ed in half an hour; and, overflowing, it
ran in upon our bank floor and nearly flooded us out. We had an
exciting time of it, baling out the water as fast as it ran in; for
somehow, the drain running underneath our boarded house had got
stopped. At last the rainfall ceased and the water was got rid of,
leaving everything in a state of damp--damp stools and chairs, damp
sheets, damp clothes, damp books, damp paper, damp everything.

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 9: The kinds of wine principally produced in the colony are
Burgundy, Claret, white wine of the Sauterne kind, and a very
excellent sort of still Champagne. There are now regular autumn wine
sales at Melbourne and Geelong, at which large quantities are sold and
good prices realised. The total quantity produced in 1870 was 629,219
gallons.]

CHAPTER XIII.

BUSH ANIMALS--BIRDS--SNAKES.

THE 'POSSUM--A NIGHT'S SPORT IN THE BUSH--MUSQUITOES--WATTLE
BIRDS--THE PIPING-CROW--"MINERS"--PAROQUET-HUNTING--THE SOUTHERN
CROSS--SNAKES--MARSUPIAL ANIMALS.

A favourite sport in Australia is 'possum-shooting. The Australian
opossum is a marsupial quadruped, living in trees and feeding on
insects, eggs, and fruits. Its body is about twenty-five inches in
length, besides which it has a long prehensile tail, with which it
clings to the branches of the trees in which it lives. Its skin is
covered with thick fur, of a uniform smoky-black colour, tinged with
chestnut, and it is very much sought after because of its warmth and
beauty.

The proper time for 'possum-shooting is at night, when the moon is
nearly at her full, and one can see about almost as well as in the
daytime. Even Venus is so bright that, on a night when the moon was
absent, I have seen her give light enough to drive by.

A well-trained dog is almost indispensable for scenting the 'possums
and tracking them to their tree, beneath which he stands and gives
tongue. When the dog stands and barks, you may be sure there is the
"'possum up a gum-tree." I never had the good fortune to be
accompanied by a well-trained dog; but only by young ones new to the
sport.

We had, therefore, to find and sight our own game. This is done by
looking carefully along each branch, with the tree between you and the
bright moonlight; and if there be a 'possum there, you will see a
little black furry-like ball, motionless in the fork of a limb. On the
first night that I went out 'possum-shooting with a party of friends,
we trudged