ion: the honour of being the first man who
succeeded in introducing these valuable fish into the colonies
would be a sufficient reward to me. But with Birch the case is
different: he is a working man, and L500 would be a fortune to
him. On the other hand, he could not afford to come to Hobart Town
from England at his own expense, as he has not the means.

Would the colony, if other attempts failed, be willing to pay
Birch's passage out and home if he failed also, and would he
receive the L500 if he succeeded?

By success I mean that he would either bring live fish or ova that
would hatch into live fish. Either of these objects being
accomplished, he ought, in my opinion, to receive the reward; for
although he would attempt both, he would probably fail in the
former.

Should he attempt this under my advice, I should not only send
Salmon and Salmon Trout and their ova, but the common brown Trout
and its ova also, for the reason previously given in this letter;
and although I am by no means sanguine of success, on account of
the temperature, the experiment is too important to be abandoned
for a mere theoretical objection which may be erroneous.

I think New Zealand offers far greater chances of success. It is
not only further removed from the tropics, but, if I am rightly
informed, the streams are more abundant and constant than those of
Australia and Tasmania--in fact, I believe it is as well watered
as this country; and if the authorities there are as much alive to
the importance of introducing these fish into their rivers, I
would undertake to do this with much greater confidence of
ultimate success than I should have if I undertook to introduce
them into Tasmania or the sister colonies.

Some time since (it may be eighteen months or two years ago) there
was a very intelligent correspondent of the "Field" newspaper,
whose _nom de plume_ was the Maori one, "Wetariki no te wai
Herekeke," or a similar one; and I having written something in the
"Field" on this subject, the New Zealander asked for my address,
which, for some private reason of his own, the Editor declined to
give until so long a time had elapsed that Wetariki Herekeke had
returned to the colony--this I learnt from an indirect source--
otherwise I should have tried to induce him to undertake the
experiment of introducing all the various species of the genus
Salmo which are to be found in our rivers.

If the colonists of New Zealand wish to make the at