90 
NATURE NOTES. 
Then your ears, we beg you, ladies, 
To this prayer of ours incline. 
And forthwith against a fashion 
That is barbarous, combine. 
Yes, speak out, as you are women. 
And the welcome news impart — 
Birds no longer shall be butchered 
That your bonnets ma}’ be smart ! 
NATURE NOTES FROM NORTHERN TASMANIA. 
ficnaN the bush around the creeks live the brush kangaroo 
' [Halinaiurus Bennettii), the wallaby (HalmaUirus Bil- 
I lardieri), the bandicoot {Penameles ahesula), the native 
^ porcupine [Echidna setosa), and in forest land bordering 
on open country the wombat [Phascolomys Wombat), while in 
quiet spots on the rivers one may come upon the renowned 
plat5’pus {Ornithorhynchus anatinus) and the musk rat (Hydmnys 
chrysogasier). Upon the great gum trees overhead live “ opos- 
sums ” of two species, the ringtailed [Pseudochirus Cookii) and the 
grey [Trichosurus vulpecula), a variety of the last named being the 
celebrated black or mountain “ opossum,” whose skins are so 
greatly in demand for rugs. These dwellers on high may be 
seen descending the massive trunks as night draws near, to feed 
upon the richer foliage of the young trees below, while the 
tigercats [Dasyimts maculatus) and the native cats (D. viveninus) 
also steal out about the same time to see what they can pick up 
in the hen-roosts of the settlers. In the thick foliage of the 
gloomy “ myrtles ” (Fagits Cunninghami) live the pretty flying 
squirrels {Petaurus hreviceps), the fur of a beautiful soft grey, 
strongly contrasted by the sharp black line drawn along each 
side, and by the white fur of the under-surface. As evening 
approaches these graceful little marsupials take their short 
flights from tree to tree by means of the parachute-like extension 
of skin between the fore and hind limbs, or chatter gaily to each 
other among the evergreen boughs. 
Besides these and many smaller quadrupeds, there are hosts 
of attractive birds and insects to take up our attention in this 
enchanted land. There is the ground thrush [Gcveichla macro- 
hyncha), more speckled and spotted than our home thrush and 
larger too, but a very silent bird withal, hopping swiftly about 
among the ferns and undergrowth and rustling the dead leaves, 
but never uttering a note. Of a different stamp are the noisy 
green parrots (Plafyarcus flavweniris) among the branches over- 
head, and the bulky “black jay" {Strepera fuliginosa) making the 
Continued from N.A\, 1S96, p. 1S6. 
