92 E. T. Quayle: 



specific gravity, is capable of holding in suspension, and also- 

 preserving much of what the creeks, when flooded, bring down. 

 The rate of evaporation would naturally be influenced by the 

 amount of dilution. The lake beds could hardly remain at all 

 porous, and owing to the absence of vegetation and animal life, 

 either within the lake area or on the shores, the choking of the 

 pores must be permanent. That is, the fine muddy particles have 

 brought about the condition aimed at by the Mallee farmer who 

 '"puddles" his dam. Lake Eyre, being fed from such vast areas, 

 is more truly a lake, and, according to Mr. Allen, of Warrina 

 Station, is now fairly full, but that happens only rarely. Mr. T. 

 Hogarth, who has had 50 years' experience of the district, has 

 only seen the Lake filled twice during that time. It also forms 

 such a boggy environment as to make the water unapproach- 

 able under ordinary conditions. This and mirage effects make 

 it hard to ascertain the state of this or any of these lakes. 



Run-off Improving. 



It seems highly probable on various grounds that both 

 Torrens and Frome are now impounding much more water than 

 formerly. Experiences in Victoria go to show that settlement 

 is eflfecting great changes in the run-ofif from the various river 

 drainages. The clearing off or killing of the timber has made 

 the springs better water providers, and the destruction of the 

 trees, coarse grasses, reeds, etc., on the stream banks has caused 

 the channels to deepen. Forty or fifty years ago the upper 

 portions of the Avoca River and its tributaries consisted of 

 shallow, and often grassy, channels, connecting large, deep water 

 holes, providing permanent reservoirs, and through their large 

 total capacity presumably holding back very considerable quan- 

 tities of water which otherwise would have been poured on to 

 the lower plain country. These water holes provided a paradise 

 for anglers, especially school boys. They now hardly exist. 

 Deep gutters have been cut from pool to pool, and the final 

 result is a thread of water, almost constant in volume, with 

 scarcely a pool of sufficient magnitude to shelter a decent sized 

 fish. There is, of course, some compensation in the fact that the 

 more permanent flow of the springs, the better protection from 

 the sun, and the lessened demands of riverside vegetation cause 

 more water to reach the river's final destination, and I anticipate 



