PHENOMENA. 



153 



cat, with the same small head and thick neck ; 

 the colour was a yellowish white, but my at- 

 tention was directed to a pouch under the 

 belly, where there were five young ones, still 

 alive. They were each hanging by the mouth 

 to a separate translucid tegument, through 

 which the blood might be easily seen flowing 

 to and from the young. I tried to separate 

 them, but found they were fixtures, and they 

 were still moving their limbs, and the blood 

 was still circulating several hours after sunrise, 

 when the red ant, having found them out, 

 the old one was thrown into the stream : how 

 much longer they might have remained alive 

 it would be difficult to say. The Indians 

 told me that the young grow in the pouch, 

 and may be found, from the size and shape of 

 a peppercorn, until fully formed and ripe to 

 drop off, which the above would have done in 

 a few days. After birth the young make the 

 pouch their hiding place in case of alarm. 



I have killed them since, with the young 

 in the pouch, from the size of a pea until 

 nearly fully formed, but never have been able 

 to find out the exact time of their appearance 

 in the pouch. Accident alone will reveal it ; 

 and by accident I mean killing one at the 

 moment the transition takes place. 



