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H.—ls

the " Turakina " as far as Plymouth, and this gave me about four days with Mr. Parker and his assistant, and in that time I carefully instructed them in the daily attention which should be given to the eggs, and arranged everthing in proper order in the egg-chamber. The whole of the eggs in this shipment were good sound eggs obtained early in the spawning season, and they were just at the right age for shipping on such a voyage. From the appearance of the eggs when I left the steamer at Plymouth, and from the intelligent grasp Mr. Parker seemed to have of the work, I was convinced that they would arrive in New Zealand with a small percentage of loss. To procure the other half-million eggs required, permission had been obtained by Mr. Fryer, Chief Inspector of Fisheries for the Board of Agriculture, from the Board of Conservators for the rivers Test, in Hampshire; Dee, in Wales; and Wye, to take eggs from a limited number of salmon. Offers of eggs, to be ready to pack in January, had also been received from Germany. After leaving the " Turakina " at Plymouth, I set about gathering up the other half-million eggs required. I proceeded to the River Test, where I met Mr. Richmond on the 31st December. We netted the river on the Ist and 2nd January, and were successful in getting a number of ripe salmon. Altogether about 55,000 eggs were obtained from this river, and taken to the Surrey Trout-farm to be incubated. Word having been received that a number of salmon had been caught, by the water-bailiffs in the Dee, I left for there on the 4th, and on the sth 1 stripped 65,000 eggs from the fish which had been secured. These eggs were also taken to the Surrey Trout-farm. On the 14th January another lot of 55,000 eggs were taken on the Dee by Mr. Richmond. As a run of salmon was daily expected in the Wye, I went to that river on the 7th January. On the Bth, along with two water-bailiffs, I inspected the Wye and Elan, but saw no sign of spawning salmon. Both rivers were low, and the conditions were unfavourable for a run of fish. Steady rain, however, set in on the Friday night, and continued all Saturday and part of Sunday, causing a heavy fresh in the rivers. We watched the rivers on the Sunday and Monday (10th and 11th January), but no fish appeared, and as it seemed useless to remain any longer I returned to London on the 12th. As there seemed to be very little chance of obtaining any more eggs from English rivers, and as we had several offers of eggs from hatcheries on the Rhine, in Germany, it was arranged that I should go over and inspect the eggs under offer, and, if satisfied as to their age and purchase the balance required. As the eggs under offer from Air. Riedel, Bergstedt, Hamburg, appeared to be of a more suitable age than any of the others offered, I went first to inspect his lot. As he had disposed of all the salmon-eggs at his Bergstedt hatchery before my arrival, we went south to another salmon-hatchery on a tributary of the Rhine, near Triers. Being satisfied as to the quality and age of the eggs there, I agreed to take 340,000. I had the packing-cases made, and showed Mr. Riedel how the eggs should be packed. As it had been arranged that the second shipment of eggs should go by the " Corinthic," sailing from London on the 4th February —and I required to see Dr. Fulton, of the Marine Laboratory and Fish-hatchery at Aberdeen, with regard to the importation of sea-fish or their eggs to New Zealand—l left the packing and forwarding of the salmon-eggs to Mr. Riedel, and I left Triers for London on the 21st January by way of Brussels and Ostend, arriving in London at II p.m. that night. Mr. Riedel arrived in London with the salmon-eggs on the 30th January, and as in the meantime a hitch had occurred about getting them away by the " Corinthic," they were placed in a cool-chamber at the Colonial Consignment and Delivery Company's stores until the " Rakaia " sailed on the 10th February. A special cool-chamber was provided on the " Rakaia," and all the eggs were put on board on the 9th February. The steamer sailed on the 10th, but owing to a damaged steampipe had to put into Plymouth on the 12th for repairs. In the meantime 1 had decided that, owing to the delay in London after the eggs were packed, and the prospect of a protracted voyage out on the " Rakaia," probably it might be necessary to repack the furthest-advanced eggs on the voyage, and while at Plymouth I procured some packing-material. Considering the advanced condition of more than half the shipment, and the prospect of a long voyage, I decided to keep the egg-chamber at as low a temperature as was consistent with safety. The average temperature of the chamber was 34°, and a thermometer was placed inside every case. The inside of the cases in which the youngest eggs were packed was kept at a temperature of 34° Fahr., and by the use of crushed ice placed in the end ice-spaces of the cases we were able to keep the furthest-advanced eggs at a temperature of 33° Fahr. The general treatment of the eggs on the voyage was similar to that so successfully practised for a number of years in bringing salmon and whitefish eggs from America — i.e., all the dead eggs were removed at regular intervals, and at each picking the position of the egg-trays in the cases was reversed; rather more than a pint of chilled water was poured over each stack of egg-trays once every twenty-four hours, and once a day all the lids of the cases were thrown open for two hours in order to admit fresh air to the inside of the cases. After half the voyage had gone, I found it was advisable to repack all the trays. The packing-moss was washed out, and fresh cloths put under and over the eggs. The result obtained from this repacking was very satisfactory indeed. On arrival at Dunedin on the sth April the cases were transferred to an insulated railwaywagon, in which was placed a good supply of ice. On the 6th, the manager of the Hakataramea Salmon-hatchery left by the first express with seven cases en route for Te Anau Lake Hatchery, and I took three cases which were at the point of hatching on to the Hakataramea Hatchery the same day. The three cases which I took to Hakataramea were unpacked the following morning, and they turned out in first-rate, order. The number of dead eggs picked out was very small These eggs commenced hatching within two hours of being put into the hatching-trays T !} e lot sent to Te Anau arrived there on the evening of the 7th, and opened out very satisfactory indeed. The Rhine eggs commenced hatching soon after being unpacked, and the eg«-s from one case of the English eggs commenced hatching the second day after arrival