208 



THE HERBIVOROUS MARSUPIALS. 



the back and sprinkled with white on the 

 belly, and is distinguished by the long tuft of 

 hair on the end of the tail. 



The Rock-kangaroos (Petrogale) have no 

 canines and only slight folds in the premolar. 

 They have become adapted to life in rocky 

 districts, and are remarkably adroit climbers, 

 all the more since their hind-legs are not 



Fig. 261. The Tufted-tailed Rat-kangaroo (Hrfsiprjmiiits fe*itill<iliu\. 

 pageaoj. 



excessively long. The species shown in the 

 illustration, the Yellow-footed Rock-kangaroo 

 (Pctrogale xantliopus), fig. 262, inhabits New 

 South Wales, and attains a length of about 

 2 feet. Like its allies it leaves its retreat 

 only at night. The tail, including its large 

 terminal tuft, is as long as the body. The 

 long coarse hair is brownish-gray on the back, 

 whitish beneath; on the rump there is a white, 

 on the brow a black stripe. 



The Great Kangaroo {Macropus giganteus) 

 has been selected as the representative of the 

 kangaroos proper, in which the disproportion 

 between the fore and hind legs reaches its 

 climax. It is shown in a full-page illustra- 

 tion (PL XL.). These animals have no 



canines, and of the upper incisors the second 

 is considerably smaller than the other two. 

 The premolar is small and flat. The molars 

 show the transverse ridges very beautifully. 



The males of the species figured, which is 

 a native of New South Wales, attain in a 

 sitting attitude a height of 6^ feet and are 

 accordingly taller than man. They are a third 

 larger than the females, and their weight 

 may amount to 330 pounds. The coat has a 

 dark brown-gray colour on the back, a lighter 

 shade of the same colour underneath. As in 

 all true kangaroos the fourth digit of the hind- 

 foot is the largest: the sharp claw with which 

 it is armed may become a dangerous weapon, 

 and it is used with effect for this purpose both 

 against men and dogs. The observations 

 made on the reproduction of marsupials 

 mostly relate to this species, so frequently to 

 be seen in our zoological gardens. 



[" In Van Diemen's Land * the Jfacrepus major 

 forms an object of chase, and, like the deer and fox 

 in England, is hunted with hounds. . . . The 

 following particulars of the hunt have been obliging- 

 ly forwarded to me by the Honourable Henry Elliot, 

 late aide-de-camp to His Excellency Sir John 

 Franklin, and one of its chief patrons. . . . 



'The 'Boomer' 1 is the only kangaroo which 

 shows good sport, for the strongest Brush Kan- 

 garoo* cannot live above twenty minutes before the 

 hounds; but as the two kinds are always found in 

 perfectly different situations, we never were at a loss 

 to find a Boomer, and I must say that they seldom 

 failed to show us good sport. \Ve generally 'found' 

 in a high cover of young wattles; but sometimes 

 we 'found' in the open forest, and then it was really 

 pretty to see the style in which a good kangaroo 

 would go away. I recollect one day in particular, 

 when a very fine Boomer jumped up in the very 

 middle of the hounds, in the open ; he at first took 

 a few high jumps with his head up, looking about 

 him to see on which side the coast was clearest, and 



1 It may be well to explain nowadays that Van Diemen's Land is 

 an old name for Tasmania, the latter name having been adopted by 

 the colonists when they were allowed to set up for themselves with 

 an independent legislature. T*. 



1 A roll-grown male, often of enormous sue. " Like the 'rogue 

 elephants' of Ceylon, these patriarchs are often solitary, and are 

 generally very savage." Ctmlf. 



* Bennett's Wallaby (f/ffmatitrms SatmtOi}. 



