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vegetable garden, in search of lettuces, of which it was very fond. If none were found it would gnaw the cabbage-stalks without touching the foliage.

Mr. Bass chased one of these animals, and lifted it off the ground, carrying for it upwards of a mile, without its being discomposed, though it was often shifted from arm to arm. But when he proceeded to secure it by tying its legs, while he left it in order to cut a specimen of a new wood, it became irritated, whizzed, kicked, and scratched with all its might, and snapped off a piece of Mr. Bass's jacket with its powerful teeth. So ruffled was it that all the rest of the way to the boat it continued to kick and struggle, and did not cease till it was exhausted.

THE ECHIDNA, OR PORCUPINE ANT-EATER.*

THIS animal, called the. Hedgehog by the colonists of Sydney, is the only known example of the genus it represents. It has no teeth. The breast-bone is very strong, and the body is stout; the limbs are extremely short and thick; the fore paws are compact, and the toes undivided to the claws; the hind feet, provided with five claws, are directed obliquely backwards; the head is small, the muzzle elongated into a projecting, narrow, beak-like snout; the eyes are small; and there are no external ears.

The upper surface of the body, and also of the short, stout tail, is covered by a compact mass of thick, sharp spines, more or less intermingled with coarse hairs. Usually, they are directed backwards, converging obliquely to a central ine down the back; but they are capable of being elevated, and, when attacked, the Echidna rolls itself up, like a hedgehog, directing its spears to all points. The limbs and under surface are covered with brown hairs.

This creature is found in New South Wales, the islands of Bass's Straits, and in Van Diemen's Land. It burrows with great celerity, and will even work its way under a pretty strong pavement, or the base of a wall, removing the stones with its claws. Its body, during such labours, is stretched or lengthened to an uncommon extent, and presents a contrast to its short, plump aspect, when in a state of repose. Its food consists of ants and their young, which it secures by a worm-like tongue, that can be protruded to a great distance. A specimen has lately been sent to this country, in spirit, an examination of which has decided that it is a true Marsupial.

THE DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS, OR ORNITHORYNCHUS. +

THE colonists of New South Wales called this animal the Water-Mole. Its head at once strikes the observer. Instead of a muzzle gradually continued, as is usually the case, it assumes, abruptly, the appearance of a duck's bill, being broad, flat, rounded, and covered with a leathery membrane. The outer surface of the upper mandible is grayish-black; the palate, flesh-coloured; the under mandible, paler externally. There are no horny laminæ, as in the bill of the duck. Teeth are wanting, but on each side, in either mandible, there are two horny appendages without roots. Large cheek-pouches, placed under the skin of the face, are receptacles for food. At the base of the beak, separating between it and the head, there projects from each mandible a loose leathery flap, supposed to defend the eyes and fur of the head from the mud in which the animal grubs for insects. The tongue is short and thick, and covered with long papillæ. The eyes are small, but very bright. The ears open externally by a simple orifice, which can be unclosed or shut at pleasure.

The fore feet are largely webbed, and divided into five toes, terminating in strong, blunt, burrowing claws. The hind feet are smaller and less powerful: they are divided into five toes armed with sharp claws, and webbed-the web in each instance being tough and leathery. The body is elongated, low, and depressed. The fur, close and fine, has an under layer of soft, short, waterproof wadding, and an outer one of long, fine, thickly-set, glossy hair. The tail, which is strong, broad, flattened, and of moderate length, is covered above with longer and coarser hairs than those of the body, but its under surface is only scantily provided. The average length of the head and body, including the tail, is twenty to twenty-three inches; the beak about two inches and a half; the tail, four or five inches. The burrows of these animals are excavated in the steep banks overhanging the tranquil waters

* Echidna Hystrix, Myrmecophaga aculeata: Shaw.

+ Ornithorynchus paradoxus: Blumenbach. Platypus anatinus: Shaw.

THE DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS, OR ORNITHORYNCHUS.

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in which they seek their food. The entrance is generally larger than the rest of the passage, but the termination is specially enlarged for the comfort of the parents and their offspring.

"After having traced one," says Mr. G. Bennett, "for the distance of ten feet four inches, and having just delved down upon it so as to perceive it still continuing its course up the bank, the beak and head of a water-mole were seen protruding for an instant from the upper part, as if it had been disturbed from its repose, and had come down to see what we were about with its habitation. It only remained for an instant; for, as soon as it beheld us, it immediately turned up to take refuge in that part of the burrow which yet remained unexplored. In turning round, however, it was seized by the leg, and dragged out. The animal appeared very much alarmed when it was hauled out of its subterranean dwelling. It uttered no sound, nor did it attempt to bite. It proved to be a full-grown female. When I held the unfortunate Platypus in my hands, its bright little eyes glistened, and the orifices of the ears were expanded and contracted alternately, as if eager to catch the slightest sound, while its heart palpitated violently with fear and anxiety.

This animal

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uttered, when disturbed from its sleep, a noise something like the growl of a puppy, but, perhaps, in a softer and more harmonious key. Although quiet for the greatest part of the day, it made efforts to escape, and uttered a growling noise during the night."

We must now consider a family of Marine Carnivorous Mammalia, which includes two remarkable genera. In one of these we find the Seals; in the other the Walrus. The brain of the seal is well developed. The body, which is long and conical, tapers from the chest to the tail, and the pelvis is so narrowed as not to prevent this decrease. Muscles attached to the spine are able to deflect it with considerable force. Short, stiff, glossy hairs constitute the clothing: these are very closely set, and adpressed against the skin. The limbs are oars, or paddles. The anterior pair have the humerus and fore arm so short, that little more than the paw advances from the body-the paw consisting of five fingers, impacted in skin; the nails, which are flat, showing their number. The hinder limbs, directed backwards; and the bones are short and strong. The feet, broad-webbed paddles, consist of five toes-the central is the shortest, the outer one on each side the longest. When not in action, the webs of these paddles are folded, and the toes are in contact; but

when used, they spread and present a broad surface. The tail is short, and placed between the hind paws, or flippers, which are directed backwards.

Thus, while other animals are confined to the land on which they find their prey, the species of which this division is composed are natives of the water, where they pursue fishes and other marine creatures as their food. As, in fact, the seals pass a great portion of their life in the ocean, only coming occasionally on shore to bask in the sun, or suckle their young, their adaptation to their circumstances is absolutely perfect.

Of this there is one remarkable proof which ought not to pass unnoticed. The head resembles that of a short-muzzled dog, but the nostrils are provided with a kind of valve, which is closed when the animal dives; while the cellular tissue which intervenes between the skin and muscles is very loose and fibrous, and appears to be a receptacle for the blood during the suspension of breathing under water, where it can remain a long time without injury. During this period of submersion the blood cannot pass through the heart, and so accumulates in the larger veins; to relieve these, therefore, of an undue pressure, this loose tissue appears to be designed. It is found in all animals whose habits are similar to, or approach those of, the seal. The blood is abundant: its dark colour shows that it contains less oxygen than is necessary for animals who live entirely on land.

THE COMMON SEAL.*

THIS animal, often seen on the rocky coasts of Scotland and Ireland, is abundant along the northern shores of Europe and America, and is found in the Caspian Sea, and the fresh-water lakes of Russia and Siberia. Its average length is about five feet; its colour is yellowish-gray, clouded or dappled with brown or yellow; the lips are furnished with long, stiff whiskers; there are no external ears. And yet, so fine is the sense of hearing, that the seal is attracted by musical sounds. Sir Walter Scott says:"Rude Heiskar's seals, through surges dark,

Will long pursue the minstrel's bark."

Nor is this assertion merely poetic. Laing, in his "Voyage to Spitzbergen," states that, when a violin was played on board the vessel, it would generally draw around it a numerous audience of seals, which would even follow it for miles.

Gregarious in its habits, the seal frequents the deep recesses and caverns of our northern shores, to which it resorts for a breeding-place. Here, during winter, the female produces her young, generally two at a birth, suckling them for a few weeks on the spot, till they are strong enough to be conveyed by their parent to the water. She displays great solicitude for their safety, teaches them to swim and pursue their finny prey, and carries them, when fatigued, on her back.

This seal, in common with others, is hunted for the sake of its skin and blubber. The fishing, which commences in autumn, is practised by means of nets stretched across narrow sounds, where the scals are accustomed to swim. It is, however, only the young that can be thus entangled-the old ones are shot. Boatmen with torches, and bludgeons, too, enter at night their recesses and caves, when the seals, alarmed by the glare and the shouts of the men, rush tumultuously forward to sea, and are knocked on the head with clubs-men being duly stationed for that purpose.

In Finland, seal-hunting is a favourite and profitable pursuit. When the ice begins to break up, a few men go to sea in a boat, notwithstanding all the horrors of floating amidst broken fields of ice, which every instant threaten the annihilation of their slender bark. In such situations seals frequently repose on the shoals; here, therefore, some of the party land, and, creeping on their hands and feet, cautiously steal on the animals and kill them during their sleep.

To the Esquimaux and Greenlanders the seal is of the utmost importance, their main subsistence depending on their success in capturing the animal in the northern ocean. There,

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* Phoca vitulina. Callocephalus vitulinus: F. Cuvier.-Moelrohn, of the Ancient British; Le Veau marin and Phoque commun, of the French; Meerlvolf and Meerhund of the Germans; and Lobo marino, of the Spanish.

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