SOS Zoological Society. 



the anastomoses of the maternal vessels with those of the foetus have 

 been speculated upon. (See Mem. du Museum, torn. ix. p. 393.) 



" The dissections of the mammary foetus of the Kangaroo by 

 Mr. Hunter, showing the relation of the nipple to its tongue and 

 mouth, the passage of the larynx into the posterior nares, the ab- 

 sence of the urackus and umbilical vessels, &c, tended indeed to 

 disprove the theory of the vascular connexion ; and the observations 

 of Mr. Morgan and Mr. Collie, with the testimony of Joseph Fuller, 

 were completely subversive of it. Nevertheless it was desirable to 

 have ocular demonstration of the real state of the facts at this early 

 period of the young animal's existence. 



" It was removed from the nipple without the slightest trace of 

 laceration of continuous vessels, or of any kind of connecting sub- 

 stance : but it adhered more firmly than I had been led to expect from 

 Fuller. After it was detached, a minute drop of serous milk ap- 

 peared on pressure at the point of the nipple : this was the smallest 

 part of the nipple, and was not swollen or clavate ; about half a line 

 had entered the mouth of the foetus. 



" The young one moved its extremities vigorously after being 

 detached, but made no effort to apply its legs to the fur or skin of 

 the mother so as to creep along: it seemed perfectly helpless. It 

 was deposited at the bottom of the pouch, and the mother was libe- 

 rated and carefully watched. She immediately showed symptoms 

 of uneasiness, stooping down to lick the orifice of the vagina, which 

 she could easily reach, and scratching the exterior of the pouch 

 with her fore paws. At length she grasped the sides of the opening 

 of the marsupium with her fore paws, and drawing them apart, just 

 as one would open a bag, she thrust her head into the cavity as far 

 as her eyes, and could be seen moving it about in different directions. 

 During this act she rested on her tripod, formed by the tarsi and 

 tail. She occasionally lay down, but in that posture never med- 

 dled with the pouch : when stimulated to do so she immediately 

 rose, and repeated the process of drawing open her pouch and in- 

 serting therein her muzzle, which she sometimes kept in for half a 

 minute at a time. I never observed her put her fore legs, or either 

 of them, into the pouch ; these were invariably employed to widen 

 the orifice, or in scratching the exterior. When she withdrew her 

 head, she generally concluded by licking the orifice of the pouch 

 and swallowing the secretion. 



" After repeating the above act of insertion at least a dozen times, 

 she lay down and seemed at ease. When she had rested quietly 

 about a quarter of an hour we examined her again, and found the 

 young one not at the bottom of the pouch, but within 2 inches of 

 the nipple. It was moving its extremities, and respiring as vigorously 

 as before. I attempted to replace it on the nipple, but without 

 success; it was therefore left in the pouch, and the mother was 

 released. 



". My engagements prevented me from visiting the Gardens until 

 the day but one after this examination, when at 10 a.m. I examined 

 the marsupium ; but the foetus was gone. We searched very carefully 



