50 NATUBAIi HISTORY SKETCHES. 



I do not believe that there is any land rat indigenous 

 to this country, except the bush rat ; but of course the 

 common gray Norwegian rat has found its way to Mel- 

 bourne, and swarms in all the back-alleys and by-streets 

 of that town. The little mouse has also been implanted: 

 both are to be met with about the towns as common as 

 in England, but we rarely see either in the bush. 



The Flying Mouse is certainly the most beautiful little 

 animal in the colony ; not so large as the smallest 

 British shrew-mouse, of a rich light brown colour above, 

 white underneath. It is a perfect flying squirrel in 

 miniature, but the tail is flat and feathered. It is rare, 

 and very local, and, on account of its size, is seldom 

 seen. They sometimes come into the bush tents, and I 

 have seen a family of young ones taken out of a hollow 

 tree. 



Two other small bush animals, the Kangaroo Eat 

 (putchook) and the Bandicote (boo), in these woods sup- 

 plied the place of the hare and rabbit at home. They 

 were both excellent eating, and common throughout the 

 whole bush. The kangaroo rat is about the size of a 

 three-parts-grown rabbit, but more slender, in shape like 

 a rat ; the colour light brown, with sometimes a very red 

 tinge ; the tail long, thick, blunt, and bare, tipped with 

 white. The hind legs are very long, like those of the 

 kangaroo, and the feet are the same ; but they run on 

 all fours. They are pretty generally dispersed over all 

 the forests, live in tussocks of grass on dry rises, and 

 when the dogs bolt them, are very pretty snap-shooting 



