Vino H. G. McKINNEY. 
a good average rainfall, that very heavy falls of rain 
occur frequently on some of the catchments and occasionally 
on the others, and that considerable periods of dry weather 
are of common occurrence. Taking these points in con- 
junction with those already mentioned, we naturally find 
that the coastal rivers are liable to great floods of short 
duration, and that there are often long periods of low 
supply. It is owing to the former characteristic—that 
is the great height and destructive character of the 
floods—that the subject of flood prevention has been one 
of much importance on the Hunter and the Clarence, 
while the results of the long periods of low river have 
been brought home to the people of Sydney by the con- 
dition of their water supply. 
The large number of rivers, creeks, and natural water- 
holes throughout the coast district, and the fairly satis- 
factory average rainfall combine to make the conservation 
of water, for other than town supply, mining, and manu- 
facturing purposes, a question of easy solution. The 
generally uneven character of the land, taken in con- 
junction with the fair average rainfall, renders irrigation 
on an extensive scale impracticable. But it has been 
proved in a number of cases, that irrigation of orchards 
and also of lucerne and other fodder crops can be carried 
out with advantage on a moderate scale, and an increase 
in the number of such cases may reasonably be expected. 
The question of flood prevention on the Hunter is one of 
much importance, and has been investigated time after 
time for more than thirty years, and although various steps 
have been taken to mitigate the risk, the question is far 
from being settled. If the facilities for impounding flood 
water on an extensive scale had been as favourable as those. 
existing on the Olarence, it is not improbable that some- 
thing would have been done with this object long ago. 
