416 
PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION D. 
from rock to rock down the steep mountain side, and disappeared in 
the dense scrub. The long bushy tail is not prehensile, and when 
on the tree it always hangs straight down ; but when on the ground 
they generally turn it upward like the shape of a boomerang, and keep 
it clear from the ground, their body leaning well forward to balance it, 
and occasionally they let it rest on the ground ; but in common with 
all other kangaroos the tail does not touch the ground when hopping. 
The reason of its being so long is evidently to act as a balance when 
jumping from one branch to another. I have noticed that the rock 
wallabies also have much longer and more thickly furred tails than 
those that live in the level country. On one occasion in a rocky range 
near Duaringa, in Queensland, I saw four of them (Peirogale peni- 
cillata ), which, on being disturbed, made for an old leaning stump of 
a tree about 70 feet long, up which they quickly hopped and took 
refuge in its hollow interior. These animals can also hop about on th 
thick lower inclining branches of small trees. 
The tree kangaroo passes its day near the top of a tree, generally 
w r ell shaded by the thick foliage. It bends its back and places its 
head and fore feet well down in front and close to its body, the same 
way that all wallabies do, aud so coiled up sleeps the greater part of 
the day. The tail hangs straight down, and their whereabouts is often 
detected by seeing that appendage so hanging and being swayed about 
by the breeze. About sunset they bestir themselves and commence 
feeding. They do not eat grass — in fact, no grass grows in the scrub 
where these animals live — but feed on leaves of various trees, such as the 
white cedar and others, also of creepers, birdVuest fern, fruit, &e. ; and 
those in captivity feed freely on various vegetables, fruit, and eucalyptus 
leaves, and soon denude the tree on which they are kept of foliage. 
They seem to live almost exclusively on the trees, often passing 
from one to the other by means of the branches, but, when unable to 
do so by that means, they come on to the ground, and by so doing 
their whereabouts is discovered, as the dogs are enabled to track them 
to the tree they are on by the scent on the ground. The natives say 
that they do not come down to the water to drink ; but as there is such a 
heavy rainfall and abundance of moisture in the high districts in which 
they live, it is quite possible that they do not, but iu captivity they 
always take the water with which they are supplied. 
When the natives wish to capture any of these animals they go 
to the higher parts of the mountain ranges with their dogs, and 
generally in the morning when the scent is fresh, and hunt about until 
the dog picks up the scent, which they follow up until t hey arrive at 
the tree in which the kangaroo is, although occasionally there are two 
or three on one tree. Some of the natives then climb the tree that may 
be growing near to the one on which the tree kangaroo is, to prevent 
it escaping on to it, while another of their number ascends the one on 
which the animal is, and he either catches it by its long tail or forces it 
to jump to the ground in its endeavours to escape. The other blacks 
with the dogs are there on the lookout for it and soon secure it, when 
it is placed in a bag brought for that purpose. Fully half of those so 
caught die during the first few days from injuries received, generally 
through having been bitten by the dogs. It requires a well-trained 
dog to hunt for the tree kangaroos, and there are very few that are 
any good for that purpose. The scent is much more difficult to follow 
