HARDWICKKS SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



legs two-and-twenty ; 



its progress is 



by 



progressive leaps or 

 hops, of a great 

 length, in an erect 

 posture : the forelegs 

 are kept close to the 

 breast, and seemed to 

 be of use only for 

 •digging : the skin is 

 covered with a short 

 fur, of a dark mouse 

 or grey colour, ex- 

 cepting the head and 

 •ears, which bear a 

 slight resemblance to 

 those of a hare. This 

 animal is called by 

 the natives a ' kan- 

 garoo,' and is excel- 

 lent eating." 



A statement which 

 the worthy c o m - 

 mander found it ne- 

 cessary to qualify further on, but which can never- 

 theless be recommended to the notice of intending 

 emigrants, and also to the Acclimatisation Society ; 

 but the latter, I 

 believe, are already 

 aware of the fact that 

 there is no soup, not 

 even excepting turtle, 

 superior to that which 

 is made from an old 

 man's tail. "Old 

 man" being the popu- 

 lar name applied in 

 Australia to the adult 

 male kangaroo, ren- 

 ders further explana- 

 tion of the above, at 

 first sight, rather 

 startling statement, 

 unnecessary. 



Kangaroo steaks 

 have been praised ; 

 but although a com- 

 bination of circum- 

 stances might have 

 rendered them oc- 

 casionally desirable, 

 they are certainly in- 

 sipid, and decidedly 

 tough. Captain Cook 

 early discovered this ; 

 for we find him 

 recording in his log 

 that an adult speci- 

 m c n, shot by Dr. 



Fig. i.--Group of Great Kangaroos. 



Fig. 2.— Great Kangaroo [UlacroJ'ns major). 



Banks, was so un- 

 manageable, that he 

 was reluctantly com- 

 pelled to make it over • 

 to his men, who were 

 less fastidious, or 

 possibly had stronger 

 jaws ; at all events, 

 they, as he tells us, 

 "speedily devoured 

 it." However, there 

 is no mistake about 

 the tail, that makes 

 delicious soup. 



There is no ana- 

 tomical distinction of 

 any importance exist- 

 i n g between the 

 different species of 

 kangaroos, which are 

 distinguished from 

 each other by habits, 

 size, and colour only. 

 All are provided with 

 a pouch, or supplementary uterus ; all have peculiar 

 bones attached to the front of the pelvis for the 

 support of that curious appendage ; all have the bones 



of the fore-paw, or 

 arm, free and so ar- 

 ticulated as to admit 

 of rotatory move- 

 ments ; all have the 

 same dental system, 

 and the hind legs 

 three-jointed. 



The thigh bone 

 much i-esembles the 

 s h o u 1 d e r-blade of 

 other animals, and is 

 broad and deeply 

 grooved for the at- 

 tachment of the 

 powerful muscles that 

 enable these animals 

 to perform the mar- 

 vellous feats of agility 

 for which they have 

 become renowned. 

 The second joint is 

 long, but the muscles 

 are here reduced to 

 tendons of immense 

 strength and power, 

 so much so that the 

 older kangaroos have 

 occasionally been 

 known to snap the 

 bone asunder, when 

 startled into taking a 



