THE ORNITHORHYNCHUS. 301 



the male when irritated discharges a poisonous secretion 

 through a perforation in the spur with which the hind leg of 

 that sex is armed j but as Mr. Bennett seized the hind leg and 

 roughly handled his male specimen, and could not perceive that 

 it made any effort to defend itself with its spur, he thinks that 

 the assertion is entirely groundless. 



The natives of Australia eat the ornithorhynchus, and the 

 colonists use the soft silky down, which grows beneath the 

 long bristly hair, instead of beaver for hats ; frequently, also, 

 they tan the skin itself, and form it into caps for youth. 



*y* ECHIDNA, a genus which has been alluded to in the 

 course of this article, is characterized by having a remarkably 

 long tubercular snout, a very small mouth, a vermiform tongue 

 capable of being protruded j the body covered with sharp spines, 

 resembling those of the porcupine, only they are shorter and 

 thicker in proportion ; and the legs and feet very strong, and 

 capable of burrowing into the earth with the greatest facility. 



Two species are known. Echidna Hystrix (Cuv.) inhabits the 

 continent of New Holland j while E. setosa (Cuv.) is confined to 

 Van Dieman's Land. Both grow to the same size, attaining 

 nearly eighteen inches in length. Judging from the specimens 

 in the British Museum, they do not differ so much in the length 

 of their spines as in the colour of their fur, which is black in 

 the former, and brown in the latter, with a blackish spot on 

 the orbit. 





