THE ARTESIAN WELLS OF AUSTRALIA.

BY

The severe droughts by which many parts of Australia are afflicted periodic ally have proved extremely disastrous to the owners of large sheep and cattle runs. The risks arising from these droughts have, however, been much reduced by the sinking of a huge number of extraordinarily productive Artesian Wells, to a description of which this article is devoted.

MANY years ago the writer traversed the parched western plains of Aus tralia in the time of drought. In the vast yellowish-brown expanses there was nothing but the old wheel ruts, hard as iron, to distinguish the course followed by the pant