CALIFORNIA PISH AND GAME. Il5 



.South Eighth street, San Jose, until three "got ont," making five that 

 got away out of this one shipment. 



Another party is reported to have more recently had shipped to him 

 another lot of possums, about three of which are rumored to have gotten 

 loose. At any rate, we are safe in assuming that the initial introduc- 

 tion took place early in the year 1910. 



Up to the end of 1913 possums to the number of fully 100 have been 

 reported as captured, thus many more than can be accounted for as 

 liberated. Ten, at least, of these have been caught in San Jose alone. 

 Others have been found in various parts of Santa Clara County from 

 Sunnyvale to Wrights and Gilroy. On Guadalupe and Coyote creeks 

 tracks have been seen of families of a dozen each. A male was caught 

 down along the creek at Wrights Station. About January 20th three 

 were caught with dogs along the creek at the same place. About 

 March, 1913, at the Standard Oil Company's plant at San Jose, near 

 Los Gatos Creek, a large female was killed, with eight young in her 

 pouch. The young were raised on milk. A male was caught later in 

 the same locality. 



Of the two possums sent to the museum, the large male was found 

 on a stump the day before it M'as shipped. The female was caught 

 in a brush pile previously. 



About September 1, 1914, Manuel Silva, on the McClay Ranch, near 

 Evergreen, caught a female that had seven young, about the size of 

 gophers in her pouch. On the S. F. Patton Ranch, on the Mt. Hamilton 

 road, a possum was poisoned recently, and dogs caught another one 

 near by. 



Information received on September 23, 1914, is to the effect that on 

 the Wade Ranch, on the Alviso road near Agnew, a female possum was 

 captured by Mr. Wade and given to Mr. Farry of Agnew, where some 

 twelve days later she became the mother of ten beautiful young, two of 

 which, at the present time, are sojourning at the state game farm. 



On October 5, 1914, on the George Fiehman Ranch near Milpitas, a 

 fox terrier caught two possums about one fourth grown; and on October 

 8, 1914, the dog caught three more about one half grown, showing that 

 at least two litters were represented. These five possums, together with 

 two procured from Mr. Farry of Agnew, were sent by Mr. Koppel to 

 Superintendent W. N. Dirks, at the state game farm at Hayward. On 

 October 20, 1914, Mr. Koppel caught a large male possum on the 

 George Fiehman place and shipped it at once to the game farm. This 

 possum was as large as Fiehman 's dog. All together, at least nineteen 

 have been caught on the Fiehman ranch. 



It is reported by Mr. Koppel that five of the possums got away at 

 the game farm on October 13th. 



It is believed that fully two hundred possums are accounted for to 

 the present date as killed or captured, and in spite of this, the species 

 appears to be spreading and nuiltiplying at a rapid rate. 



It would appear that the possum has found in this part of California 

 congenial climatic conditions, at least sufficiently near those of its native 

 habitat in the southeastern United States so that it is thriving. It is 

 rather doubtful if we are to consider ourselves lucky in having acquired 

 this addition to our mammal fauna. In fact, it is ciuite possible that 

 we may live to greatly regret the circumstances which secured its intro- 

 duction into our state. 



