194 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



the vast forests and deserts of the north consists, as a rule, of 

 smaller vertebrates, chiefly various species of lizards, Coniluridce 

 and Murida, a fact which is strongly indicated by the almost 

 constant presence of their bones in the excrements of the animal. 

 I do not deny that a young Macropod or Emu occasionally 

 forms its diet, perhaps with an additional egg or young bird ; but 

 the Dingo chiefly depends on smaller animals for its existence. 

 Its habits are sneaking and cowardly, and I hardly consider it 

 capable of attacking a kangaroo its own size. It will kill goats 

 or sheep, but I am inclined to believe that its tactics are more 

 like the cunning stealthiness of the fox than the ferocious dash 

 of the wolf. 



The colonists of the southern parts of the continent are 

 seriously troubled by the depredations of the Dingo on their 

 sheep -farms, and the question has been very much disputed 

 whether these Dingoes belong to the aboriginal species of the 

 continent, or, as commonly believed, are the offspring of various 

 crossings between Dingoes and European dogs. The latter sup- 

 position is rendered probable by the fact that Dingoes propagate 

 with European dogs of different breeds, that is, the half-bred 

 Dingoes of the aborigines will breed with the mongrel European 

 dogs also kept by their masters. The question is, will these 

 bastards on their occasional visits in the bush breed with the 

 wild Dingoes ? It is possible ; but even supposing it to be 

 so, I feel inclined to consider it to be the only way in which 

 this interbreeding takes place, and consequently that its effects 

 are very small, far smaller than generally supposed, and so small 

 as in course of time to be almost obliterated. I am led to 

 believe this because the Dingo type is always dominant, and 

 because European dogs never would breed with wild Dingoes. 

 They heartily detest them, may with advantage be employed in 

 their chase, and only by force of circumstances breed with the 

 half-tame individuals in the camps of the aborigines. In the 

 north and north-west, European dogs had been in the country 

 ten and thirty years respectively, and yet in the bush not a single 

 specimen of Dingo was observed or shot which did not have all 

 the specific characters of the species. These characters are very 

 constant, and I have never seen two Dingoes differing more in 

 form and colour than perhaps two foxes, a circumstance which to 



