FROM MR. WILLS, SECOND IN COMMAND, ASTRONOMER AND SURVEYOR OF
THEPARTY.

SURVEYOR'S REPORT.

The country, Bilbarka and Tolarno, in the immediate vicinity of the
eastern bank of the River Darling, presents the most barren and
miserable appearance of any land that we have yet met with. It
consists chiefly of mud flats, covered with polygonum bushes, box
timber, and a few salsolaceous plants, of inferior quality. Above
Tolarno there is a slight improvement, and between Kinchica and
Menindie there is some fair grazing country. All agree in saying
that there is fine grazing land back from the river; but the want
of water will probably prevent its being occupied, except in a very
partial manner, for many years; and I fear that the high sand
ridges, twenty to forty feet, and in some cases more than sixty
feet above the level of the river banks, will form almost
insuperable barriers in the way of any one who may attempt to
conduct water from the river by means of canals. It appears to me,
from the information that I have been able to obtain, that the
difficulties with which settlers have here to contend arise not so
much from the absorbent nature of the soil as from the want of
anything to absorb. This last season is said to have been the most
rainy that they have had for several years; yet everything looked
so parched up that I should have imagined it had been an
exceedingly dry one.

Gales.--I noticed that the forests for about 30 miles below
Menindie had been subjected to severe gales from west-north-west.
This was so striking, that I at first thought it was the effect of