70 THE COLONY OF VICTORIA 



wallaby {Onychogale unguiferd). The remarkable point 

 about this wallaby is that its tail is furnished at the 

 extremity with a large spur or claw, which in the specimen 

 I examined was more than an inch in length, thick and 

 heavy and sharp-pointed. I do not know that the animal 

 uses this as a weapon of defence ; but it struck me, taken 

 in conjunction with the great length of the tail, which was 

 as long as the animal's entire body from the snout to the 

 root of the tail, that it might be able to strike a very sharp 

 blow with it, and I cannot think of any other use for such 

 an appendage. If it is not a weapon of defence, I can 

 only suppose that it is the remnant of some defunct organ 

 which the animal has no longer a use for, and which is 

 gradually devoluting. 



This animal was two feet in length, and, as I have said, 

 the tail was as much more. Of the habit of the species in 

 a wild state I could glean no information. My friend's 

 pet was in good health, cheerful, and disposed to be play- 

 ful. It knew him, and was not at all shy, and was kept in 

 an enclosed garden where it helped itself to what vegeta- 

 tion took its fancy. This diet was supplemented with 

 grass and herbage brought from the meadows ; but it was 

 not a large eater, and did but little damage in the garden. 

 During the heat of the day it liked to remain hid in its 

 hut, but at sun-down it came forth and was very lively. It 

 could leap sixteen or seventeen feet in a straight line, but 

 could not clear obstacles that were more than two or three 

 feet high. It was not afraid of the station dogs, permitted 

 persons it knew to touch it, but was timid in the presence 

 of strangers. 



The native porcupine is plentiful in the range 

 mentioned above, though, on account of its peculiar habits, 

 it is not often seen by persons who do not specially watch 

 for it. This, the Echidna aculeata of naturalists, is another 

 of those extraordinary animals which are peculiarly 

 Australian. It is generally considered to be one of the 

 least developed of all mammals, and its low type of brain 

 is pointed to as conclusive evidence of its want of intelli- 

 gence. On the surface of this organ, in the echidna, there 



