72 HOMES "WITHOUT HANDS. 



water. Though decidedly aquatic in its habits, the Duckbill can 

 not withstand a very long immersion in the water ; and Dr. Ben- 

 nett found that few of them could endure an immersion of fifteen, 

 or at the most twenty minutes, without being much fatigued by 

 the exertions which they made in order to keep themselves 

 afloat. Several persons who have procured living specimens 

 have drowned them by placing them in water from which there 

 was no mode of escape. 



There is another strange Australian animal, also remarkable 

 for its power of burrowing. This is the creature which is known 

 as the PoECUPiNE Ant-eater {Echidna hystrix), and is called by 

 the very erroneous names of Porcupine, or Hedgehog. The na- 

 , tives have several names for it, some calling it Nicobejan, others 

 Jannocumbine, and others Cojera. 



Here I may mention the curious circumstance that in three or- 

 ders of animals, widely separated from each other in structure, 

 habits, and locality, the hairs of the back are greatly enlarged, 

 and developed int^ stout and sharp spines. There are several 

 species of hedgehog, natives of Europe, and -the Tanrecs of Mada- 

 gascar, all insectivorous animals ; there are the various porcupines 

 which inhabit Africa, Asia, Southern Europe, and America, and 

 belong to the rodent group ; and there is the Echidna, one of the 

 monotrematous animals which is found only in Australia. 



The Echidna is a wonderful burrower, and, in spite of its small 

 size, can make its way through very hard ground. It can pull 

 up stones of great size if it can only contrive to insert its paws 

 and find a convenient crevice for them, and is so quick at this 

 task that to confine the animal is by no means an easy matter, 

 even a paved yard affording but a poor safeguard against its es- 

 cape. In the open country it digs with such extreme rapidity 

 that it can hardly be captured, gathering its back into an arched 

 form, collecting the legs under the body, scratching away with 

 the feet, and sinking like a stone in a cup of treacle. 



These paws are not only potent in digging, but in clinging to 

 any object, and their hold is so wonderfully firm that they can 

 not be disengaged even from smooth boards without very great 

 trouble. To grasp the creature is impossible, because the sharp 

 points of the projecting spines are capable of inflicting painful 

 wounds, and its feet are so completely hidden under the body 

 that they can not be separately detached. Dr. Bennett gives a 



