DERIVATION OF WORD "KANGAROO" 37 



now use the term " kangaroo " ; nor does it appear that 

 they ever did so. 



The animal is so well known that a general description 

 of it is not necessary. Fine specimens of the great 

 kangaroo are about 5 feet in height when sitting upright, 

 and the total length from the snout to the end of the 

 tail is often as much as 10 feet. The tail, owing to its 

 thickness, is much longer than it looks ; it may be taken, 

 roughly, at about two-fifths of the entire length of the 

 animal. The weight varies much with locality and season. 

 The dimensions of the three largest I have shot are as 

 follows : — One killed on the Darling plains, about forty 

 miles north of Blaxland : total length 9 feet loi inches, tail 

 4 feet 2 inches, weight 255 lbs. Another from the same 

 locality, 8 feet 1 1 inches, tail 4 feet 5 inches, weight 1 89 lbs. 

 One killed near the station on Bogan river, 8 feet 10 inches, 

 tail 4 feet 2 inches, weight 203 lbs. All these were males. 



Other kangaroos and wallabies in the district are the 

 black-tailed wallaby {^Macropus ualabutus), about the size 

 of a poodle, but sometimes weighing 60 lbs. ; the padamelon 

 wallaby {M. theditis)^ length of fine specimen from nose to 

 root of tail 24 inches, tail 18 inches, weight 16 or 17 lbs. ; 

 red kangaroo {^M, rufiis), length 55 inches, tail 40 inches, 

 weight 152 lbs.; red-necked brush-kangaroo, length 3 feet 

 6 inches, tail 2 feet 6 inches, weight 80 lbs. These are the 

 largest and most important of the kangaroos found in the 

 Riverine plains, and they are found more or less plenti- 

 fully throughout the eastern side of the continent. 



Some of the smaller wallabies are not more than a foot 

 long (exclusive of the tail), and do not weigh more than a 

 couple of pounds. The shooting of these small wallabies is 

 better and more exciting sport than rabbit-shooting, and 

 they are an excellent article of food. I cannot give 

 the specific designation of all those that inhabit the 

 Riverine and Darling plains; but the hare- wallaby 

 {Largochestes leporoides) is one of the most abundant. 

 The average length of this wallaby is 18 inches, and I 

 shot exceptionally fine specimens which exceeded 22 

 inches, tail about 10 inches, weight a dozen pounds. 



