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a—3.

White had a sluicing-claim here for years, which gave him good returns, with only a very small supply of water. It was after laying bare the reef by carrying on his sluicing operations that the reef which now bears his name was discovered. On another spur of this range, Messrs. Crossan and Gray discovered the Excelsior Eeef by sluicing away the alluvial drift lying on the schistose rocks. Indeed, there is scarcely a place to be found on the face of this range where the rock is overlain by alluvial drift but that would pay for working if water was available. Every gully that has been cut for any distance back into the range has paid for working ; while on the opposite side, Campbell's and Potter's Gullies contained remarkably rich deposits of auriferous wash-drifts. Between Bald Hill Flat and the Clutha there is some table-land on which a considerable depth of auriferous gravel has been deposited by the Clutha Eiver, when it was flowing at its high level out of the inland lake, which was at that time covering a large area in valleys of the Clutha and Manuherikia Eivers, covering all the low terraces for a long distance up towards Chatto Creek. The action of the river in cutting its present bed through the gorge has left a large area of dry land, which at some very remote period was all covered with water. On the table-land referred to, the gravels would pay well for working if water could be got to command the ground, which could probably be obtained from Coal Creek; but the whole of the water from this creek is at the present time utilised at Bald Hill Flat. The only drawback in working ground at such high elevations is the difficulty in getting a sufficient quantity of water for any great length of time, especially in Central Otago, which possesses the driest climate in New Zealand. The only time when a good supply can be expected is when there is a heavy fall of snow on the ranges during the winter months, and this insures a fair supply from the time that the snow melts to about the month of January. After this, if the summer is dry, very little sluicing operations can be carried on. The severe weather in the south this winter will likely give a good supply of water for the next season. Manuherikia Valley. At Alexandra the Hydraulic Sluicing and Elevating Company are said to have a good property. Ac a meeting of this company in January last, the chairman stated that the claim was opened out on a splendid seam of wash-drift, several feet in thickness, that would give a prospect as high as half a pennyweight of gold to the shovel, but he stated that on account of the dry weather the water was not sufficient to carry on sluicing operations. This company propose to sluice off the top portion of the ground, and lift the bottom with a dredge, which is considered the most economical method of working the ground. There was some very rich ground found on the bank of the Manuherikia Eiver in the early days of the field, and that which this company now holds is apparently a continuation of the same run of gold, indicating that the Clutha Eiver at one time had crossed over the point and functioned with the Manuherikia Eiver above the township, and probably this company may get a rich auriferous run of gold-bearing wash-drift going across the flat, which may run for some distance up before joining the present bed of the river again. During last year a rush took place at the Manorburn, which is a tributary of the Manuherikia Eiver, rising back in the Bough Eidge. The lead is composed of a semi-water-worn quartz-gravel wash-drift; the sinking being from 3ft. to, it is said, 60ft. in depth. There is a little gold in several thin layers of this description of wash-drift met with in sinking, but the richest is near the bottom, which in most places is from 18in. to 2ft. in depth, intermixed with pieces of soft rock and hard crystalline quartz of a bluish colour. Wherever this character of quartz is found it is said to indicate the presence of good auriferous drift. The following are extracts taken from the Dunstan Times : — " Most of the parties working on the granite wash-drift are making fair wages. Jackson and Campbell are working on the granite wash, which is payable for working, but they were not on the bottom except on the outside edge. The next claim is Mr. W. Fawcett's, who is working on the same class of material and doing fairly well, as he is working on the main bottom and getcing a nice sample of gold, which gives him about £3 per week as wages. The next claim is held by Jackson Brothers, who are engaged in constructing a low-level tunnel to strike the wash. Mr. J. E. Thompson comes on next, and is said to be driving on fairly good ground from a shaft. " Pacey and Fuller are working shallow ground on the outer edge ; they have not yet tested the deep ground on their claim. Bruce and Appleton are about a mile and a half further up the Manorburn, and are said to be making good wages, their ground being about 10ft. deep, with about 18in. of wash-drift. On the other side of the Manorburn Messrs. Jones and McLaren are said to have a good claim. Several parties are prospecting, but there is a good deal of water to contend with in the deep ground." Ophir, Ida Valley, and German Gully. Work at all these places is carried on intermittently by the old hands. In only a few cases can the style of work be described as other than fossicking. At Ophir, Gallagher and party have made several attempts to dredge the Manuherikia immediately below the bridge. First they tried to work the ground on the Wellman principle, but found the gravel too coarse and tight. Then they put on the ordinary type of bucket-ladder, but their power was insufficient, and, after a series of smaller mishaps and intermittent work, during which very little gold was got, the dredge was sunk at her moorings, and now lies in a dangerous position, and will be difficult to raise if not recovered before the spring freshes set in. More snow has already fallen during this winter (to middle of July) than has ever been known since the district was settled. The weather had been dry since Christmas, when the first fall took place on the 27th May. Since then repeated falls have taken place. Even on the low ground one fall had hardly disappeared when another occurred. It is computed by Mr. Ewing that, from the rain and snowfalls gauged by him, Bft. of snow must now lay on the higher ground. The ground