709 i Nolhes of New Books. 



merely a place of refuge in which the old mother carries her young. 

 Here the young one at first principally lives, till able to run at the foot 

 of the mother; but even then, when danger is near, it tumbles head 

 over heels into the pouch for protection, and it is wonderful how quickly 

 the old doe can pick up the joey when running at lull speed, and 

 shove it into the pouch, its pretty little face always outside. There 

 she carries it till hard pressed, when the love of life overcomes the 

 love of the mother, and she then casts it away to save herself. This 

 in bush phraseology is termed ' dinging the joey.' I once saw an 

 eagle hawk chasing a doe kangaroo, with a heavy joey in the pouch, 

 through the forest. The cunning bird kept stroke for stroke with the 

 kangaroo, which it hardly dare attack, but it well knew, as soon as the 

 old mother became exhausted, she would cast away the young one. 

 Two ounces of kangaroo-shot from my gun, however, slopped the 

 eagle's gallop. I might have killed the old kangaroo as well, but had 

 not the heart after seeing the struggle she was making to save the life 

 of her offspring." — p. 7. 



The following passage, relating to the dingo, places that animal in 

 a very unfavourable but doubtlessly truthful light ; the moot question 

 of his origin is wisely left in statu quo; our author is not the man to 

 clear up a matter so surrounded with difficulty. 



" The wild dog, warrigal or dingo, is met with in all the thick forests, 

 deeply-scrubbed gullies, in belts of timber bordering on the large 

 plains, and in patches of tea tree, on the plains themselves , throughout 

 the whole country, of course commonest in the most unfrequented 

 districts, and is the only large wild animal of prey at present known 

 in Australia. Shy and retired in its habits, the wild dog is rarely seen 

 by day unless disturbed, lying up generally in thick patches of tea 

 tree scrub till evening sets in, when, like the wolf and fox of the old 

 world, they roam abroad in search of prey. In habits the wild dog 

 appears to resemble the European fox much more than the wolf. Its 

 shape, colour and general appearance is that of a fox, although much 

 thicker and larger, and the colour is generally brighter red, but the 

 pricked ears, sharp nose, bright eye and thick brush, all strongly remind 

 us of ' old Reynard.' It is, however, taller and heavier, and altogether 

 a much bolder and finer looking animal. The colour is usually light 

 red, but there is a beautiful variety, nearly black, which is, however, 

 rare, and, like the black fox of Northern Europe, only occasionally 

 found in a litter of red cubs. The cry of the wild dog at night is a 

 long dismal howl, very much resembling the horrid cry of the Swedish 

 wolf, echoing through the forests, making ' night hideous,' and some- 



