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their vigorous efforts to escape ; whereas in the moruing they will be 

 found rolled up and fast asleep. Still I am now of opinion that all 

 the Australian crepuscular and night animals — ^judging from those I 

 have been able to observe in captivity — although very active, and 

 feeding principally at night, will leave their places of concealment 

 during the day for a short time for the purpose of feeding. 



The male animal, as if to keep up its bird-like character, has a spur, 

 moveable, like that of the barn-door cocks. This is found also in 

 tbe Echidna or Porcupine Ant-eater, another of the Monotrematous* 

 family ; but, judging from experiments on both animals, cannot be 

 considered a weapon of offence or defence, and is for some purpose in 

 the economy of the animal at present unknown to us. From ray 

 recent observations I consider the question of the spur in the male 

 being a poisonous weapon as now decided ; for the living male spe- 

 cimen, though very shy and wild, can be handled with impunity. 

 Although making violent efforts to escape, and even giving me some 

 severe scratches with the hind claws in its attempts, still either in 

 or out of the water he has never attempted to use the spur as a 

 weapon of offence. Indeed the scratching I have before alluded 

 to has not been done by the animal intentionally, as it is to all in- 

 tents and purposes perfectly harmless ; but accidentally by the hind 

 claws, which alone are sharp, in the efforts made to extricate itself 

 from my grasp. The female will float feeding upon the water, and 

 is much tamer than the male. The latter keeps swimming about 

 below, and it is a long time before he ventures to put more than the 

 snout above the water, and then rarely more than the head and a 

 little of the upper part of the body. 



From the 29th to the 3 1st of December they were lively and well. 

 I placed them for one or two hours in the water morning and evening, 

 to feed and wash themselves, which they appeared to enjoy exceed- 

 ingly. 1 placed some meat minced very fine in the water, to try to 

 feed them, so as to send them alive to Europe, as I considered the 

 manner of feeding them an important preliminary step to ascertain. 

 In their natural state they evidently feed in water. Just before I 

 took them out in the evening they had burrowed to the bottom of 

 the box, among the straw, very warm and comfortable, and they were 

 cuddled close together. 



On the third morning I found them much tamer, and, instead of 

 diving down immediately they were placed in the water, they floated 

 upon the surface. The female would permit me to look close to her 

 little twinkling eyes ; her ears were always much dilated, and she 

 would remain tranquil even when I touched or scratched her head 

 or back ; but the instant I touched the sensitive mandibles, she would 

 either dip down partially or disappear altogether under water for a 

 short time. The male is evidently much more timid. I have only 

 once seen his body on the surface of the water ; and when taking 

 him out of the water and replacing him in his box, I found great 

 difficulty in capturing him. The female, being generally upon the 

 surface, is secured and placed in the box very easily, but the struggles 

 of the male are very great ; and this makes it more difficult to take 



