Page:Australia, from Port Macquarie to Moreton Bay.djvu/230

 colony two or three well organized hunts existed in different parts of New South Wales, such as the Sydney hunt and the Bathurst hunt, where the riders appeared in regular costume. A very fine, much admired kangaroo-dog of ours, a beautiful brindled animal, possessing all the good qualities of the greyhound, with superior power, was remarkably successful in pulling down the dingo: on one occasion he killed no less than three in one day, besides several kangaroos, on the sea coast near Mount Taolkungaia to the northward of Port Macquarie.

The Emu is also hunted with dogs; this bird is most frequently met with in the interior country beyond the eastern and western waters. Dogs that are accustomed to hunt the emu, invariably seize that bird by the neck, and dispatch it in a moment; but young dogs, or dogs unaccustomed to this sport are often seriously injured, if they attempt to seize the emu by the flank or leg, as it can give a most powerful kick, sufficiently strong to break the leg of a horse. The flesh of the emu resembles a beef-steak, being very juicy and succulent.

There are no birds in Australia to be shot with dogs, with the exception of quails, and some of the aquatic birds in the reedy swamps and lagoons, such as ducks, moor-fowl, and snipes. The varieties of quail in New South Wales, are, the 'Coturnix Australis,' which is rather larger than the English quail, and more resembles the partridge in the colour