ocean. I have hatched out many thousands of young trout every season. Last season, 7,300 young fish were sent up in one lot to Wanganui, in the North Island ; out of this lot only thirty-six fish