1862.] LETTER FROM DR. G. BENNETT. 85 



" We get plenty of Koalas, or Native Monkeys {Phascolarctos 

 cinereus). These animals are very tame, and have been fed some 

 time on gum-leaves (their natural food), some on bread and milk, 

 &c., but still they do not survive longer than six weeks at the 

 furthest. They die plump and in excellent condition ; so it cannot 

 be starvation that kills them. Not a week passes but I could pur- 

 chase them of all ages for from 10*. to 15*. each, as they are brought 

 by the coasting vessels from the Patterson and other parts of this 

 colony. I propose, as soon as we have a piece of ground allotted for 

 our Acclimatization Society, to enclose some trees with zinc wire and 

 give them liberty within its range, and see if by such a method we 

 shall be enabled to domesticate them, and find some method of 

 feeding them, so as to send them to Europe. 



" We have not yet procured any male Brush-Turkeys, but have 

 sent orders to various parts of the colony, more especially the Cla- 

 rence Kiver district. We intend to domesticate them, so as to keep 

 up a supply for exchanges. These birds are everywhere becoming 

 scarcer, from the wholesale destruction of them and their eggs by 

 the aborigines, and we find the only sure means of procuring either 

 eggs or birds is by the aid of the blacks. 



" Two fine young and healthy specimens of a Hornbill (probably 

 Bueeros ruficollis) were brought from the Island of Guadalcamar, 

 one of the Solomon group, in the schooner ' Coquette,' as also an 

 elegant Pigeon from the same island, and a species of Gallinule from 

 Tanna (New Hebrides group), called ' Tarbach' by the natives of 

 Sandwich Island (another of the same group), and 'Bush- fowl' by 

 the missionaries at Tanna. They are all alive, and were brought by 

 two Belgian gentlemen (Captain Mechel and M. B. Alain), who have 

 placed them in my charge to be transmitted to you for the Due de 

 Brabant. I have accepted the offer, as, if they arrive alive, you and 

 Mr. Gould will be able to inspect and, if new, describe them. I 

 intend sending them with the Kagus. 



" These birds have been fed principally on yams, potatoes, bread, 

 and bananas, and occasionally a very minute portion of meat. The 

 plumage of the head, neck, and breast is of a light auburn-brown 

 colour, and the rest of the plumage of a beautiful black, except the 

 tail, which is white. The naked portion round the eye is of a light 

 blue colour. The naked portion of the throat and cheeks is white, 

 with a delicate shade of light blue. The eyelids are of a reddish 

 tinge, and eyelashes long. Irides of a light grey colour. The man- 

 dibles are horny, of a dirty white colour, but near the base a tinge 

 of dark red colour prevails. The feet and legs are black. 



" I intend sendmg Mr. Gould, by the ' La Hogue,' an egg of a 

 species o^ Megapodius. It measures o inches in length and 1| inch 

 in breadth, and is of a light brownish or ' cafe-au-lait' colour. The 

 eggs are found over all the islands of the New Hebrides group, and 

 are eaten by the natives, as the eggs of the Leipoa and Megapodius 

 by the aborigines of Australia. The egg in my possession was 

 given to me by Captain McLeod, of the 'Ehza K. Bateson,' who 

 procured it at the Island of Nua Fou, where it is named * Mallow' 



