rain which does find its way from the hills to the lake increases 

 with the intensity of the rain. 



On 26th of January, 1885, a great rain storm passed over the 

 lake, and 8 inches of rain fell in two days, there was of course a 

 considerable rise in the lake, but when we came to measure it 

 exactly, the net result was 111 inches ; 8 inches of this had of 

 course fallen into the lake direct as rain, and the remaining 3| 

 inches represents what had come down the hills. Now it does 

 not require many figures to find out what percentage of the rain- 

 fall in this case found its way from the basin into the lake, and if 

 all the rain which fell on it had run into the lake there would have 

 been a rise of 96 inches from drainage ; 3^ inches therefore repre- 

 sents 3-64 per cent, of the rainfall. 



In 1887 a very wet year, the lake rose from drainage alone 

 15-86 inches, and the total rainfall for the year was 42-26, whence 

 it appears that only 3-12 per cent, of the rainfall found its way 

 from the basin into the lake. 



In 1888 a very dry year, the rainfall was 23-90, and the lake 

 rose from drainage alone 5-32 inches, which was equal to 1-85 per 

 cent, of the rainfall, but this really is too favourable a statement 

 of 1888, for during eleven months of the year there was not a 

 drop of drainage, and it was only from the very violent 

 rainstorm in December that any water reached the lake from the 

 basin ; in December 10-79 inches of rain fell, and in one rainstorm 

 3-88 inches fell in one day 1-92 inches in the next, and 1-22 the 

 next, and during the heaviest part of this storm 1-59 inches of 

 rain fell in twenty minutes. Of the December rainfall 4-11 per 

 cent, ran oflF the hills into the lake. Taking the mean between 

 the percentage 3-12 of a very wet year and 1-85 that of a very 

 dry one, we get 2-48 as the percentage of rain which flows from 

 the hills into Lake George. If this had to find its way through 

 long river courses it would certainly be very much reduced, and 

 probably not be more than we find in the Darling at Bourke. 



It is in evidence given before the Royal Commission for Water 

 Conservation that parts of the Darling River basin are exceed- 

 ingly porous and allow the water to sink down freely, and the facts 

 based upon measurements which I have brought forward to night, 

 seem to me to add force to that evidence, for Lake George is in a 

 part of the same range of mountains that the Darling drains, and 

 fortunately as a check upon the Darling River measures, circum- 

 stances here make it possible to see what percentage of the rain 

 that falls on this part of the mountains runs off. As I have 

 stated just now, only about 3 per cent., equal to 029 inch of the 

 great rain storm of January 1885 found its way into the lake; 

 as the whole 8 inches fell in forty hours and only 029 say I inch 

 found its way into the lake, 7| inches must have been absorbed 



