126 A NATURALIST IN TASMANIA 



most chamber of the burrow the female makes 

 a rough nest in which she deposits one or two 

 eggs ; there is no marsupium developed, as is 

 the case in the Echidna, the young hatching out 

 and being suckled in the nest. Besides their 

 method of reproduction, the Echidna and Platypus 

 have many structural characteristics resembling 

 those of reptiles, so that their claim to rank as 

 the most primitive of mammals, and among the 

 most interesting of all animals, is amply estab- 

 lished. 



Unfortunately very little is known of their 

 history in former epochs. All the fossils that 

 can with certainty be placed in the same sub- 

 order, belong to the existing genera, and do not 

 go back beyond Pleistocene times, or range out- 

 side the limits of the Australian continent. 



As my time was limited I had to be contented 

 with this cursory view of some of the more typical 

 scenes of the west coast and to forgo a visit to 

 Macquarie Harbour and the magnificent Gordon 

 River, but I saw enough to perceive the intense 

 interest attaching to this little-known corner of 

 the world as well as the wild grandeur of its 

 scenery. In every department of science Australia 

 still offers a wide field for many generations of 

 students, and I doubt if so great a number of 

 interesting problems are elsewhere contained 

 within so narrow an area as are to be found on 

 the west coast of Tasmania. 



