102 AROUND THE WORLD VIA INDIA. 



family and yields a much finer material. There are 

 three large species of kangaroo — the red kangaroo 

 (Macropus i*ufus), the great gray kangaroo (Macropus 

 giganteus) , Bennett's tree kangaroo (Dentrologus Ben- 

 nettianus). The wallabys that furnish the tendon sup- 

 ply are represented by Parry's wallaby (Macropus 

 Parrei), agile wallaby (Macropus agilis), brush-tailed 

 rock wallaby (Petrogale pencillata), black wallaby 

 (Macropus rooustus) . The rat kangaroo has a tail like 

 a kangaroo and its fine, extremely delicate tendons, 

 I am informed, have been used by some ophthalmic 

 surgeons. The real kangaroo has become quite rare, 

 as their skins are valuable and the price paid to market 

 hunters was a sufficient inducement for them to carry 

 on a war of extermination. For the same reason the 

 wallabys have also become much less numerous. These 

 animals are now protected during certain seasons of the 

 year, which will, it is to be hoped, prevent them shar- 

 ing the same fate that we meted out to our buffalo. 

 The tendons are obtained by divesting the tail of its 

 skin, cutting off its tip, grasping each tendon with for- 

 ceps and extracting it with a jerk. The proximal end 

 of the evulsed tendon is a little larger and more flat- 

 tened than its distal end. 



CLIMATE. 



The Australian has a wide range from which to make 

 a selection of climate, as it is influenced by latitude, 

 elevation and distance from the coast. Floods and 

 droughts are the bad things which have seriously inter- 

 fered with the continuous prosperity of the country, 

 and they likewise have a decided influence on the cli- 

 mate. The northern part of Australia is tropical and 

 has a tropical climate, and the vast forests secure for 

 that section of the country an abundant rainfall and a 

 luxurious vegetation. In the vast dry plains of the in- 

 terior the heat during the summer months is intense; 

 here the thermometer has been known to register as 



