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THE RAINFALL OF AUSTRALIA. 5y5) 
on a much smaller scale. By the courtesy of Professor 
Stirling, Director of the South Australian Museum, I am 
supplied with a drawing of a “Restored Diprotodon,” a 
copy of which is now shewn, together with other details. 
Diprotodons appear to have been very widely distributed 
over Australia. Does the time when these animals lived, 
synchronize with the time when the now deeply buried 
forests were growing on the surface? These forests were 
described by the writers of the paper recently read by Prof. 
David and Mr. G. H. Halligan, referring to land subsidences. 
Is this change still operating ? 
The very dry parts of Australia seem to be chiefly con- 
fined to a belt of country extending in a west-north-west 
direction from Lake Hyre. At Cossack, on the coast of 
West Australia, the year 1891 was practically rainless, 
whilst at same place, the year 1900 experienced a rainfall 
of 40 inches, but the yearly average there is very low. The 
large extent of country in Australia, now subject to a 
uniformly low rainfall, seems remarkable. Coming to the 
east coast of Australia, some very irregular falls have 
occurred ; on the hills near Brisbane in February 1893, the 
rainfall for four successive days was, on the first over 10, 
on the second over 20, on the third over 35, and on the 
fourth over 10 inches. This constitutes a record for 
Australia during historical times. In the same locality 
some years have had a total of less than 20 inches. Is it 
unreasonable to suppose that similar heavy rains may have 
occurred in the past and over a much larger extent of 
country ? 
There would then be no difficulty in accounting for large 
inland lakes and swamps. I would also refer to the heavy 
rainfall at ‘‘ Dry Lake,’’ near Wilcannia, at no distance from 
Lake Callabonna. Dry Lake isa great depression never 
known up to 1885 (?) to contain water, but one day’s rain 
