THE AUSTRALIAN NATURALIST. 3 
years the collection was used altogether for the benefit of 
various charitable societies, exhibitions being held at inter- 
vals; latterly tourists have had the opportunity afforded 
them of seeing it on specified days. 
The animals, of course, form the most important part 
of the collection, and it is interesting to see some that are 
rapidly becoming extinct, notably the Tasmanian Tiger, so- 
called, although it is really a marsupial wolf (Thylacinus 
cynocephalus). There were four fine specimens of this 
tiger — males and females— beautifully striped animals 
and looking in good condition. On the morning of my 
second visit, a photographer had called to take a photo. 
of them, which he only succeeded in doing after the expen- 
diture of a good deal of time and patience, owing to their 
restlessness. Another animal which is becoming rare is 
the Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus Satanicus); of these 
Mrs. Roberts had seven. These animals, like the personage 
after whom they are named, are not so black as they ara 
painted, and I think they should institute a suit for libel 
against the person who branded them with this name. 
There is nothing at all diabolical about them, so far as one 
~ ean see; on the contrary, they seemed rather amiable little 
beasts, and cantered up and down their enclosure in a 
lively, playful fashion, occasionally poking their noses or 
paws through the bars as if they wanted to make friends 
with the visitors. The marsupials were well represented, 
from the tiny little opossum mouse up to the kangaroos. 
The former has been in Mrs. Roberts’ possession for five 
years, and is a great pet. Evidently it has a sweet tooth, 
as it lives upon sponge cake, dates, and almonds. Amongst 
the opossums was a beautiful white one, so-called, although 
its fur is really a creamy, or light buff, shade; a black 
opossum was in the same pen, and in the adjoining pen 
was a happy family, consisting of a pair of black opossums 
and their young one. This pair was presented to Mrs. 
Roberts by Lady Barron, wife of the ex-Governor of Tas- 
mania, who took a great interest in the Zoo. Baby Possie 
was a fine little creature, and it munched away at a piece 
of bread held between its two front paws, whilst hang- 
ing to the wires upside down, apparently just as comfort- 
able in an inverted position as an upright one. Last year 
this pair reared two young ones, one being born in April 
and one in September. The wallabies are represented by 
the ‘Tasmanian varieties—Bennett’s Wallaby and the 
