107 
Dec. Bi, 1909. The Queensland Naturalist. 
appearance taken from under the water. In the nest were 
two young Platypi, probably about a month old, rolled 
up in a ball, with the tail lying fiat on the beak. I got 
several young ones this trip, and 1 was amused at uhe way 
they were lying — some as above, or rolled up with the tail 
covering the head, and the beak resting on the stomach, 
oi* on the back, with the right paw resting on the tail coiled 
up. They were all very fat and plump- but without fur, 
of a greyish colour, and evidently about a month old. 
I was not able to keep them alive, but put them in spirit 
and sent them to my father in Sydney. 
In digging out other burroAvs I found it a great saving 
of labour, instead of digging out the burrow the whole way. 
to push a stick forward about five feet, emd then dig down 
and open up, as the shortest I dug out was twenty feet 
long, rising upwards to within two feet of the surface at 
tO]). 
We were fortunate in getting two full-groAvn Platypi, 
which my companion, Mr. Blakeston, shot. As they both 
turned out to be females, J. decided that I would dissect 
them, and found that they both had young ones, and 
probably were the mothers of some of the young Ave had 
already obtained. 
I decided that I would then dissect the mammary 
glands, which I got out with the mammary areola perfect. 
It Avas a most interesting specimen. The glands Avere very 
much distended, being hlled Avith a light milky substance, 
and Avhen compressed slightly, this issued through some 
punctures, but no sign of nipple was present. We then 
carefully examined the young ones, and found that the 
■ tongue Avas close to the end of the loAA^er mandible, and the 
Avidth of the mouth corresponded Avith the areola of the 
mother, with a fold of integument across the angle of the 
mouth. The young one received its nourishment by the 
combined action of suction on its own part, and the com- 
pression of the glands by the mother, which proved Professor 
OavciTs theory of the coadaptation of the mouth of the 
young one to the mammary outlet of the parent. From 
these observations I am satisfied that the months of Sep- 
tember, October and November are the best to get an 
impregnated Platypus. Considering the size of the egg 
of the Platypus, and the fact that the mother has no pouc h, 
the question arises — Hoav does the young one get fastened 
to the areola to receive nourishment ? Perhaps some of 
our young naturalists may Avish to work out this subject, 
for which purpose I would recommend the Echidna as the 
easiest subject to investigate. The breeding season of 
Echidna is July and August. The males have a spur on 
the hind leg, which is absent in the female. 
Mr. Caldwell sums up his observations as follows : — 
“ The Ornithorynchus produces two eggs at a birth. 
