104 AUSTRALIAN ZOOLOGY. 
brown colour, and each hair of the ordinary fur has the exposed 
portion chiefly of a dirty white colour ; but the longer and coarser 
hairs are black at the point. On the under parts of the body the 
hairs are for the most part of a dirty white colour, but dusky at the: 
root. The naked mufile is black, the ears small, pointed, and well 
clothed with hairs. The wombat has 24 teeth, all being rootless ; 
there are two incisors or cutting teeth in each jaw. The legs are: 
short and strong, and the feet broad, naked beneath, and covered 
with minute fleshy tubercles. The claws are strong, those of the 
fore feet are solid, but slightly curved ; those of the hind feet are 
curved and concave beneath. The short, broad and solid nails of 
the fore feet fit it for burrowing ; the inner toe of the hind foot is 
small, it not being required for grasping, as the animal does not 
climb. The hairs of the moustaches are numerous, strong, and of a 
black colour, so are some bristly hairs which spring from the cheeks. 
The tail is a mere tubercle and is hidden by the fur. Most of the 
specimens sent to England were black, brown, or greyish-brown, 
but one sent from Victoria was of a light sandy-buff or isabelline 
colour. Those that lived generally evinced a gentle disposition. 
Habits.—It is a burrowing, nocturnal and fossorial animal, 
living during the day in deep stony burrows excavated by itself, and 
emerging on the approach of evening, but seldom trusting itself far 
from its stronghold, into which it runs if an intruder appears. It 
is difficult to dig it out, on account of the depth of the burrow ; and 
it is hard to obtain by reason of its great timidity. The natives 
make a screen of boughs in the vicinity of the haunts of the wombat, 
behind which they conceal themselves. On the animal appearing 
they hurl their spears and clubs at it. Unless it is killed on the 
spot it scrambles to its hole, whence it is impossible for them to 
dislodge it. It is by no means active, and has a hobbling or 
shuffling gait somewhat like that ofa bear. Mr. Brown, the eminent 
botanist attached to Flinder’s voyage, took a wombat to England, 
he obtained it on one of the islands in Bass’ Straits. It lived as a 
domestic pet for two years. It burrowed in the ground whenever it 
had an opportunity, and covered itself in the earth with surprising 
quickness. It was very quiet during the day, but constantly in 
motion in the night ; it was very sensible to cold, and devoured all 
kinds of vegetables, but was particularly fond of new hay, which it 
ate stalk by stalk, taking into its mouth small bits at a time, like a 
beaver. The blacks near the Murray describe two kinds of wom- 
bats : one they speak of as ‘* big yellow fellow,” the other as being 
smaller and dark. They also say that the impressions of their feet, 
in the sand tracks leading to their burrows, beara striking resem- 
blance to the footprints of a child. he flesh, they say, is like pork 
and good eating. 
food.—In its native state its food consists chiefly of roots and 
grass, When tamed it is very fond of lettuces. One in the 
Adelaide Botanical Gardens, obtained near the Gawler River, fed ow 
bran and weeds. In the Zoological Gardens, Melbourne, there is a 
wombat cave, which is divided into three compartments, for the 
