THE DARLING FLOODS.

Timaru Herald, Volume L, Issue 4820, 17 April 1890, Page 3

THE DARLING FLOODS.

Tho floods omuod by the tropienl ruins which fell m southern Queensland and nort.hrrn Now South Wales, a week or two ago, weßt of tho Dividing Range, havo now mado devious way from tho rango to tlio meeting of tho great rivers on tho central plain of Amtrnlia, whenco tho combined wators huvo many hundred rniieo to (low to roach tho Murray, and then Encounter Bay on tho fiouth Australian coast. Tho contour of oastorn Australia is euch that Iho rivors flowing eastward havo but short course/), their wntorshed boing tho Groat Dividing Range, which runs from south to north near the oast coast. Ruins falling we ßt of this rnngo, for nbout 1000 miles of its longth, aro collectod to form tho Murray, Lttcblan and Darling. Tho Darling drains nil tho Dividing Rango m Uifl region whrro this tropical ruiim havo fullon, by ita brauohen tho Culgoa, Borwon, I'ccl, Manjuarrio, and others. Wo liayo had iho uccnimlo of tho damago wrought by tho Hoods at tho oust comt town»i thn rivorß llowiny by Ilieuo haying short. couracß from tlio range. Now acoounts nro coming of tho movement of a vast body of water which fell on thn west side of Iho rang.), and lion now ro.luilmitl.ln confliicnco of (he grout hniucboa jof tho Darling. One of UießO branches, tho

(Burwon, wo were told yesterday, is ]Sto2O miles wicio at Wal ( ;ott, uphico onlhcßarwoif, about 150 miles above Bourko ; and un immense body of water was coming down the second and move northern great brunch, the Culgoa, and washing away all homes! emle on its bunks. Tho Culgoa drnitiii a wido area inlund from Brisbane, on which it is likely extremely heavy rains foil. Some idea of the " duty " of tho Darling mny bo gained from "the statement that it drainß an area twice oa largo as Sow Zealand. Aa its basin is mainly within the regions whoro tho heavy ruinn fell, tho quantity of water to be carried by it must bo onormous indeed. Imagine all New Zealand's rivers rolled into ono, with n tremendous rainfall all over the country simultaneously what a mighty river would that ono bo ! Aftor leaving tho range tbo tributaries of the Darling traverse vast plains, through which the streams oven m heavy floods travel Blowly. Bourke, the town roported to bo m danger, is situates on the east bank of tho Darling, a little below the 3 unctiou of tho great branches, and owes its existence to tho fact thit hero is tho head of steamer navigation of tho river m ordinary seasons. It may seom somewhat strange to read of tho pooplo having timo to prepare for tho coming of a flood ; straDgo, because m our short and steep couraed rivers, tho floods succeed tho rains, or the lhav. ing of tho suon", so quickly. But these grent Aus- 1 trulian drainage linea havo little fall, the | waters Bpread so widely, and have so many large depressions to fill up, that the front of I a rising flood advances slowly, much more slowly than tho stream flona behind it, and advances with what may bo called a Bleep front which causes tho bulk of Iho destruction On rare occaaions small illustrations of this peculiarity may bo observed m this country. Given a vory heavy nnd sudden downpour of rain, as from a thundorstorm, m a dry season when tho creeks are empty, tho storm water may be aeon to flow m this curious way, with a steep front. The head of tho flood 16 continually checkod by having to fill up hoi lows m the channel, ao that the atroam behind gains upon the head, until the latter become? steepund deep. One instant the chancel may be crossed dry shod, tho next there may be several feet of water over tho shallows The spreading of tho waters and tho filling of comparatively shallow but wirie depressions, act as a brake on the front of Iho Australian rivor t\ooi!i>, and they riao not gradually, but with suddenneas and power. It IB tho etcep advancing face of tho flood which does the mischief m scouring down bunks and embankments and washing away houses ; next day, and for many days, the country will bo under water, but the current is weak owing to the slight fall. Further destruction may follow, however, if one of these 6teep-fronted floods reaches a country already full of water. It will not bo so powerful as m the abeenco of tho earlier flood, but by riding ovor it, as it were, it may roach vulnorablo objects which the first flood spared. Thus Bourka is surrounded by water for 20 miles on all sides, tho head of the Barwon flood has passed, covering the countrj' about them. Tho Culgoa flood iB yot to arrive, an immense. " body " of water, and when it reaches them, thoy fear, Bourke is doomed. Fortunately thero aro some high grounds not many miles from Bourke, whoro tho people may avoid tho risk of drowning ; but naturally j thoy desire to Bavo their town as well us their lives. It is to be hoped their manful efforts will result m saving both.

A rich lodo of uranium, a Tory scarco metal, next m value to silror, lias been diaeovored m Cornwall. Hitherto, owing to its scarcity, the market prico of tho metal wa3 £2400 a ton. 'I lio oxides m the metal are used as pigments, and it is usod ns a cheap substitute for gold m electroplating. It b a dreadful point about theso microbes that tho only way to aToid having thorn m a virulent form is to havo them m an artificial or attenuated form. Tho ohildrcn of tho future vrill not run through tho present gamut of infantilo disease, but they will probably bo subjected to inoculation with various microbes every fen- months. First.tboy will bo vaccinated for smallpox ; when they have rocotered from that, they will bo taken to a Pasteur institute to havo a mild form of rabies. Kelt, they will bo given a doso of the comma bacilli to prevent cholera, unrl co on through- all tho ever-growing series of disease miorobee. Oh ! luckless child of tho future ! you will never bo ill and nover bo well ; your health will be awfully monotonous j you will not know the weiirine6!i of tho first night of tho measles when it wns bo nice to lio m mother's lop and feel her cool hand on your forehead ; you will novor know tho joys of convalescence, when oranges wero numerous and eviTj-one bob kind to }ou because you wero not well, and your oncl will be to dio oE debility. How glad we aro that wo live m the present, with all its ups and downs of health to lend variety to lifo and death I— Hospital.