MARSUPIALS AND MONOTREMES 



371 



Hun ty W 



RABBIT-BANDICOOT 



The largest of the bandicoots ; about the size of a rabbit 



female which the dogs had killed, and 



being then about the size of a mouse. 



It speedily learned to lap milk, and 



throve on a diet of bread and raw 



potato. As it grew larger it was 



allowed the run of the house, and 



also of the garden, but habitually 



returned to the sleeping-quarters 



selected by itself, and represented by 



the woolly depths of its mistress's 



work-basket. In this haven of rest 



it slept all day, scolding and snapping 



at any intruding hand. Towards dusk 



it would waken up and bustle about 



in a most energetic manner, with the 



air, in fact, of having an immense 



amount of business to transact within 



the very shortest limits of time. Its 



first dart was always towards a corner 



where a supper of bread-and-milk 



and potato was usually placed. This meal discussed, its evening's occupation commenced 



of scampering around the room and over every accessible article of furniture. Nor was it 



shy of climbing up and resting for a few seconds on the shoulders of its human friends, 



being always, however, in too great a hurry to prolong the visit. Finally, as with all pets, 



" Coota," as he was familiarly named, came to an untimely end not a cat, however, on 



this occasion, but, if rumour whispers true, through over-indulgence in a too liberally furnished 



meal of custard pudding. 



The flesh of this and other species of bandicoots is esteemed for food both by the natives 

 and the white settlers in Australia. It is noteworthy of the banded variety, more especially, 

 that the skin adheres so tightly to the flesh that its removal is a matter of some considerable 

 difficulty. When full grown, this species measures as much as 18 inches in total length, 

 and is little inferior to a rabbit with regard to the amount of good meat it provides for 

 the larder. 



THE POUCHED MOLE 



A still more essentially insectivorous marsupial is represented by the little mammal 

 discovered only a few years since in the wild sandy wastes of Central Australia. In form 

 and habits it so nearly resembles the familiar European mole that the title of the POUCHED 

 MOLE has been very suitably given to it. At the same time, with regard to its remarkable 

 organisation, it constitutes the sole representative of its peculiar family group. The first 

 suspicions of the existence of this singular little animal were raised by the observation of 

 peculiar sinuous three-lined tracks at irregular intervals on the surface of the sandy regions it 

 inhabits. 



After a long quest, with the aid of the aborigines, the first specimen was discovered 

 reposing under a tuft of coarse porcupine-grass. A further investigation elicited the fact that 

 its burrowing proclivities were much less pronounced than those of the ordinary moles, the 

 little creature progressing alternately over the surface of the sand, and then ploughing its 

 way, for several feet or yards, two or three inches only beneath the surface. All efforts 

 to preserve examples of this marsupial alive for longer periods than three or four days 

 proved abortive ; for though the remains of ants and other insects were found within its 

 viscera, it refused to feed upon the living supplies that were provided for it. In fact, the 

 animal itself apparently ran the greater risk of being eaten. 



