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The Acheron Passage side is bleak and precipitous, and the north very much exposed. There is also a fair landing from the ocean in Woodhen Cove in southerly weather. We saw and heard no kakapo on Resolution while I was there, although there were plenty of them on the mainland, from Wet Jacket Arm right up to Sutherland Falls, and thence down the Clinton River and west side of Te Anau; but there are kiwi (including several roas, which were seen on one of the hills, while Henry was cutting a track up it), wekas, pigeons, and kakas, a few ducks, and plenty of tuis, crows, thrushes, and saddlebacks, makos, &c, and penguins large and small, all over the place by dozens. Henry has not caught and put any birds on the island, but he has prospected the mainland for the best places to get them, and made all his arrangements for doing so as soon as possible. He proposed to build one or two huts or outlying stations for camping when collecting birds, as nothing can be done on the water when it blows, except to go ashore and wait for fine weather. The sound swarms with fish of all kinds, from 901b. groper down to trevalli and herrings. There are also crayfish in abundance. One cannot put a line down without catching something. Henry has made drawings, or, rather, diagrams to scale of any noteworthy fishes, on a plan suggested, I believe, by Dr. Parker. The timber on the island does not appear to me of much commercial value, and I saw extremely little land fit for cultivation, but for natural beauty the place is very hard to beat. There seem to be no rabbits about the sound, though we met them on our way home halfway down McKinnon's Pass, near Sutherland Falls, and thence all the way down to Te Anau. Rats swarm all over the West Coast wherever I have been, but they do not seem to interfere with the birds. In conclusion, I should like to say that I consider Henry an exceptionally good man for his present position. I have known him for some years, dating from the time he was at Te Anau Lake, and I have much respect and esteem for him. He is a naturalist born, and takes the keenest interest in the work he is now doing, and in the bush and its inhabitants. He is a good bushman, and the cottage and its fixings bear witness that he is an excellent artificer. I believe that if it is possible to make the work of the Acclimatisation Society at Resolution a success Henry is the man to do it. I'should'have mentioned that he has a lad of eighteen or twenty with him, a son, I believe, of Burt, ex - ranger, who is a very decent, intelligent young fellow, and apparently useful as an assistant. I am, &c, The Commissioner of Crown Lands, Dunedin. C. W. Chambeelain.

FuETHER BePOET BY EICHAED HeNEY TO THE COMMISSIONER OP CeOWN LANDS, DuNEDIN. As you know, I had visitors at New Year, and they brought me a new dog, which has turned out well for my purpose. The first day I was out with him for a bond fide hunt he found me three kakapos' nests in about an hour ; each had two little young ones in it; so I could not remove them under such circumstances. When these grow up will be the time to move them, and perhaps they will be glad of a new country then. The dog wears a light cage-muzzle quite contentedly, and works close around me, so that he has not time to do much harm. The mother kakapo is also quite fierce, and charges so viciously that "Foxy" gets a fright and barks. She stands over the young ones, or between them and the danger, and has, no doubt, learned to do so to protect them from the rats, for I have found young ones at Te Anau that had been bitten by rats. But I do not know how she manages when away for food, for I do not think the male assists her at all. I never found one near a nest, nor do I think she ever has a mate like other birds, only a " gay Lothario " that she hears singing in the bush, and goes to see ; for, though they live in dens where there would be room for a dozen, I never found two old ones in the same hole. At Te Anau they only breed every second year, and if they hold to this wonderful social rule on this side of the range there will be no drummers nor young ones here next year. Once at Te Anau they skipped two years in succession ; so that they have a curious, but possibly an effective, way of adjusting population to supplies of food. I have been all up and down the sound, and found out where they like best to live. At the mouth of the Wet Jacket, under Mount Foster, is a good place to get kakapos, and it is only a mile from Eesolution; but there is no boat-harbour, and we can only land, or leave, at high water to be sure of the safety of our boat. On the south side of Dusky, a mile east of Cooper Island, there are two great landslips—some hundreds of acres—covered with green scrub, where we heard kakapos drumming in dozens on the sth of February. In Wet Jacket, opposite the island, is also a good place for birds, but the scrub is very dense. We camped on the east end of Cooper Island, which is in extent about 8 square miles; heard grey kiwis there, and plenty of woodhens, but no kakapos or roas. Spent several days at the head of Dusky, camped on the east side of Supper Cove, and went expeditions up the river to have a look at Mr. McKenzie's track from Manapori. I was not in good working trim, for one of the steamers brought round "la grippe," or something like it, so I was easily stopped by a dangerous but passable place a few miles up, where the river comes through a gorge. What I saw was very encouraging—quite a grand river for miles, interrupted by three rapids, where there are easy portages. The north bank was good and level walking to the gorge, and the country we saw beyond looked quite kindly; so I have no doubt Mr. McKenzie will come through next summer, and perhaps I can arrange to meet him there. These two reaches are fine and deep, with little current in fine weather, and it would be worth while to take a canoe up there, for it could go through the gorge, past the awkward place; however, this could be safely passed with a rope, or a track could be easily formed. This river is subject to great floods, which go down at once when the rain stops. I have ordered material, and propose to build a flattie (boat) for this river.