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XIX. An Account of some Peculiarities in the anatomical Struc- 
ture of the Wombat , with Observations on the female Organs 
of Generation. By Everard Home, Esq. F. R. S. 
Read June 23, 1808. 
A male wombat was brought from the islands in Basse's 
Straits, by Mr. Brown, the naturalist attached to Captain 
Flinders’s voyage of discovery. It was entrusted to my 
care, and lived in a domesticated state for two years, which 
gave me opportunities of attending to its habits. 
It burrowed in the ground whenever it had an opportunity, 
and covered itself in the earth with surprising quickness. It 
was quiet during the day, but constantly in motion in the 
night : was very sensible to cold ; ate all kinds of vegetables ; 
but was particularly fond of new hay, which it ate stalk by 
stalk, taking it into its mouth like a beaver, by small bits at a 
time. It was not wanting in intelligence, and appeared at- 
tached to those to whom it was accustomed, and who were kind 
to it. When it saw them, it would put up its fore paws on the 
knee, and when taken up would sleep in the lap. It allowed 
children to pull and carry it about, and when it bit them did 
not appear to do it in anger or with violence. It appeared to 
have arrived at its full growth, weighed about twenty pounds, 
and was about two feet two inches long. 
The koala is another species of the wombat, which partakes 
of its peculiarities. The following account of it was sent to 
