300 BEARS AND KANGAROOS. 



" How in the mischief does it get along ? " asked Jack Harvey, " that is, if you 

 can tell a fellow without the use of any of those big Dutch words." 



" You will allow me, however, to say that it belongs to the genus macropus. 

 Well, since the young one cannot pump her own supply of milk, the mother does it 

 for it, that is to say, while the little one is simply clinging to the nipple and 

 unable to do anything else, the parent injects the milk into its tiny mouth." 



" It seems to me," said Bob, " that that would interfere with its breathing." 



"So it would, except for an astonishing provision of nature. Since the mother 

 cannot know when the little one is trying to draw sustenance, and is, therefore, 

 unable to time her injection with that effort, nature has arranged the air passages 

 of the foetus so that it can breathe and imbibe at the same time." 



" How long does the young one stay in the pouch ? " 



" At the end of eight months it begins to peep out its head to see what the 

 world looks like. Now and then it crops the grass, at the same time that the mother 

 is grazing, and by and by hops out upon the ground, ready, however, at any instant 

 to rush back to its refuge. 



" It relies upon the mother for shelter and supplies, until it weighs nearly a 

 dozen pounds. Occasionally it thrusts its head into the pouch for its lacteal fluid, 

 even though another foetus may be inside clinging to the second nipple." 



" How does the kangaroo rank as to intelligence ? " asked Dick. 



"All marsupiated animals, as you may know, stand at the bottom grade as 

 respects intelligence. They seem to be incapable of forming friendships, and will 

 recognize their attendant no more than a stranger. They hardly ever utter a sound, 

 though I have heard a muttering growl now and then from one of them. But the 

 giraffe is silent even in its death agonies. 



" I believe kangaroos are found in a few other places besides Australia. 



" There are plenty in New Guinea, where Jack saw them, and in Tasmania and 

 the adjacent islands, fully sixty species being known. The great kangaroo was dis- 

 covered in 1770, during Captain Cook's first voyage, while passing on the coast oi 

 New South Wales to repair his ship." 



" How big is he ? " 



" A full-grown male measures between five and six feet, from the tip of the nose 

 to the root of the tail, the female being considerably less. When in full flight, they 

 will jump fifteen or eighteen feet, their bodies and tails being outstretched, the 

 latter serving as a balance. Its fore legs are so short that they are useless for trav- 

 eling, but mighty convenient for digging." 



" Those that you are talking about," said Jack Harvey, " I believe are the largest 

 kind." 



" Yes; the macropus giganteus heads them all as respects size. Mr. Barnum 

 was always interested in them, and has six now in his menagerie. Then there is 

 the antelope kangaroo, with short fur, and stiff hairs, found in North Australia, the 

 brush kangaroo, so plentiful over all Australia that thousands of its skins used to 

 be sold at a trifling price; the yellow-legged kangaroo, often met in South Australia, 



