ANIMALS. 519 



The largest of the jerboa kind which are to be found in the 

 ancient continent, do not exceed the size of a rabbit. The lian- 

 garoo of New Holland, where it is only to be found, is often 

 known to weigh above sixty pounds, and must consequently be 

 as large as a sheep. Although the skin of that which was stuff- 

 ed and brought home by Mr Banks, was not much above the 

 size of a hare, yet it was greatly superior to any of the jerboa 

 kind that have been hitherto known, and very different in many 

 particulars. The snout of the jerboa, as has been said, is short 

 and round, that of the discovered animal long and slender ; the 



Holland call Kangaroo, and wliich offer to the observation of the natura- 

 list, org-anic peculiarities perceivable in no other animal, with the excep- 

 tion of one single species. It is in this tribe that for the first time we view 

 the singular phenomenon of an animal using its tail as a tliird hind leg in 

 standing upright and in walking The species we are now upon has re- 

 ceived the name of Gigantic, because when named, it was supposed to be 

 tlie largest of all that are known. 



These singular animals were among the first fruits which accrued to na- 

 tural history from the discovery of New South Wales, a country which has 

 shice proved so fertile in new and remarkable forms both of the animal and 

 vegetable creations. Their natural habits in a wild state are still, ho\vever, 

 very imperfectly known. They appear to live in small herds, perhaps sin. 

 gle families, which are said to submit to the guidance of the older males, 

 and to inhabit in preference the neighbourhond of woods and thickets. 

 They are, as might be inferred from the small size of their mouths and the 

 peculiar character of tlieir teeth, purely herbivorous, feeding chiefly upon 

 grass and roots. Their flesh is eaten by the colonists, by whom it is said to 

 be nutritious and savoury, an assertion which is confirmed by those who 

 liave partaken of it in England. In order to procure this they -are frequent- 

 ly hunted in tlieir native country ; but the dogs who are employed in this 

 service sometimes meet with dangerous wounds, not only from the blows 

 of their powerful tail, wluch is their usual weapon of defence, but also from 

 the claws of tlieir hind feet, with which they have been known to lacerate 

 the bodies of their assailants in a shocking manner. But, unless when tlius 

 driven to make use of such powers of self-defence as they possess, they are 

 perfectly harmless and even timid ; and, when domesticated, are not in the 

 least mischievous. In several collections in this country, tliey have become 

 almost naturalized, and appear to be but little aflectcd by the change of cli. 

 mate. When confined in a small inclosure, they uniformly make their path 

 round its circuit, seldom crossing it or passing in any other direction except 

 for the purpose of procuring their food. Their whole appearance, and es- 

 pecially their mode of progression, is singularly curious, and even to a cer- 

 tain extent ludicrous. 



Modern naturalists have attempted to distinguish several species among 

 the Kangaroos ; but as the characters on which these are founded consist 

 merely in difference of size and slighi modifications of colour, a much more 

 complete acquaintance with them than we yet possess is requisite before tliey 

 can safely be adopted. 



