Australian Tree-Ferns 180 Dingoes 181 The _Sarcophilus_ or 'Tasmanian Devil' 182 Bass River Opossum 183 A Kangaroo Battue 184 The Platypus 186 The Lyre-Bird 187 The Giant Kingfisher, or Laughing Jackass 189 The Emu 190 The Tiger-Snake 192 Australian Trees 195 Silver-stem Eucalypts 198 The Bottle-Tree 201 Grass-Trees 202 CHAPTER XIII. THE SQUATTER AND THE SETTLER. PRESENT MEANING OF THE WORD 'SQUATTER'--CATTLE-RAISING--CAPITAL HAS CONFIDENCE IN SQUATTING NOW--ORIGIN OF MERINO SHEEP-BREEDING--MANAGEMENT OF A RUN--DROUGHT--BOX-TREE CLEARINGS--MODERN ENTERPRISE--SHEEP-SHEARING--'SUNDOWNERS'--FARMING PROSPECTS--CHEAP LAND--EASY HARVESTING--SMALL CAPITAL--SELECTION CONDITIONS--BUSH FIRES--BLACK THURSDAY--THE OTWAY DISASTER--LOST IN THE BUSH--MISSING CHILDREN. 203-219 _Illustrations_: Driving Cattle 203 A Merino Sheep 206 Ring Barking 209 A Bush Welcome 213 Before and After the Fire 216 Found! 218 A Squatter's Station 219 APPENDIX 220 INDEX 221 SECTION I. INTRODUCTORY. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. AREA OF AUSTRALIA--ENGLAND'S HERITAGE--NATURAL RICHES--POPULATION--PRESENT PROSPECTS OF IMMIGRANTS--THE SIX COLONIES--FACILITIES OF TRAVEL--CHARACTER OF PEOPLE. [Illustration: A NATIVE CLIMBING A TREE FOR OPOSSUM] [Illustration: A ROAD THROUGH AN AUSTRALIAN FOREST.]