580 NATURAL HISTORY. 



Possibly the most celebrated of all these animals are the kangaroos, 

 the largest species of which is shown in our plate. Here the comparisons 

 which we have noticed in other forms are largely lacking. The kangaroos 

 have no close parallel in the other groups, unless we consider the jerboas 

 and the jumping-mice in this connection. In the typical forms there is a 

 great disproportion between the fore and hind legs, the former being small, 

 the latter enormously developed. Then, too, the tail is very large, and to 

 a certain extent serves as a fifth leg. When the animal is at rest, it sits. 

 as it were, on a three-legged stool, its hind legs and its tail all entering 

 into the support ; but when in rapid motion, the tail is stretched out 

 straight, the fore legs are closed against the breast, while the hind legs 

 are the sole organs of locomotion. The ordinary leap is nine or ten feet, 

 but when alarmed this may be even doubled. 



It is an easy matter to frighten these animals ; any strange object will 

 produce an alarm, and specimens in captivity have even been frightened 

 to death. If cornered, however, it is not a mean antagonist. It grasps 

 its opponent with the short front legs, and then kicks, or rather claws, 

 with the hinder ones, the sharp nails of which tear clothing, flesh, and 

 everything. Kangaroo-hunting is a favorite sport in Australia, and the 

 game is taken in many ways. The kangaroos are grass-feeders, and 

 their jaws and teeth are adapted to cropping the pasture very close, 

 and thus they can subsist in a region where any ordinary form would 

 quickly starve. This same feature makes them a nuisance, for they cut 

 off the grass so closely that they kill the pasture, and this fact has led 

 to their extermination in the more thickly settled portions of the island- 

 continent. 



In size and appearance there is considerable range in the kangaroos. 

 Sonic are adapted to live on the open plains, while others are fitted for 

 rocky regions, and strangest of all are the tree-kangaroos of New Guinea. 



There is a great tendency on the part of a certain class of people to 

 apply the name of his Satanic majesty to almost every striking object of 

 nature; l devil's dens.' 'devil's punch-bowls,' and the like abound. But 

 while we may not appreciate the taste which leads to such adjectives, Ave 

 must admit that in one instance the term was well applied. The Tasma- 

 nian devil, both in appearance and character, deserves the name. It lives, 

 as its name indicates, in Tasmania. It is fond of flesh of all sorts, and 

 formerly did considerable damage to ■ live-stock and poultry. Now it is 

 only found in the wilder portions of the island. In captivity it is always 

 the same snarling, growling beast, fighting with its companions, and never 

 showing the slightest disposition to become tame. During the day it tries 

 to hide in the corner of its cage, and at night only is it active. 



