H.—3

14

Only a small part of the expense ever belongs to the collection of the ova. You will see that this item has cost £252, or a fraction under 6s. per thousand all round over the 855,000 ova shipped. Taking only salmon-ova got from the Tay, Forth, and Tweed, they cost £127 to get, or a fraction over 4s. per thousand. The forty-eight boxes containing ova-trays, and the insulating-cases on board the steamers, cost £257 ; railway, steamer, and dock charges, £67 ; the ice-chambers on board each steamer, and ice for the voyages, £256 ; freight for the space occupied by the ice-chambers, insurance, passages of the caretakers, and supervision by the despatching officer, £490; and petty expenses, £30. It should, however, be noted that, as the ova-boxes and insulating-cases can be used over and over again, their cost should not be debited entirely to this season. As to the freight, you will recollect that the New Zealand Shipping Company very handsomely made no charge for the space given to Mr. Farr in 1885 ; but, of course, this could not be expected to recur, and in any future shipment freight will always be the largest item in the total cost. As I have had good reports from the Cape of all three shipments, I trust soon to hear that the ova reached the colony safely. Assuming this to be the case, you have a fair means of judging, so far as expense is concerned, whether to continue the shipments. The experience we have gained enables both the cost and the chances of success to be estimated now with a near approach to accuracy, for I think we may say with confidence that the Howietoun system of incubating and packing, and the method we have adopted for the ice-chambers and insulating-cases, have practically settled the question of safe transport of salmonidse-ova to New Zealand. The following estimate of cost may accordingly be taken as very nearly correct: — Salmon-ova from the Scottish rivers will always cost about 4s. per thousand to collect, and Is. to bring up for shipment, or ss. per thousand, apart from the cost of incubation. Eyed ova of any of the salmonidse, obtained from fishery establishments, will cost from 10s. to 15s. per thousand delivered in London. Taking, for instance, a shipment of 100,000 ova, you may put the cost of collection at from £20 to £30 ; ova-boxes and insulating-cases, £30 ; ice-chambers and ice for the voyage, £30; freight and passage of caretaker, £50 ; railway- and dock-charges, and contingencies, £10: altogether, say £150, exclusive of cost of incubating the ova between the dates of collection and the time of shipment. This item I cannot at this moment speak of with the same certainty, but I should not put it above £10 to £20 per hundred thousand. The colony has again been greatly indebted to Sir James Maitland. He not only prepared all the ova at Howietoun from the Tay, Forth, and Tweed, but devoted his own time and care throughout to making every shipment a success—even packing the ova and bringing them on to London himself. The count for nearly 700,000 of the ova is Howietoun count after allowing for loss during incubation. I have in vain asked Sir James to let me make him any payment; but, of course, this is out of the question, and I trust you will yourself insist upon his acceptance, as a business matter, either of a fair sum or its equivalent in a presentation of plate to him, and especially to Lady Maitland, who herself took a part in the work. This letter being only on the question of cost, I propose to mention later on some other points which should be kept in mind when deciding whether further shipments are to be made. I have, &c, The Hon. the Minister of Marine, Wellington. F. D. Bell.

Analysis of Expenses connected with the Three Shipments of Salmonidæ-ova, January and February, 1887.

1. Collecting the Ova. (1.) Salmon— Scotch ova (610,000)— Netting the Tweed Netting the Forth Netting the Tay £ b. a. 68 12 6 26 19 10 31 6 6 £ s. a. £ s. a. Ehine ova (100,000)— Seewiese Fishery Less cost of boxes ... 126 18 10 50 6 0 0 0 0 44 0 0 (2.) Trout and char (145,000)— S. fontinalis, 30,000 Alpine char, 25,000 Lochleven trout, 40,000 ... Ehine great lake-trout, 25,000 Ehine brook-trout, 25,000 170 18 10 33 0 12 10 20 0 12 10 12 10 0 0 0 0 0 Less cost of boxes 90 10 9 0 0 0 81 10 0 2. Ova-boxes and Insulating-cases. 34 Howietoun boxes ... 6 Solway and Seewiese boxes Insulating-cases 82 10 15 0 160 0 0 0 0 252 8 10 257 10 0