776 THE ECHIDNA. 
sweep ascends the chimney. Its pace is not very swift, but it gets over the ground with 
ease. The burrow in which the Mullingong lives is generally from twenty to forty feet 
in length, and always bends upwards, towards a sort of chamber in which the nest is 
made. This nest is of the rudest description, consisting of a bundle of dried weeds 
thrown carelessly together. The burrow has a very evil odour, which is unpleasantly 
adherent to the hand that has been placed within it. 
Owing to the extremely loose skin of the Mullingong, it can push its way through a 
very small aperture, and is not easily retained in the grasp, wriggling without much 
difficulty from the gripe of the fingers. The loose skin and thick fur are also preventives 
against injury, as the discharge of a gun which would blow any other animal nearly to 
pieces, seems to take but little external effect upon the Duck-bill. The animal is, more- 
over, so tenacious of life, that one of these creatures which had received the two charges 
of a double-barreled gun, was able, after it had recovered from the shock, to run about 
for twenty minutes after it had been wounded. 
The food of the Mullingong consists of worms, water insects, and little molluscs, which 
it gathers in its cheek-pouches as long as it is engaged in its search for food, and then eats 
quietly when it rests from its labours. The teeth, if teeth they may be called, of this 
animal are very peculiar, consisting of four horny, channeled plates, two in each jaw, 
which serve to crush the fragile shel lls and coverings of the animals on which it feeds. It 
seems seldom to feed during the day, or in the depth of night, preferring for that purpose 
the first dusk of evening or the dawn of morning. During the rest of the day it is 
generally asleep. While “slee eping, it curls itself into a round ‘ball, the tail shutting down 
over the head and serving to protect it. 
The young Mullingongs are curious little creatures, with soft, short flexible beaks, 
naked skins, and almost unrecognisable as the children of their long-nosed parents. When 
they attain to the honour of their first coat, they are most playful little things , knocking 
each other about like kittens, and rolling on the ground in the exuberance of their mirth: 
Their little twinkling eyes are not well adapted for daylight, nor from their position can 
they see spots directly in their front, so that a pair of these little creatures that were 
kept by Dr. Bennett used to bump themselves against the chairs, tables, or any other 
object. that might be in their way. They bear a farther similitude to the cat in their 
scrupulous cleanliness, and the continual segs and pecking of their fur, 
At the present time—May, 1860—Dr. Bennett is endeavouring to accustom some 
Duck-bills to a life of confinement, with a view to their transportation to England. A 
very ingenious home has been constructed for them, precisely after the fashion of their 
own burrow. The chief difficulty les in feeding them, for the Mullingone requires its food 
to be given at very frequent intervals, and soon perishes if not watched with the utmost 
care. The precise range of the animal is not satisfactorily ascertained, but it has never 
yet been seen in Southern Australia. 
The Ecurpna is found in several parts of Australia, where it is popularly called 
the hedgehog, on account of the hedgehog-like spines with which the body is so thickly 
covered, and its custom of rolling itself up when alarmed. A number of coarse 
hairs are intermingled with the spines, and the head is devoid of these weapons. The 
head is strangely lengthened, i in a manner somewhat similar to that of the ant-eater, and 
there are no teeth of any kind in the jaws. 
The food of the Echidna consists of ants and other insects, which it gathers into its 
mouth by means of the long extensile tongue. It is a burrowing animal, and is therefore 
furnished with limbs and claws of proportionate streneth. Indeed, Lieutenant Breton, 
who kept one of these animals for some time, considers ‘it as the strongest quadruped in 
existence in proportion to its size. On moder: ately soft ground it can hardly be captured, 
for it gathers all its legs under its body, and employs its digging claws with such 
extraordinary vigour t that it sinks into the ground as if by magic. The hind-feet are 
employed by the animal for two purposes, ¢e. locomotion and the oftices of the toilet. 
There is a spur on the hind part of the male similar to that of the duck-bill. The flesh 
of the Echidna is very good, and is said to resemble that of the sucking-pig. There is 
