H.—ll

1878. NEW ZEALAND.

CALIFORNIA SALMON AND WHITEFISH OVA, (PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE INTRODUCTION OF)

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

No. 1, The Under-Secretary to the Hon. Spencer Baird. Sir,— Wellington, 31st May, 1877. With reference to the offer which you kindly made in your letter of the 7th ultimo, addressed to Dr. Hector, I have the honor to request that arrangements may be made for the transmission to this colony during next season of 500,000 of the ova of the Californian salmon, and 250,000 of the ova of lake whitefish (Coregonus albus). I have, &c, Professor Baird, G. S. Cooper. Commissioner United States Fishieries Commission, Washington.

No. 2. Dr. Hector to Professor Baird. Dear Sir,— Wellington, 28th July, 1877. I am directed by Government to ask you to be good enough to have the next shipments of salmon ova packed, if possible, in cases containing 50,000 ova each, in order to facilitate their transit to the different districts throughout the colony. The Government propose to distribute the ova as follows : — Auckland ... ... ... ... ... 2 Napier... ... ... ... ... ... 1 Nelson... ... ... ... ... ... 1 Greymouth ... ... ... ... ... 1 Wellington ... ... ... ... ... 1 Christchurch ... ... ... ... ... 1 Dunedin ... ... ... ... ... 1 Makarewa ... ... ... ... ... 2 10 = 500,000. I have, &c, The Hon. Spencer F. Baird. James Hector.

No. 3. Professor S. F. Baird to the Hon. the Colonial Secretary. Sir, — Washington, 10th July, 1877. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 31st of May, asking for 500,000 eggs of the Californian salmon and 250,000 of the whitefish, to be sent to New Zealand during the present year. This request I shall take pleasure in supplying, and, in the meantime, beg to be advised of the proper address of the packages, and whether they shall be sub-divided into smaller quantities. Of course I can only promise them conditionally—in the event of nothing untoward happening to the fisheries. I have, &c., The Hon. the Colonial Secretary. Spencer F. Baird.

No. 4. Mr. W. Arthue to tho Hon. the Colonial Secretary. Sir, — Dunedin, 25th September,lB77. The Acclimatization Society of Otago had intended procuring a supply of American whitefish ova this season from the States.