240 Mr. Collie on the Natural History of the Kangaroo. 



is larger than this one, of a pale unvascular appearance, and circularly 

 corrugated, is large and firm. This appears to be the teat and gland which 

 afforded the milk to the young of last season, not yet restored to its wonted 

 size. 



An officer of H. M. S. Success at present here, observed a Kangaroo 

 in the act of parturition. When the foetus was expelled from the vagina 

 per anum, the mother was lying partly on one side and partly on her 

 back, resting against the side of the cage where she was confined. She 

 kept her hind legs apart, and the very diminutive young, when brought 

 forth, crept among the fur of the mother towards her belly and to- 

 wards the opening of the abdominal pouch; whilst she, with her head 

 turned towards her tender offspring, seemed to watch its progress, which 

 was about as expeditious as that of a snail. After it had made some 

 advance, my informant, unconscious of the remarkable oeconomy of 

 generation in this class of Quadrupeds, removed the newly born animal 

 before it had reached its destination, which must have been the mouth of 

 the sac. The parturition took place two days ago. 



I have just now procured two gravid uteri in which the foetuses seem to 

 be arrived at, or very near to, the termination of the period of gestation. 

 One of them, which is about the size of the smallest young already men- 

 tioned as being in the abdominal sac, has protruded through an opening 

 inadvertently made in the uterus, and is distinctly seen through its trans- 

 parent membranes and the liquor amnii. 



Another Kangaroo was caught three days ago with a young one twice 

 the size of Lhe largest I have described, but on going to see it on the 

 25th the young was dead, lying in the sac unattached to any teat. 



The eyes of these three are covered, or perhaps I ought rather to say, 

 the eyelids are united by an opaque whitish membrane. The nostrils, 

 however, even of the smallest are very evidently perforated for the pur- 

 pose, it would seem, of admitting air to the lungs whilst the mouth is 

 closely embracing the teat. To see how closely the sac embraces the 

 young, that is sometimes retired deep in its bottom, one would be apt 

 to think that even the little air that so small an animal requires, could 

 scarcely reach it unless by some peculiar mechanism. 



At a future period I hope to be able to communicate more positive 

 information on this subject, and to transmit or bring you something 



