PROCEEDINGS. 157 
local rain, but it did not affect the river much ; the rain lasted 
two days, and from that time we had no rain at Bourke until 
June 21, 22, and 23, when we had a very heavy fall ; but again 
it did not affect the river much, and by September it was very low, 
and kept so until February, 1867, when a flood came down from 
the Queensland rains, and on top of that came our own local rains 
and the floods in the Macquarie. After that the river fell again, 
and in 1868 was very low ; so low that a boat could sete cross the 
stone to stone, in May of that year ; we had no rain except a few 
showers, and the river got lower and lower ; all the tributaries in 
this Colony and Queensland were dry, and it is said that salt was 
collected on the bottom of one of the dried holes, in the ‘Cutta- 
burra,’ a tributary of the Warrego, which has not been done since ; 
and what they call drought now, I call overstocking. InJanu 
869, a few showers fell, and in March and April we had fine rain 
about Bourke, a splendid winter, and the iver a ‘banker.’ In 
February, oe the great wet season n.’ 
Mr. J. eydon, under date November 21, says :—“ The 
river eee Bee above this town (Wilcannia) has stopped running 
several places, and is lower than it has been since the middle of 
1876. As, however, a flood cannot reach here for almost two 
months if rain were to fall now in New England, it is the general 
opinion that the water will be lower in the Middle Darling than 
it has ever been seen, and unless heavy rains fall at its source not 
biter than February, there is a prospect of the water supply being 
insufficient for the stock on the frontages. n 1876, at a point 
18 miles above this, the bed of the river was perfectly dry for a 
quarter of a mile, and in other places the water had ceased 
running. It is almost i in the same state now, and must be worse 
From the foregoing notes it appears that the Darling was, in 
1829, salt and dry in places ; 1835, too low for boats to navigate 5 ; 
1839, a chain of caches and did not run until 1841 ; 1845, 
ceased to flow at Wilcannia; ; 1849, 1850, 1851, quite patn 
places; 1852 to 1855, running a good stream ; 1862, perfectly dry 
a 
places, although there was in the Middle Darling in January that 
year a very heavy storm of rain; 1867, very heavy flood in 
rey 1879, ve a ood began in lucien ; a4 usual 
February flood ri river below summer level nearly all the 
