738 MR. BENNETT ON THE HABITS OF THE ECHIDNA. [June 21, 



beetles, ants, and a white juicy worm. Many small dead saplings 

 had been knocked down by the Echidnas in their search at the roots 

 for their food. They are particularly partial to the white ants, 

 which erect small mounds of clay about 18 inches in height. 

 These they attack in a most systematic way, by working round the 

 nest, by clearing away the earth and forming a trench where the 

 nest joins the earth, and devouring all before them ; and then they 

 make a hole in the centre and clear out the whole nest, leaving none 

 behind to tell the tale of their visit. The soldier-ant (a large stinging 

 ant) they do not touch ; their nests were close to the white-ant 

 mounds, but were untouched. 



The larger sugar-ants, which raise mounds of sand about 16 

 inches high and 4 feet in diameter, they attack first, by lying on 

 the mound with their tongue out and drawing in the ants that cross 

 it ; there they remain sometimes for hours. This, I have no doubt, 

 is the time that they get the sand found in their stomach. They 

 then make a hole from one side to the other, and devour the most 

 delicate morsels coming in their way. In the daytime they do 

 not move about much, beginning their search about a couple of hours 

 before sundown. They are very quick of hearing ; so that one's 

 movements have to be very cautious and slow, as the least crackle 

 of a leaf anywhere near makes them draw in their snouts and begin 

 at once to burrow their way into the ground, which they do by 

 means of their legs, moving the whole of the body into the burrow 

 and spreading the earth over their backs. The speed with which 

 they do this is almost incredible, very little disturbance of the earth 

 being observable after the animal has disappeared. They do not, as 

 a rule, burrow straight ahead ; in only one instance have I known 

 this to happen ; this was the case of an Echidna put into a box, which 

 went down into the ground under the box and got away, coming out 

 under a paling fence at a distance of 10 feet. 



Their muscular strength is enormous ; as I remarked before, they 

 can fell saplings with a good-sized sound root. I have known them 

 force out wire netting, well fastened with large broad tacks ; any 

 thing they can once get a purchase against must go before them, if 

 they are attempting to escape ; large stones 30 lb. in weight they move 

 clean out of the way ; so that, when they are got, if the dissecting- 

 knife is not used at once the difficulty is to keep them. 



There is a prevalent idea that Echidnas lie dormant during the 

 winter ; but this is not the case, as I began my observations first in 

 June 1878, wliich is the Australian midwinter, and I found that they 

 were as keen in their search after food then as at any other part of 

 the year. To arrive at their breeding-season has been my greatest 

 difficulty : I do not think it can be fixed at any certain period, but 

 must in some places begin earlier than in others. 



In July I got a male specimen which had the testes very much 

 enlarged, fully the size of a hen's egg, being 1^ inch in length and 

 2^ inches in diameter. I continued to collect specimens to August 

 9th, and transmitted them, through my father. Dr. George Bennett, 

 F.Z.S., to Professor Owen, who decided that none were actually 



