21

H.—7

You will have before this received my letter of the Bth ultimo, in which I informed you that the trout ova that came out in the freezing chambers were all dead ; even the few that did not turn opaquo I have since ascertained did not hatch out. So that it appears clear that there is no possibility of bringing out ova in a ship's freezing chamber. Your proposal will receive due consideration, and I will communicate with you again on the subject. Herring Ova. —l regret very much the failure of the attempt to bring out herring ova to New Zealand. lam very sensible of the great exertions made by both Professor Ewart and yourself, and feel sure that the failure did not arise from any cause which you could possibly foresee. Owing to the delay of the March San Fransisco mail your letter of the 22nd of that month was not received until after the herring-ova fittings were removed from the " Euapehu." The company kept them undisturbed until the last moment, hoping that the mail would arrive ; but, as the ship had to commence freezing, they had to take them down a few days before the receipt of your letter. I think that it is doubtful whether it will be expedient to repeat the herring-ova experiment again at present; but I should propose continuing with salmon ova. However, I should be glad to have your valuable opinion on the matter. I enclose a cojy of a letter that I have addressed to Professor Cossar Ewart, thanking him for his exertions in the matter No. 28 ; and I should feel much obliged if you would convey the thanks of the Government to Mr. Thomas Johnson for his exertion in the matter. The Agent-General for New Zealand, I have, &c, 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W. Julius Vogel.

No. 38. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Colonial Teeasueee. Sie, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 9th April, 1886. I received with great pleasure your telegram of the sth instant, telling me that the shipment of ova by the steamer "lonic" had succeeded, and directing me to present a piece of plate to Sir James Maitland, with the thanks of the Government; and I sent you a message, in reply, requesting you to accept my respectful acknowledgments for the reference you had been pleased to make to myself in your telegram. The failure of the eggs placed in the ship's refrigerator makes it fortunate that a separate ice-chamber was used for the salmon ova. I was a witness before a Committee of the House of Lords, a day or two ago, upon a Bill to bring water into Falkirk, the effect of which would have been to destroy Howietoun fishery. It happened that I had just received your telegram of the safe arrival of the ova, and could mention it in aid of Sir James Maitland's opposition to the Bill. Ten minutes afterwards the Bill was thrown out. Professor Cossar Ewart was summoned to London a few days ago on official business, and we had a long conference over the causes of failure of the herring experiment. We came clearly to the conclusion that the mischief ought never to have occurred, and could certainly be prevented in any fresh experiment; but we waited to hear what Mr. Jamieson had to say, who has since returned from Madeira. I have now received a letter from Dr. Ewart saying that he will presently send me a full report, when I will address you again. In the meantime I shall send you a telegram in time to reach you before the arrival of the " Euapehu," asking you to send back the appliances in the " Euapehu," as Dr. Ewart has no doubt of the next experiment succeeding. I have, &c, The Hon. the Colonial Treasurer, Wellington. P. D. Bell.

No. 39. The Hon. the Commissionee of Trade and Customs to the Agent-Geneeal. Sie, — Wellington, 2nd June, 1886. I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 9th April last on the subject of salmon and herring ova. I was glad to hear that my telegram had reached you in time to have been of service to Sir James Maitland. I may here mention that I have received a report, copy of which is enclosed, from Mr. J. P. Maitland, President of the Otago Acclimatization Society, in which he states that the salmon ova received by the " lonic " arrived in better condition than any before sent out. As I have already informed you in my letter of the 22nd ultimo, I am -not sure that it will bo expedient to repeat the herring-ova experiment; but I will await the receipt of Professor Ewart's report before finally deciding. I trust, however, to be able to repeat last year's successful importation of salmon ova next season. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. Julius Vogel.

No. 40. Exteact from the " Scotsman " of the 17th March, 1886. Sir, — 17th March, 1886. I observe Professor Ewart has despatched ova from Girvan. Had I been aware he contemplated such a thing I would have told him there was great danger in sending it out in such a manner, as I had tried it some years since. The only way to make certain is to freeze the ova into a solid body and to keep it so for several weeks. Twenty-live years ago a friend of mine was sceptical that the refuse herring ova found in the bottom of a boat was alive. One morning, he and I being at Newhaven, and seeing a quantity lying in the bottom of the boat, I said, " We will try the experiment." So I got a small quantity in my handkerchief, and he took it home and placed it in a basin, and filled it with sea-water, changing it for fifteen days, when, to his astonishment, he saw a multitude of young herring. He then put them into the sea at the Chain Pier. We tried a 4—H. 7.