Fauna the northwest of Australia between the Dutch-Javanese islands of Lombok and Bali runs the Lombok Strait, which curiously marks a dividing line between the fauna and the flora of Asia and those of Australia. The channel is narrow, if very deep, and the Asiastic birds might easily fly across it in one direction and the Australian in another. So might a natural growth of plants be en couraged by the agency of wind and feathered carriers of seed; but none of these things has happened to any extent; the individuality of the relative fauna and flora has been strongly pre served. A number of the birds in Australia, however, migrate from one part of the Com monwealth to others with the changes of the seasons, and some pass to and from the con tinent of Asia— e.g., the sandpiper or sharp tailed stint, that each season comes from Siberia, a distance of 10,000 miles. As already indicated, the existing fauna does not differ widely (except in proportions) from the ex tinct; and the forms observed in some instances are exceedingly interesting, if not bizarre. The 93unyire" of the aborigines' legends (a monster that lurked in certain rivers and creeks and swamps) has never yet been proved to be other than fabulous. Much speculation and some mystery, however, surround the occasionally recurring visitations of plagues of rats in the far-northerly country, and of mice in the more southerly or agricultural areas. At periods of several years the rodents suddenly appear in vast numbers, and as suddenly disappear after doing, in some cases, much damage. The locust or grasshopper plague, which at one time was much feared, is now almost unknown. In a generalization, Australia may claim to be free from all animals that attack man, except in exceedingly rare instances when a large kan garoo may be brought to bay, and in frenzy of fear strive to defend itself almost invariably vainly. Introduced animals, such as the rabbit and the fox, the sparrow, the starling and other old-world birds; as well as the snail, multiply literally by millions, and become a scourge to sheep raisers, farmers and gardeners. The im ported dog running wild has sometimes been confused with the aboriginal dingo (cans dingo) (q.v.) or (native name), a predatory animal, the wolf of Australia, that has caused heavy losses among sheep and lambs, which he destroys in mere wantoness. The dingo never barks, but howls dismally in the bush at night. Kangaroos once abounded virtually all over Australia, and varied in size frqm the gold man' of six feet to the most minute specimens, including the wallabies and I kangaroo rats. The mostinteresting example is the tree kangaroo, discovered in Queensland about 100 years after and not far from the spot (Endeavour River), where the first kangaroo (Macropus ma/or) was found by Captain Cook, the great navigator, in 1770. In particularly the southern and western parts of Australia is seen a small *native bear,* that inhabits trees, and, in Tasmania, the *Tasmanian devil' (sarcophilus ursinus), fierce and (like the dingo) untamable, and the *Tasmanian tiger' (Thylacinus cynocephalus) are the principal examples of fauna. The numbers of these latter, like those of the kangaroos and the opos sum, have been largely reduced through indis criminate slaughter with the advance of settle ment; but recent legislation for the protection of the kangaroo (the skin of which is valuable for export) has stayed the race toward destruc tion. The wombat (Phascolomys) is a curious, burrowing, land animal, resembling in some re spects the platypus and kindred creatures; but the most extraordinary is the platypus itself (ornithorhynchus analinus), an amphibious ani mal that forms a connecting link between the mammals, birds and reptiles. Of the birds the emu (Dromaius neve hollandie) is from five to six feet and ranks next to the African ostrich, which it resembles in its habits; its numbers, as with the kangaroo, have been greatly reduced as settlement has progressed. The cassowary (Casuarius ow-Ira/is) is small, and not nearly so widely diffused as the emu; and the native companion or Australian crane (Gros austraksianus) is still slightly smaller than the cassowary, and an exceedingly graceful bird of somewhat eccentric habit. The black swan (Cygnus atratus) is scarcely so large as the white swan of the northern hemisphere, but is a beautiful bird. Strange in its habits is the satin (Ptilonorhynchus holosericeus) that forms for itself a playground or bower in which it sports with a miscellaneous collection of bright objects. Altogether about 750 species of birds have been found, mostly in northeast Australia (which has been chiefly explored), but some of them are gradually becoming ex tinct. The old idea that Australian birds are songless is only relatively true. The flute-like note of the magpie or shrike is one of the most mellifluously melodious sounds in nature, and has been declared to surpass that of the night ingale. The reptiles are numerous. The largest of the snakes is the carpet snake (Morelia variegata), non-venomous, with an average length of about seven or eight feet, but with authenticated specimens up to 15 feet and even more; its habits are generally similar to the python's. Of the five principal poisonous rep tiles the most deadly is the death adder (about three feet). Not more than 12 or 15 fatal cases of snakebite occur annually throughout Aus tralia, but this comparative immunity is due partly to the prompt application of effective remedies. The white ant is common in the northern part of the Commonwealth, and is very destructive to wooden buildings in the early stages of settlement; its nests of mud and clay, generally with angles pointing north and south, range from 20 feet in height downward. The seas abound in numerous varieties of fish. In the period of pioneer settlement the Aus tralian whaling grounds were very productive, and still are occasionally exploited with profit. Sharks are exceedingly numerous. The largest, the white pointer or white shark (Carcharodon rondeletii), to the length of 16 feet and over has been caught, and attended by the pilot-fish (Naucrates ductor) it preys upon man as well as upon denizens of the deep. Deaths through sharks are rarer even than those from snake bite, but this is to a large extent due to the precautions taken in bathing in the seas. The crocodiles or alligators, as they are popu larly called (Crocodilus Porcatus and Phyllas johnsonii—a small variety), are plentiful in the tropical and sub-tropical zone on the north east, northwest and north coasts; they vary from about 20 feet (an unusual length) to five or six feet. In common with the shark the larger alligator sometimes attacks human be ings, but the aborigines evidently stand in little fear of it. In the warmer waters is found the
dugong (Halicora australis), from whose habits and structure doubtless originated the fables concerning the mermaid. Seals are still seen on the remote parts of the coast and the southern islands. The most noteworthy is the sea bear (Otaria cinerea) of about seven feet in length, that is more prized for its oil than for its skin. In the northern waters turtles, the edible green (Chelone Mydas), and the shell-yielding hawkbill (Chelone imbricata) varieties are very numerous, and attain to a large size. The trepang or biche-de-mer is found, with the mother-of-pearl oyster — large (Meleagrina margaritf era) and small (Melea grina radiata). The former frequently yield fine pearls, some single specimens of which have been sold for thousands, and many for hundreds, of pounds. The edible rock oyster is widely represented, and the mangrove tree climbing fish (periophthalmus) abounds par ticularly in the northern waters.
Flora.— In a concise description the Aus tralian flora may be said to possess peculiarities which distinguish it unmistakably. Many of its most striking features bear a natural relation to the general dryness and greatly differing con ditions of the climate, owing to the vast area of the Commonwealth. The trees and bushes have mostly a scanty foliage, with little surface for evaporation, or thick leathery leaves well fitted to retain moisture. Nearly all are evergreen, but the effect upon the landscape is rather monotonous. The most extensively spread types of vegetation are the various kinds of gumtree (Eucalyptus), the shea-oak (Casua rina), the acacia or wattle, the grass tree (Xan thorrhcea), many varieties of the Proteace,r, a few baobab trees, and very many ferns and tree-ferns. Of the gumtree there are more than 150 species, nearly all valuable for timber, and for their essential oils, which possess im portant medicinal properties. The wattle or acacia includes about 300 species, some of which also yield good timber or bark for tanning. The most beautiful, the most fragrant and the most useful in these latter respects is the golden wattle (Acacia dealbata). Palms (of which there are at least 24 species, all, except the cocoa-palm, peculiar to Australia) are mostly confined to the northern and eastern coasts. The mallee scrub is formed by a dwarf eucalyp tus, and the mulga scrub by a thorny acacia. A plant which covers large areas in the arid regions is the spinifex or porcupine grass (coarse and spiny), which renders traveling difficult, and is uneatable by any animal. Other expansive tracts are occupied by useful herbs and fodder bushes. Foremost among those stands the salt-bush (Atriplex mummularia, order Chenopodiateer), an exceedingly hardy plant, upon which the sheep and other animals thrive, and which has strong drought-resisting powers. Beautiful flowering plants, especially in Western Australia, are almost innumerable. Australia also possesses many turf-forming grasses, particularly the kangaroo grass (An thistiria austrahs), which survives in even a protracted rainless period. The native fruits, including the native cherry (Exocarpus cupres siformis) the nut of which grows partially out side of die fruit proper, are few and of little practical worth, and the plants yielding roots used as food are not of much economic value; but exotic fruits and vegetables grow every where in unstinted abundance, and some of the cherished garden blooms of the older countries flourish so riotously as to become a pest in Australia. The vine and the olive thrive better than in the country of their origin, and enor mous quantities of wine and oil are produced and exported. The cereals of Europe and maize are extensively cultivated, and large tracts of country, particularly in Queensland, are under the sugar cane, the pineapple, the cocoanut and other tropical exotics.
Bibliography.— Geography.— Agassiz,
Visit to the Great Barrier Reef of Australia
. . . 1896' (Cambridge, Mass., 1898) ;
ton,