174 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD 



It is a slow-moving, rather stupid animal, largely arboreal in its 

 habits, and very omnivorous in its food ; it devours birds and their 

 eggs, Squirrels and any other small animals which fall in its way in 

 its nocturnal prowlings, for it is a creature of the night. Fruit also 

 forms part of its food, nor does it disdain the tender shoots of plants 

 which show themselves in the spring, when it is pinched with hunger 

 after the hard times of winter. Sometimes, it is said, it even lives in 

 towns and acts as a street-scavenger by night, retiring into drains or 

 climbing up to the roofs to escape observation by day. It not unfre- 

 quently gets into trouble by robbing hen-roosts, but in compensation 

 for the harm thus done, it itself furnishes a valued article of food, 

 though its meat is most especially appreciated by the "nigger" element 

 of the American population, who take the keenest possible delight in 

 a 'Possum hunt by torchlight, and consider 'Possum stew as one of 

 the greatest delicacies they can obtain. With this idea in mind, they 

 do their best to capture the Opossum alive after he has been "treed" 

 by their Dogs, and carry him home in triumph to be fattened up for 

 the table on bread, potatoes, and so forth, of which he consumes a 

 most unprofitable quantity. One very characteristic trait of the Opos- 

 sum is that when brought to bay it proceeds to feign death, a trick so 

 familiar that " playing 'Possum " has become a proverbial expression 

 for deception. This death-feigning instinct is found in many other 

 animals of very diverse kinds the Fox, for example but the Opossum 

 is considered to be a particularly skilful artist in this line. It is as 

 well, however, to handle him with caution when apparently defunct, 

 or a severe bite may remind his incautious captor that he is not so 

 dead as he looks. When provoked in captivity, the Opossum snarls 

 in a peculiar way, opening his mouth, which is remarkably wide, and 

 showing his fine set of teeth, without making any noise. 



The young Opossums are brought forth in a very helpless state and 

 very minute, as in Marsupials generally ; they are only half-an-inch 

 long, and have no claws on the hind-toes at first ; about a dozen form 

 a litter. During the first fortnight after they are born the old Opos- 

 sum keeps her pouch very tightly closed, and the young ones are not 

 as big as Mice till nearly a month old. As in the case of the Kan- 

 garoos, they do not leave the pouch entirely for some time. This 

 Opossum has long been well known in menageries, but is not very 

 commonly kept, as it does not make at all an attractive pet. 



