H.—3.

Hatchings of Salmon-ova, &c. — continued.

No. 9. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministeb of Mabine. g IEj 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 2nd October, 1886. I received in due course your letter of the 16th July last, No. 485/48, relating to the renewal of shipments of salmon- and herring-ova this season, and also your memorandum of the 17th July, No. 493/48, directing me to send you the most recent works on fisheries. I am in communication with Sir James Maitland and Professor Cossar Ewart, and shall be able shortly to report the progress made. The Tweed Fishery Board have given me permission to take ova, and the Tay Board will do so a,t an early day. I have also accepted an offer from the Seewiese (Bavaria) Fishery of 100,000 salmon-ova, 50,000 stream salmon-trout ova, and 25,000 great laketrout ova, at 10s. per thousand. I hope to be able to send you more than half a million salmon-ova from Scotch rivers, and in order to do this Sir James Maitland will have to enlarge one of his hatching-houses. We propose to net the Tay twice for two separate shipments, and then to net the Tweed for a third. Her Majesty's Inspector of Fisheries, Mr. Berrington, has been kind enough to give me a list of the works to send you, and I hope to forward these in an early mail-box. I shall be very glad to get back the ova-boxes I sent out by the " lonic." In looking through the papers presented to Parliament during the late session (1886, H.-7) I notice several points in the letter of the President and Secretary of the Waitaki Acclimatization Society which require correction, especially on the two questions of sending Home an expert and of the relative cost between that method and the one I have pursued. But this can wait. I have, &c, The Hon. the Minister of Marine, Wellington. F. D. Bell.

Enclosure. My Deae Sic Feancis Bell,— Home Office, 22nd September, 1886. With further reference to your letter of the 13th instant, I have now the pleasure of enclosing a list of works and statutes on the subjects to which you refer. The list of books is not so formidable as it appears, since the eleven first are pamphlets. I also enclose a copy of a return with reference to the protection of seals which may interest you. Believe me, &c, Sir Francis D. Bell, K.C.M.G., &c. A. I. Beeeington.

The following works on fish-culture, &c, are published by W. Clowes and Son (Limited), Charing Cross (under the authority of the Commissioners for the Fisheries Exhibition of 1883) : Fishculture, by F. Day ; Oyster-culture in the Netherlands, Professor Eiibrecht; Culture of Salmonidse, Sir J. E. Gibson Maitland; Coarse-fish Culture, E. B. Marston; Artificial Culture of Lobsters, W. Savile Kent; Seal Fisheries, Ca. Temple ; Propagation of the Salmonidse—(l) V. Stirling, (2) F. Andrews, (3) W. O. Chambers; Propagation of Fresh-water Fish—(l) E. B. Marston, (2) W. O. Chambers; Oyster-culture —(1) Commander C. V. Anson, (2) S. Hock; Best Means of Increasing the Supply of Mussels, &c.—(l) T. E. Carr, (2) J. C. Wilcocks; Introduction and Naturalization of Foreign Fish, W. O. Chambers. Published by Wegand, Hempel, and Carey, Berlin: Die Auster und die Austemwirthschaft, by Karl Neobins. The Act regulating seal-fisheries is 38 Vict., c. 18 [Seal-fisheries Act]. The Acts relating to oyster-fisheries are—24 and 25 Vict., c. 96; 31 and 32 Vict., c. 45 ; 32 and 33 Vict., c. 31; 38 and 39 Vict., c. 15 ; 40 and 41 Vict., c. 42 ; 44 and 45 Vict., c. 11.

7

Date. Dead Fish. Date. Dead Pish. Date. Dead Pish. Date. Dead Pish. 1886. May 25 „ 26 „ 27 „ 28 „ 29 „ 30 „ 31 June 1 „ 2 „ 3 „ 4 „ 5 „ 6 30 23 29 21 20 21 21 32 42 39 47 50 67 1886. June 7 ... „ 8 ... „ 9 ... „ 10 ... „ 11 ... „ 12 ... „ 13 ... „ 14 ... „ 15 ... „ 16 ... „ 17 ... „ 18 ... „ 19 ... 52 55 60 33 21 23 35 30 23 20 40 30 22 1886. June 20 ... „ 21 ... „ 22 ... „ 23 ... „ 24 ... „ 25 ... „ 26 ... „ 27 ... „ 28 ... „ 29 ... „ 30 ... July 1 ... „ 2 ... 26 30 20 21 23 21 13 12 20 10 8 3 5 1886. July 3 4 „ 5 „ 6 „ 7 8 9 „ 10 „ 11 h 12 „ 13 „ 14 „ 15 3 5 10 9 8 4 10 4 5 2 1 2 6 Ti ital number of cl iaths in .atching-boxes 5,925