THE SAND-FLEA (NATURAL SIZE AND MAGNIFIED).
"Fleas are also abundant, though not as much so as flies; neither are they seen as much in public. They abound most in sandy places, and the sundowners transport them from one station to another free of charge. A more welcome insect is the common honey-bee; it has long been acclimatized in Australia, and owing to the great number of honey-bearing flowers, it has become very abundant. Bee-farming is an important industry in New South Wales, and is carried on to quite an extent in the other colonies.
"They tell us that in the north of Queensland white ants are very destructive, as they eat nearly every textile fabric, and have a voracious appetite for all kinds of wood. They have even been charged with devouring window-glass, iron bars, and similar substances usually considered inedible. I heard a man say with the utmost gravity that they had eaten up two cross-cut saws and a boxful of American axes, handles and all; but I don't believe it, and I doubt his veracity in several other statements he made, and therefore won't repeat them."
One day while the youths were strolling in the bush not far from the station, they were startled by the sound of immoderate laughter that seemed to come from among the limbs of a low tree. The sound was repeated after a short interval, and, curious to know the cause, they went in its direction. As they neared the tree, two or three birds flew from it and settled in another tree a short distance away. They did not seem at all alarmed at the presence of Frank and Fred, and the latter remarked that the creatures were evidently allowed to go about unharmed. On their return to the station they told what they had seen and heard, and asked what were the birds that had so surprised them.
"Those were laughing-jackasses," was the reply; "or if you want another name for them, you may choose between 'giant kingfisher,' 'piping crow,' 'musical magpie,' or 'settler's clock.' The bird under consideration belongs to the kingfisher family, and is called by all these names, the last being given on account of the uproar he makes at noon, and thus tells the settler who does not carry a watch when the middle of the day is reached. Many people believe he destroys snakes; some of us are skeptical on this point, which has never been satisfactorily decided; but at any rate he is useful, as he often indicates the locality of fresh water, and so has saved many persons from suffering, or perhaps perishing of thirst. He is never shot, and consequently is not fearful of the presence of man.
"I wonder you have not heard the bird before this," he continued, "as he abounds near the cities and towns as well as in the bush." Then the boys remembered that they had heard the same sound on several occasions, but always supposed it was somebody laughing, and did not consider it any business of theirs to investigate.
THE AUSTRALIAN BOWER-BIRD.