30 October 1857 Mariakako My dear brother I take the oportunity of writing you a few lines by young Rich who is going up to Auckland and bringing some fat wethers to your market. I hope they will pay him well when he arrives and sees the sheep. He has to pay you one hundred and twelve pounds and the halfe of whatever proffit their may be from the sale of them as they are good sheep from Tuke's plain. It is an affair between Munn and my selfe. I had the sheep in yeasterday cutting and docking and I think their will be a fair average of lambs. We marked 707 and there is a 100 to marked next week besides 30 young rams I kept to pick out of. Their was only 500 lambing ewes came from Gollan. Their was 702 all together and I brought 200 from Carter and 300 from Abbot. Some of them had lambs and the rest will soon. I expect in March we shall have hear about fourteen hundred. I am sending 5-700 to Domet's run tomorrow. All the dry sheep and rams on the place so that we may keep the lambing regular at this station. We have more ewes lambs than wethers. Marked 382 ewes lambs 325 wethers. I am hard for men at the present time. Danvers boy is quite useless and Gascoyne is little better. MacInnis I must send about his business. I have lost enough through carelessness already through Nelson digings. People are to independard down hear and we shall be hard up for labour this shearing but no doubt we shall have plenty next year. I have farley engaged Danvers for three years at sixty pounds per annum. MacLauchlan is quite usless to me for the last four weeks. His brother has been sheepherding the sheep and a good man he is. I must get rid of John for his wife is not in good health. 5 of them I had to keep all winter for one man's work but I hope Gascoyne and a good sheeperd will do the work next year. We will have a ... clip this year. The sheep are in such good condition.