STORY OF THE DUCKBILL. 
The duckbilled platypus is one of the most remarkable animals I have 
ever seen. Australia, where everything seems to be reversed, where the north 
wind is warm and the south wind cold, the thick end of the pear is next the 
stem,, and the stone of a cherry grows outside, is the residence of this most 
extraordinary animal. When it was first introduced into 1 Europe, it was 
fully believed to be the manufacture of some impostor, who with much ingenu¬ 
ity had fixed the beak of a duck into the head of some unknown animal. It 
will, however, be seen by the skull of the animal, that this duck-like beak 
really belongs to the animal, and is caused by a prolongation of some of the 
bones of the head. 
In length the adult male duckbill measures from 18 to 20 inches from the 
tip of the beak to the end of the rather short tail. The muzzle is expanded 
and flattened, and has both the upper and lower jaws invested with a blackish 
naked beak not unlike that of a duck. This beak is bordered by a naked 
sensitive skin, forming a fold at the base of the snout, the nostrils being situ¬ 
ated near its front end. The body is covered with short, close, and some¬ 
what mole-like fur, including both longer hairs and a woolly under-fur; its 
usual color being deep brown, becoming paler underneath. The tail is broad 
and flattened, and has a coat of coarse hairs, which on the under side are 
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