“PROCEEDINGS. 155 | 
£50. This great cost has so far limited the use of these instru- 
ments to the chief observatory in each of the Australian Colonies. 
The instrument exhibited costs so little that it will be possible to 
as, 
he thought that the number of hailstones that fell would average 
about fifteen to the square foot. Mr. Russell then read several 
letters from different gentlemen, giving asec of the storm. 
Mr. Fletcher Watson forwarded a letter, together with sketches of 
several i of ice, in weight from 2 to9 ounces. At Hunter's 
lso the hail-storm had been very severe, and ice was 
poe seen floating on the water, and in one instance ice 
iled up beside a house to the height of 4 feet. 
the gardens in these places were literally destroyed. These 
S of very great interest, and it is desirable to 
collect all available information about them. He had re- 
is the termination of a drought period, at least that is what 
the observations seem to indicate. Mr. Wilkinson then as 
Mr. Russell if he thought there was any foundation for the re- 
ports as to the nak age of the Darling, which he believed was 
worse than it was forty years ago. r. Russell in answering 
said he expected “tlie question of the Darling would arise, so he 
had brought a few papers with him on the subject. The speaker’s 
own impression was that the Darling would still be much worse 
before any flood could possibly fill the holes ; for if a flood w 
to come, it would take seven or eight weeks to fill up the holes 
and find its way to Wilcannia. 
The following extracts from letters were then read :— 
Mr. Dickinson says, under date 18th November :— 
“T first visited the Darling in 1839, and took up a station 
i watrrina, 
to the Darling. That river was then a chain of water-holes from 
Walgett to Yambecoona, and it did not run until 1841. In 1846, 
again, the river got very low, and could easily b e crossed on 
horseback in many places. Again, in 1849, 1850, ith 1851 we 
had a terrible drought on the Darling ; no grass, no salt- t-bush, and 
the ziveeao low. tht the eto wa to ent bore it In 1852 
there was abundance of rain on the Darling, and the river con- 
