MAMMALIA—KANGUROO. 221 
count, very dangerous even for a man to approach, when set at bay. The 
kanguroo hunters immediately hamstring them when thrown, to prevent 
mjury to themselves or the dogs; while the black natives give them a heavy 
blow over the loins with their waddie, which completely paralyzes their 
hind legs, as all the Jarge nerves supplying these parts pass out there. The 
kanguroo has enly ope young at a time, which you may see attached by the 
mouth to the nipple inside the mother’s pouch, from the period it is the 
size of your thumb top, and as bare and unshapen as a new-born mouse, 
until it attains the size of a poodle dog, with a fine glossy coat of hair, 
ready to leap out and hop along after the mother. The young are attached. 
to the nipple in somewhat the same way as the placenta of other animals is 
attached to the uterus, the mouth being contracted round the nipple, which 
swells out like a cherry inside it, nourishing the fetus by means of absorp- 
tion through this indirect channel, the mouth and nipple adhering sc 
strongly that it requires considerable force to separate them. When the 
foetus arrives at sufficient age to suck, it drops off the nipple, and may then 
oe said to be Jorn, yet still continuing inside of the pouch, and sucking milk 
now through the ducts of that same nipple from the external surface of 
which it formerly derived a very different species of nourishment. The 
manner in which the young reach this pouch from’ the ovary, and attach 
themselves to the nipple, is still, I believe, a mystery, as no communicative 
duct has yet been found; but the natives assert they are born in the usual 
way, and that the mother places them there. It is amazing tosee the young 
kanguroo pop its head out of the pouch when the mother is grazing, and 
nibble too at the tender herbage which she is passing over. When hard 
hunted, the mother will stop suddenly, thrust her fore paws into her pouch, 
drag out the young one and throw it away, that she may hop lighter along. 
They are always very hard pressed, however, before they thus sacrifice the 
life of their offspring to save their own; and itis pitiful to see the tender 
sympathetic looks they will sometimes cast back at the poor little helpless 
creatures they have been forced to desert. J'rom this singular mode of 
gestation, you may handle the fetus in utero, and pull it about by the tail 
like a kitten, from the first moment of its appearance there, up to the very 
day of its birth, without causing either pain or annoyance to it or its mother. 
Such is the very singular manner in which nearly all our Australian 
quadrupeds are generated and brought forth. When the young kanguroo 
has attained a considerable size, it will crawl out, feed about, and creep in 
again to warm itself, or in case any danger approaches. The kanguroos 
feed early in the morning, when the dew is on the grass, which is the best 
time to hunt them. Ifthere is no dog in your pack that will show the 
game, you must keep sight of the dogs at full gallop to secure it, or else 
take out a little short-legged terrier, that will run the foot, and that you can 
eadily keep sight of till it reaches the others, otherwise you may lose all 
our sport, as few of our dogs give tongue either in the chase or at the 
