MAMMALIA— KANGUROO. 221 



count, very dangerous even for a man to approach, when set at bay. The 

 kanguroo hunters immediately hamstring them when thrown, to prevent 

 injury to themselves or the dogs ; while the black natives give them a heavy 

 blow over the loins with their waddie, which completely paralyzes their 

 hind legs, as all the large nerves supplying these parts pass out there. The 

 kanguroo has only one young at a time, which you may see attached by the 

 mouth to the nipple inside the mother's pouch, from the period it is the 

 size of your thumb top, and as bare and unshapen as a new-born mouse, 

 until it attains the size of a poodle dog, with a fine glossy coat of hair, 

 ready to leap out and hop along after the mother. The young are attached 

 to the nipple in somewhat the same way as the placenta of other animals is 

 attached to the uterus, the mouth being contracted round the nipple, which 

 swells out like a cherry inside it, nourishing the foetus by means of absorp- 

 tion through this indirect channel, the mouth and nipple adhering sc 

 strongly that it requires considerable force to separate them. When the 

 foetus arrives at sufficient age to suck, it drops off the nipple, and may then 

 oe said to be born, yet still continuing inside of the pouch, and sucking milk 

 now through the ducts of that same nipple from the external surface of 

 which it formerly derived a very different species of nourishment. The 

 manner in which the young reach this pouch from the ovary, and attach 

 themselves to the nipple, is still, I believe, a mystery, as no communicative 

 duct has yet been found ; but the natives assert they are born in the usual 

 way, and that the mother places them there. It is amazing to see the young 

 kanguroo pop its head out of the pouch when the mother is grazing, and 

 nibble too at the tender herbage which she is passing over. When hard 

 hunted, the mother will stop suddenly, thrust her fore paws into her pouch, 

 drag out the young one and throw it away, that she may hop lighter along. 

 They are always very hard pressed, however, before they thus sacrifice the 

 life of their offspring to save their own ; and it is pitiful to see the tender 

 sympathetic looks they will sometimes cast back at the poor little helpless 

 creatures they have been forced to desert. From this singular mode of 

 gestation, you may handle the foetus in utero, and pull it about by the tail 

 like a kitten, from the first moment of its appearance there, up to the very 

 day of its birth, without causing either p^in or annoyance to it or its mother. 

 Such is the very singular manner in Avhich nearly all our Australian 

 quadrupeds are generated and brought forth. When the young kanguroo 

 has attained a considerable size, it will crawl out, feed about, and creep in 

 again to warm itself, or in case any danger approaches. The kanguroos 

 feed early in the morning, when the dew is on the grass, which is the best 

 time to hunt them. If there is no dog in your pack that will show the 

 game, you must keep sight of the dogs at full gallop to secure it, or else 

 take out a little short-legged terrier, that will run the foot, and that you can 

 readily keep sight of till it reaches the others, otherwise you may lose all 

 your sport, as few of our dogs give tongue either in the chase or at the 



