De 'possum had as fine a tail as dls dat I am singin'; 

 De ha'rs as long an' thick an' strong— des fit for banjo-suinKin' ; 

 Dat nigger shaved 'em off as short as wash day dinner graces, 

 An' sorted ob'em by de size, from little e's to basses. 



He strung her, tuned her, struck a jig— 'twas "Nebber min' de 



wedder"; 

 She soun' like forty-'leven bands, a playin' all togedder; 

 Some went to pattln", some to dancin'; Noah called de Aggers, 

 An' Ham he sot and knocked de tune, de happiest ob niggers! 



Now, sence dat time — it's mighty strange — dere's not de slight- 

 est showln" 

 Ob any ha'r at all upon de 'possum's tall a-growin'. 

 An' curi's, too — dot nigger's ways; his people nebber ios' 'em — 

 For where you finds de nigger, dar's de bango an' de 'possum! 



S'abital,— Common and abundant in the South; generally rare 

 or of irregular occurrence north of latitude of Central Pennsyl- 

 vania. In some of the northern parts of this State the Opos- 

 sum is almost unknown. 



This animal, wliicli is so abnndani: in Die soutlieiii 

 slates Avlicrt' il is Jiijtlilv [irized for food, is quite num- 

 erous in the southern parts of Pennsylvania. In tlic 

 the counties of D(flavvare, Ciiester, York, Lancaster, 

 Cumberland, Dauphin and several others Opossums 

 are plentiful. 



3,500 A YEAR IN CHKSTEK OOUNTY. 



The Messrs. Weil, extensive fui' buyers, of West 

 Chester, Pa., say they have, for the last six years, an 

 nually purchased about 2,000 'possum skins in Ches- 

 ter and neighboring counties, and that fully two-thirds 

 of this number were obtained in (31iester county. Ac- 

 cording to the estimates of several fur dealers in Ches- 

 ter county it is believed that there are annually sold 

 to the "trade" about :^,500 0]>nssum skins taken in 

 Chester county. 



