1486 Australian Natural History. 



without hearing anything of the dogs, which had gone on before ; at 

 length one gave tongue and the others joined ; we ascended a long 

 acclivity, and on arriving at the top all breathless, found that the opos- 

 sum had escaped, probably by leaping from one branch to another of 

 some of the neighbouring trees. Several such disappointments oc- 

 curred during the night, yet during our wanderings through the forest 

 we managed to kill nine of the two species. About eleven o'clock, 

 feeling rather tired, we got up a huge fire, and sitting down upon a 

 log partook heartily of tea and damper, not forgetting some of the 

 " Queen's own," our friends amusing us with stories about bush-ran- 

 gers, in some of which I suspect they had themselves played a part. 

 After this we made the best of our way back, occasionally getting a 

 shot as we went along, and now and then stumbling over a stone or 

 prostrate tree, and in due time reached our floating home. Some of 

 the opossums were afterwards cooked, but the mess did not give much 

 satisfaction, from the animals having lately fed upon the leaves of 

 the peppermint-tree [Eucalyptus piperita), the peculiar and dis- 

 agreeable flavour of which was partially retained by the meat. 



In December, 1842, when I happened to spend some time at a farm 

 upon the Paterson (a tributary of the Hunter, N.S.W.), I frequently 

 visited a small patch of " brush " situated in an angle formed by the 

 river and a shallow lagoon frequented by herons (Ardea Novae Hol- 

 landice and A. pacifica), snipe (Scolopax Hardwickii), spur-winged 

 plover (Lobivanellus lobatus), and other waders. The river was here 

 brackish, yet the Platypus was occasionally to be seen among the 

 weeds (Myriophyllum), and the rare Plotus Levaillantii occurred now 

 and then. That beautiful kingfisher {Alcyone azurea), was not un- 

 frequent, and of an evening I have often seen the large purple galli- 

 nule (Porphyrio melanotus) feeding in the fields on the river banks. 

 The " brush " in question was so densely overgrown with underwood 

 that it was difficult to penetrate, and the prowling naturalist who took 

 to it for shelter from the fierce rays of a meridian sun, with the ther- 

 mometer from 85° to 90° or more in the shade, would most likely be 

 driven out by clouds of mosquitos. 



Here the night heron {Nycticorax caledonicus), breeds in the tall- 

 est trees, and pigeons and parrakeets of several kinds, with a multi- 

 tude of other birds, were always to be found. In this secluded spot 

 the small kangaroo, known to the colonists by the name of " Pade- 

 melon," the Halmaturus TItetidis of Gould's Monograph, found an 

 asylum. 1 had often caught a glimpse of this elegant creature, but 

 could not for sonic time succeed in obtaining one; I accordingly re- 



