THE BANDICOOT 443 



If in its travels it encounters water, it makes no attempt to 

 swim across it, but walks along the bottom until it can 

 emerge on the other side. 



The flesh of the Wombat is said to be not unlike venison 

 in taste, and as a full-grown animal will scale as much as 

 a hundred and forty pounds, its capture means a welcome 

 addition to the hunter's larder. Owing to the depth of the 

 creature's burrow, even a hungry native views with dis- 

 favour the task of digging it out, and prefers to wait to 

 catch it by some less laborious method. 



FAMILY PERAMELID^E (BANDICOOTS). 

 BANDICOOT (Perameles nasuta). 

 Coloured Plate XXXII. Fig. i. 



The Bandicoots, little insectivorous Kangaroos, with their 

 long slender snouts, though larger, are something similar 

 to the Shrews in general appearance. About sixteen inches 

 in length, exclusive of the tapering, cylindrical tail, their 

 build is stout but clumsy. The hind feet are of the same 

 type as in the Kangaroos. The fur in colour is grizzled 

 yellowish brown, but in the Banded Perameles there are 

 four or five pale bands vertically crossing the hindquarters. 

 The Rabbit Bandicoot (Peragale lagotis) and the Pig-footed 

 Bandicoot (Chceropus castanotis) are species whose names 

 indicate their distinguishing features. The pouch opens 

 towards the hinder part of the body. In movement, owing 

 to the greater length of the hind legs, all Bandicoots make 

 progression in hare and rabbit fashion. They are the com- 

 monest of the Australian marsupials, much to the regret of 

 the colonists. Omnivorous in their diet, they eat roots, 

 berries, and almost any vegetable substance, to which they 

 add insects and worms. They do immense damage in 

 the settled districts, ravaging cultivated fields and working 

 havoc in granaries ; and for this even a delicious meal of 

 roasted Bandicoot the farmer does not consider sufficient 

 atonement. 



