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 in a few days and bringing up fat sheep to market. I hope they will pay him well when he sells the sheep. He is to pay you one hundred and twelve pounds and the halfe of whatever proffits he may have from the sale of them. They are good sheep from Tuke's plain. It is an affair between him and myselfe. I had the sheep in yeasterday cutting and docking and I think their will be a fair average of lambs. We marked 702 seven hundred and seven and there is 100 to be marked next week besides 30 rams that I kept to pick out of come from Gollan 702 in all I brought 200 from Carter and three 300 from Abbot. Some of them has lambs and some will lamb shortley. I expect in March to have 12 or 14 hundred lambs. I am sending 700 to Domet's run tomorow. All the dry sheep