Page:Mammals of Australia (Gould), introduction.djvu/14

 wonderful botanical productions. The Eucalypti, the Banksiæ, the Casuarinæ, the native Cedar- and the Fig-trees will ever stand forth prominently in my memory. While in the interior of the country, I formed the intention of publishing a monograph of the great family of Kangaroos; but soon after my return to England I determined to attempt a more extended work, under the title of the 'Mammals of Australia.'

It will always be a source of pleasure to me to remember that I was the first to describe and figure the Great Black and Red Wallaroos (Osphranter robustus and 0. antilopinus), the three species of Onychogalea, several of the equally singular Lagorchestes, and many other new species of Kangaroos. Mounted examples of all these animals, whether discovered by myself or by others, are now contained in the national collection of this country; but I regret to say that their colours are very different from what they were while the animals were living, the continuous exposure to light, consequent upon their being placed in a museum, causing their evanescent colouring rapidly to fade, both here and in the collections of every other country. Those who have seen the living Osphranter rufus at the Zoological Gardens could scarcely for a moment suppose that the Museum specimen of the same animal had ever been dressed in such glowing tints. To see the Kangaroos in all their glory, their native country must be visited; their beauty would then be at once apparent, and their various specific distinctions easily recognizable.