4 NATUBAL HISTORY SKETCHES. 



of animals, is wanting. The countenance is mild and 

 placid, but, like the sheep, we rarely see two exactly 

 alike. The eye is bright; the nostrils not very wide; 

 the ears large and pricked ; and many of the males have 

 a marked Eoman nose, like that of an old ram. In bush 

 parlance, the old male kangaroo is called an "old man;" 

 the young female a "flying doe;" and the young one, 

 till eight or ten months old, "a joey." The weight of a 

 full-grown doe, or young buck, just killed, will vary up 

 to about 120 Ibs. Some of the "old men" reach to an 

 immense size, and I have often killed them over 2 cwt. 

 A hind-quarter and tail, the only part sent to market, or 

 a young buck, or flying doe, will average about 50 Ibs. 

 when skinned and dressed. There is a good deal of 

 flesh on the hams and back, but a great proportion of 

 bone. The tail makes a very rich soup. The fore- 

 quarter is very light, the chest deep, and there is some- 

 thing peculiar in the shape of the ribs. The kangaroo 

 is a good swimmer, and when hard pressed will take 

 to the water as readily as a deer. Mr. Gould men- 

 tions a kangaroo which swam for two miles through the 

 sea, one mile being against a sharp wind and heavy 

 waves. 



The kangaroos vary much in colour, according to age 

 and sex. The general colour, however, is dark mouse- 

 brown on the back, lighter on the belly and flanks. The 

 wool or hair is very fine, soft, and close ; and I have seen 

 a strand on the back of a winter skin nearly 2 inches 

 long. Not that I fancy the wool itself could be ever used 



