There are several different animals that belong to this family of Pouched Quadrupeds, like the Wombats, Bandicoots, Phalangers, Dasyures, etc., but the most important are the Kangaroos and the Opossums. THE KANGAROO FAMILY. [Illustration: GIANT KANGAROOS.] The Kangaroos vary in size, some being, when erect, as tall as a Man, while others are not so large as a Rabbit. They are remarkable for the small size of their fore-legs in proportion to their hind ones, and the slender make of the fore parts of their body. When eating, their fore-feet are placed on the ground, but they usually sit upright, resting entirely on the hind-feet and tail, with the body slightly bent forwards. There are a few species, however, in which the body is in better proportion. In the Tree Kangaroos of New Guinea, for instance, the tail is very bushy, and the fore-legs almost as long as the hind ones. The Great Kangaroo inhabits New South Wales, and Southern and Western Australia. It lives on low grassy hills and plains in the open parts of the country, feeding upon the low bushes and herbage, and sheltering itself in the high grass during the heat of the day. The Jerboa Kangaroo is so called on account of the length and slenderness of its hind-legs similar to those of the Jerboa Rats. “Like other members of this family, the Jerboa,” says Mr. Gould, “constructs a thick grassy nest, which is placed in a hollow, scratched in the ground for its reception, so that when completed it is only level with the surrounding grass, which it so closely resembles that, without a careful survey, it may be passed unnoticed. “The site chosen for the nest is the foot of a bush, or any large tuft of grass. During the day it is generally tenanted by one, and sometimes by a pair of these little creatures, which, lying coiled in the centre, are perfectly concealed from view. There being no apparent outlet, it would seem that after they have crept in, they drag the grass completely over the entrance, when the whole is so like the surrounding herbage that it is scarcely perceptible. The natives, however, rarely pass without detecting it, and almost invariably kill the sleeping inmates, by dashing their tomahawks or heavy clubs at the nest. “The most curious circumstance connected with the history of the Jerboa Kangaroo is the mode in which it collects the grasses for its nest, carrying them with its tail, which is strongly prehensile; and, as may be easily imagined, their appearance when leaping towards their nests, with their tails loaded with grasses, is exceedingly grotesque and amusing.