The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1894-08-31


explore deep cavities in the ground Al
capture ants, bugs and other insas,
prey. These porcupine ant-eaters I,
eggs; but they are mammals Just 4.
same, and suckle their young.
s'Then there Is the mammal OF eupho,
ious name, the duck-billed platvnr.
known to science as the 'ornithornys
chus paradoxus.' This literally pa,,
doxical animal was so named IN M
last century not from the fact Of N
egg-laying habit, but because OF ii. !.
tonishing physical structure. With n
fat, horny and toothless beak. M
that Of duck, It's webbed feet, aouatl
habits, stout, uncovered body, sn,l
head, short tail and habit OF feedin,
upon insects, mollusks, crustacians an
worms, the platypus seems ACTUALLY
cross between mammal and Bill
When you consider that 1t lives
streams, somewhat as does the otter \
the muskrat, burrows In the banks M
lays It's eggs. In nests built Of grass \
such stuff within Its tunnels above ",
ter mark, you will perceive what red
paradox, from the geological point
view. this animal Is. The eggs it law
closely resemble turtle egg, threA
fourths of an inch long by one-half ind
the other way, and covered by a tough
white flexible pod. No satisfactory n
formation has been obtained SO far N
specting the incubation Of these err,
but there Is no doubt that they III
Matched somewhat as hens eggs ar,
by the warmth Of the parents body.
THE marsupials are funny man
mails said the scientist. They al
found exclusively in Australia, wild
the single exception Of the opossuu
family in North and South Americs
The marsupials are mammals who cal
ry their young in pouches. One funnJ
thing about the mammals Of Australi
is that, although they possess nothind
akin to the mammals Of other cont
nents, with the exceptions named
they seem to mimic In an extraordinar
fashion the beasts Of countries elss
where. This mimicry extends not onl
to habits, but the very appearances
the creatures Some of them look iii
wolves, others like mice, still other
like squirrels or moles, and SO On
While some are carniverous, like til
wolf abroad, others are insect eater
as moles are, and others yet are hei
bivorous, like sheep. In short, thes
queer animals, so unlike those Of 4
other lands, seem to try to initiate
their ways and appearance those
which we Americans are accustomed.
1.-The newborn babies OF these mai
supial mammals are SO very small thi
they are wonders in the world Of %
ence. The kangaroo mother may
six feet tall, but her babies are ID
much larger than good sized peanut
There is nothing to baby kangaro
but wee, tiny head, and good digs
tive apparatus. The little bits Of arm
md fore-feet gradually develop int
sight, but they never become YER
large, while the big hind legs groj
rapidly, and very soon the little "a
lows are hopping about exploring u
big world for themselves. When
kangaroo gets about as big as an q
1inary rat, it asks neither aid nor %
vice from its mamma, but just hop
away and makes It's own living. III
<augaroo family is funny.
But, small as the i,aby kangaroo
Ire, you should gee the newborn opc
.ums. They are no bigger thar bean
Just about as long and round as ordin1
y white beans before they are soaks
md baked. Their little tails a
about them, and they just sle
ind sleep for several weeks, until ~
ire able to hop about and take kst
ories Of their surroundings They =
more affectionate than the kangaroo
because they are so helpless III
ling to their mammas, and depen
,ron them for long time before tn
eek their own independent living
{ il perfectly natural for them
play dead when strangers come ne
hem. Even when they are only
weeks old, and have just opened the
title eyes. they will curl up and SEE
lead to the world when any menu
4 the human family approaches
ticks ther1 co.
"I nope That you have been intefe
d in this story of the peculiar ma
nails" said my scientific friend, "ana
lope that you will tell your read
bout them, because very little
.nown to the general public concs
ny them. You might also state y
here is problem in natural hista
n geology as well as In zoology, =
erning the isolation of these
upials. Nobody yet knows how
became isolated IN =
ralia, while only the opossum %
ged to reach America. While the
ace of the earth was still in for
I've stage, and while there were
anic eruptions forming mountains
kl,aso (.~.fItao ~ riafum@