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appearance, when floating on the surface of the water, either dead or alive. Captain King, of Her Majesty's ship Adventure, says, "On the 1st January, 1828, in lat. 43° 17', and long. 61° 9', I was informed that we were close to a rock. Upon going on deck, I saw the object. It was a dead whale upon whose half-putrid body large flocks of birds were settled. Many on board were sceptical, until, on passing to leeward, the strong odour testified the fact. Its appearance, certainly, was like the summit of a large dark brown rock covered with weeds and barnacles; and the myriads of birds which surrounded it added to the deception. It could, however, be distinguished by its buoyancy; for the water did not break over it, as, of course, it would have done had it been a fixed body. Whales, when struck by the fishers, frequently escape and perish; the carcase then floats on the sea until decomposed, or eaten by birds and fishes. A small vessel striking against such a mass, would probably be severely injured, and at night, the body, from the sea not breaking against it, might not be easily seen."

Captain Fitzroy of the Beagle writes, "14 January, 1830. We were at this time running free, under treble-reefed top-sails, with top-gallant-yards and masts on deck-the wind being strong from W.N.W., but the weather tolerably clear. Suddenly the boatswain hailed, Hard a port! a rock under the bows!' Round the little vessel turned almost as fast as the order was given. But the thrill that shot through us was, happily, not the precursor of our destruction; for the supposed rock proved to be a huge whale, which had risen close to the bows, and was mistaken for the top of a rock by the boatswain, who was looking out on the forecastle, while I was at the mast-head, and 'hands' upon deck."

From the animal being so far removed from the haunts of men, we have acquired but imperfect knowledge of their manners and habits of life, but what already has been fully ascertained makes the largest known creature in the world an object of especial interest.

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He that enlarges his curiosity after the works of Nature multiplies the inlets to happiness."-JOHNSON.

WATER-MOLE OF AUSTRALIA.

The Duck-billed Platypus.
Ornithorhyncus Paradoxus.

Of all the mammalia yet known, the platypus seems the most extraordinary in its conformation, verifying, in a striking manner, the remark of Buffon, "that whatever was possible for Nature to produce has actually been produced." It forms a kind of link between the bird and the quadruped, exhibiting the perfect resemblance of the beak of a duck engrafted on the head of a quadruped. So accurate is the similitude, that, at first view, it excites the idea of some deceptive preparation by artificial means. The body is like that of the otter, mole, and beaver; it is covered with long and thick dark-brown hair; on the belly, breast, and throat, this is very soft and silky. In length it is from eighteen to twenty

inches. The tail is flat and broad; it has been supposed that the animal uses it in the same manner as the beaver, but this is not the case. The legs are short, the feet webbed like a duck, and from the mouth two lips project resembling the beak of that bird; the eyes are very brilliant, though small, and deeply hidden in the fur. The opening for the ear is so small that it is scarcely to be discovered in dead specimens. In living ones the animal is seen frequently to open and shut it. Their sense of hearing is very acute. Dr. Shaw was the first describer of this animal; he named it the duck-billed platypus; but Sir Joseph Banks having shortly after sent a specimen to Blumenbach, that eminent physiologist preferred the name "ornithorhynchus" for the newly-discovered creature; the merited celebrity of the German writer prevailed, and the genus has retained the name of his choosing almost universally. The flesh of this animal, though rank and fishy, is eaten by the aborigines, to whom, indeed, nothing is unacceptable.

We have abridged the following account of the

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