12 AUSTRALIAN ZOOLOGY. 
after nightfall. The blacks in the north of Australia have super- 
stitious ideas concerning this insect; they originate from this loud 
shrill sound, which comes from every direction, and is not to be 
traced to any particular place. A traveller, who had been deserted 
by his aboriginal guides, muses thus:—‘‘ Not a leaf was seen to 
stir, and the only sound that came to my ears was the monotonous 
melancholy humming of the cicadas in the tree-tops—a sound that 
only served to increase the sense of desolation.” The effect which 
the incessant din has on any person depends very much on the con- 
dition and state of mind he may bein. This insect is not peculiar 
to Australia: its querulous song was referred to by the writers of 
ancient Rome. Both Virgil and Juyenal celebrated the counterpart 
of the Australian type. By that figure of speech known as Metonymy 
—a putting of the effect for the cause, the sign for the thing signi- 
fied—Juvenal wrote cicada for estas ; that is, cicada for summer, 
Habits.—It seems to frequent the various species of acacia, 
popularly called wattles, quite as often, or more often, than the - 
eucalypti. It appears at about the same time as the C. me@rens, in 
the hottest time of the year; but it is much less widely distributed. 
It is not uncommon along the banks of the Yarra near Melbourne. 
The pupa resembles that of the C. mwrens, but is larger. 
Where found.—So far as at present ascertained, cyclochila is 
confined to Australia. 
AUSTRALIAN CAssowARY—Casuarius australis. 
Discovery.—The existence of a cassowary in Australia was first 
made known in 1848 by the late Mr. Thomas Wall, who perished 
from starvation in the inhospitable wilds of York Peninsula on Dec. 
28th of that year. Mr. Wall was the naturalist of an exploring 
party that left Sydney in the previous April, and landed at Rock- 
ingham Bay. It consisted of thirteen persons, Mr. Kennedy being 
leader, Mr. Carron, botanist, and one of the number an aboriginal, 
Jacky Jacky. In the narrative of Mr. Carron, one of the three 
survivors, is the following entry: —‘‘ Nov. 4th. This morning Jacky 
went to examine a scrub through which we wanted to pass, and 
while out shot a fine cassowary. It was very dark and héavy, not 
so long on the leg as the common emu, and had a larger body, 
shorter neck, with a large, ved (not correct) stiff horny comb on its 
head. Mr. Wall skinned it, but from the many difficulties with 
which we had to contend, the skin was spoilt before it could be pre- 
served.” The specimen first described was shot in the district 
situated to the north of Rockingham Bay, where, in the deep and 
almost inaccessible gullies, this species was found. It was unfor- 
tunately left at Weymouth Bay, during the terrible sufferings of the 
exploring party. An account of the bird was published by Mr. 
Wall’s brother, who was curator of the museum, Sydney. In 1866, 
Mr. W. J. Scott communicated to the Zoological Society of London 
that on the Upper Burdekin River, about 100 miles from Rocking- 
ham Bay, there was a bird known to the natives as the black emu, 

