19G 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



the Rodent Mammalia have. The commissures of the brain, which relate to the complexity of the 

 method of life, are unequally developed. The central one, or the corpus callosum, is small, and the 

 front one is veiy large. Finally, the part of the brain which refers to the sense of smell is large, 



but hidden by the brain proper, and its nerves supply a large 

 surface in the nose, at its Tipper part at the base of its skull. 



The young Kangaroo, when very small, and almost trans- 

 parent, comes down from the womb into a canal, and gets into 

 the uro-genital sac, as it is termed. Thence it is taken by the 

 mother, and put into the marsupium, or pouch, where it fixes 

 on to a nipple, and holds on. As the little one is ever " at 

 the breast," it might have any quantity of milk go the wrong 

 way, but this is provided for by the upper part of the organ 

 of voice (the larynx) being prolonged at the back of the nose, 

 above the level of the long nipple. Breathing goes on through 

 the nose, and swallowing safely through the gullet. 



THE HAEE KANGAROO.* THE TURATT. 

 There are many kinds of Kangaroos, and one of them, 

 which is solitary and nocturnal in its habits, is called the Hare 

 Kangaroo, of which Mr. Gould writes : " The name of Hare 

 Kangaroo has been given to this species as much from its 

 similarity of form and size to the common Hare as from its 

 similarity of habits. I usually found it solitary, and sitting 

 alone on a well-formed seat under the stalk of a tuft of grass 



on the open plains. For a short distance, its fleetness is beyond that of all others of its gi'oup 

 that I have had an opportunity of coursing. Its powers of leaping are also equally extraordinary. 

 While out on the plains in South Australia, I started a Hare Kangaroo before two fleet Dogs. 

 After running to the distance of a quarter of a mile, it suddenly doubled and came back to me, 

 the Dogs following close to its heels. I stood perfectly still, and the animal had arrived within 

 twenty feet before it observed me, when, to my astonishment, instead of branching off to the right or 

 to the left, it bounded clear over my head, and, on descending to the ground, I was able to make a 

 successful shot, by which it was procured. It has the end of the nose covered with a fine set of hairs. 

 The fur is long and soft and very hare-like, and it has small limbs and sharply-pointed nails." 



BRAIN OF THE GREAT KANGAROO. 



THE GREAT ROCK KANGAROO. 



This is very different from its timid congener just described. It inhabits the sterile and 

 rocky mountains in the south-eastern part of Australia. It scampers about the rocks, and readily 

 escapes Dogs, and it is a dangerous and formidable animal to approach, for it will, if closely pressed, 

 turn on its enemy, and force him over the rocks. It bites, and uses its strong fore-arms very effi- 

 ciently. It is called Macropus robustus, and is often found in companies of four or six ; and it has 

 more powerful fore-limbs than the Great Kangaroo, which is even sometimes the smaller of the two. 

 It has the part of the nose called the muffle without hair. 



THE RED KANGAROot is so called from the red tint of the male, which is sometimes marked under 

 the neck and elsewhere. It was found in the plains near the Darling and Murrumbidgee rivers, and 

 is celebrated for its great fleetness; and the female is often called the "Flying Doe." It is as fast 

 as the Agile Kangaroo, | which is long-haired, and is found in Northern and Eastern Australia. 



Van Diemen's Land has a Kangai'oo with a long, deep-grey fur, with red on the back of the ears, 

 neck, and shoulders ; and it is called the Brush Kangaroo by the settlers. It is eaten and highly 

 esteemed, and its skin is exported for leather. Liking the dense and damp forests of the island, 

 it finds a safe retreat therein, and probably this is what keeps them from extinction, for they have 

 been killed by the thousand, in order to supply contracts for boot-leather. The young of this Kangaroo, 



* Macropus leporoides (Gould). 



Macropus rufus (Desm.). 



Macropus agilis (Gould, sp.). 



