as you are doubtless aware, marsupials, that is,
they carry their young in a pouch until they are able to run about by
themselves. The dingo lived by feeding on the kangaroos, and thus kept
down the number of those animals.

"Horned cattle, horses, and sheep were introduced and successfully
raised. The wild dogs killed sheep and calves, and therefore the
inhabitants set about killing them. As the dogs decreased in number the
kangaroos increased, and they threatened to drive the sheep to
starvation by eating up all the grass. Many a sheep run was rendered
worthless by the kangaroos, and so it became necessary to establish
methods of reducing the number of the latter. Battues or hunts were
organized, the people gathering from all directions at an appointed time
and place, and driving the kangaroos into pens or yards, where they were
slaughtered by the thousand. You will probably have an opportunity of
seeing a kangaroo hunt before you leave Australia.

"There were very few native fruits, and we introduced the fruits of
England and other parts of the world very successfully. We introduced
garden plants and vegetables in great numbers, and nearly all of them
turned out to our satisfaction, though this was not uniformly the case.

"You know that innocent and very acceptable plant called the watercress,
which is sold in great quantities for table use in London, New York, and
other English and American cities. Well, we brought the watercress to
the Australian colonies, and it grew and thrived wonderfully. It grew
altogether too well and thrived a great deal more than we could have
wished, as it has choked our rivers, and caused freshets and floods
which have devastated farms and fields to a large extent, and on several
occasions have been destructive to human life.

"We introduced the sweet briar, thinking it would form an ornament and
fill the air with its perfume. Instead of being ornamental, it has
become an impenetrable bush, which neither man nor cattle can go
through. It has become a nuisance, spreading over the ground and
destroying pasturage, and we heartily wish that not a twig of it was
ever brought here.

"When we began to grow fruits we found ourselves annoyed by insects of
various kinds, the same sort of insects that are known to fruit growers
everywhere. In order to get rid of them, we brought the English sparrow
here. He is of great use to the fruit grower in the old country, as he
lives principally on inse