210 BENNETTS WANDERINGS 



to another ; at first, much to my surprise at their power of mola- 

 lity, until I saw it was effected by the protrusion of the larva from 

 its habitation. The case is composed, internally, of a very tough 

 web, and the exterior is covered by bits of twigs, interwoven upon 

 it in a perpendicular direction : it suspends itself from the twig by a 

 strong cluster of filaments. I have found this larva inclosed in its 

 case, of various sizes, from three to six inches ; this has led me to 

 conclude that, like the caddis worms, they increase in size in the 

 larva state, enlarging their habitations as the former ones become 

 too small for the increased size of their bodies. I found, by cutting- 

 one of the cases open, that they readily repair any injury their 

 dwellings may have sustained ; for a few hours only elapsed, after 

 I had made the incision to view the inclosed larva, [when] I found 

 the case restored as firmly as before. — Vol. I. p. 67. 



The following fact of a species of lobster, burrowing deep in 

 mud, is new to us : — 



In the river there is a small and new species of lobster, which is 

 also procured in large quantities from the muddy ponds on the Yas 

 Plains : they are delicious eating, and are taken readily, by placing 

 a piece of raw meat on a bent pin. When one is felt at the bait, it 

 is to be dragged gently to the margin of the pond (which is very 

 muddy, but not deep), and taken on the back by the hand. A 

 number can thus be caught in a short time. The aborigines call 

 them Murugonan. They burrow deep in the mud, and the blacks 

 capture them by thrusting the hand into the holes, and dragging 

 them out, although they often extend to such a depth that the whole 

 length of the arm is inserted before the animal is secured. The 

 ponds in which the lobsters are taken are always full of water, being 

 supplied by springs : one of them was about fifty yards in length 

 by twenty in breadth, but of no great depth at any part. They 

 form a chain along the plains during the dry season of the year; 

 but, during heavy rains, they unite into a running stream, which 

 empties itself into the Yas river. It is only at the season when 

 there is merely a chain of ponds or swamps that the lobsters can be 

 caught with facility. In the Murrumbidgee, Yas, Tumat, and 

 other large rivers, there is a different, and larger species of lobster, 

 which is frequently found in the stomachs of the river cod. This 

 kind is called Mungola by the aborigines, and they are captured 

 measuring a foot and a half in length, and weighing three or four 

 pounds. I examined a small one captured in the Murrumbidgee, at 

 Jugiong. The colour of the upper surface of the shield was dark- 

 green, with reddish tinges on the sides, the rings of the tail studded 



