392 



THE OPOSSUM. 



generally found inhabiting localities where ants most abound. For this kind of food it is well 

 fitted by its long tongue, which is nearly as thick as a common black-lead pencil, and is capa- 

 ble of protrusion to some distance. In confinement, a specimen of the Myrmecobius was accus- 

 tomed to feed on bran, among other substances. It is known that in the wild state it will eat 

 hay, as well as the "manna" that exudes from the branches of the eucalypti. 



It is a very gentle animal in its disposition, as, when captured, it does not bite or scratch, 

 but only vents its displeasure in a series of little grants when it finds that it cannot escape. 



The number of its young varies, but averages from five to eight. The usual habitation of 

 the Myrmecobius is placed in the decayed trunk of a fallen tree, or, in default of such lodging, 

 is made in a hollow in the ground. It is a native of the borders of the Swan River. 



There are very few of the marsupiated animals which are more remarkable for their form, 

 their habits, or their character, than the Opossums of America. They are nearly all admirable 



climbers, and are assisted in their scan- 



.-_,,_ it _ ? _f v- # : jg| « •„ "- sorial efforts by their long, prehensile 



-~^j3 '-'■ ; - :' . ~ tT "i*" / -. V ii?-^U^*' ; '' tails, which are covered with scales, 



i i^C, ""'--■: i*v ii ---"MS. £ , through the interstices of which a few 



*H " ~^'J -''ii-;--- .^ . - "' •" - 1 -'" :. iijri i^jftss 1 " short black hairs protrude. Thehinder 



feet are also well adapted for climbing, 

 as the thumb is opposable to the other 

 toes, so that the animal is able to grasp 

 the branch of a tree with considerable 

 force, and to suspend its whole body, 

 together with the additional weight of 

 its prey or its young. 



The Virginian, or Common Opos- 

 sum, is, as its name implies, a native 

 of Virginia, as well as of many other 

 portions of the United States of Amer- 

 ica. In size it equals a tolerably large 

 cat, being rather more than three feet 

 in total length, the head and body 

 measuring twenty-two inches and the 

 tail fifteen. The color of this animal 

 is a grayish-white, slightly tinged with 

 yellow, and diversified by occasional 

 long hairs that are white towards their 

 base, but of a brownish hue towards 

 their points. These brown-tipped hairs 

 are extremely prevalent upon the limbs, 

 which are almost wholly of the brown hue, which also surrounds the eye to some extent. 

 The under fur is comparatively soft and woolly, but the general character of the fur is harsh 

 and coarse. The scaly portion of the tail is white. 



It is a voracious and destructive animal, prowling about during the hours of darkness, and 

 prying into every nook and comer in hope of finding something that may satisfy the cravings 

 of imperious hunger. Young birds, eggs, the smaller quadrupeds, such as young rabbits, 

 which it eats by the brood at a time, cotton rats, and mice, reptiles of various kinds, and 

 insects, fall victims to the appetite of the Virginian Opossum, which is often not content with 

 the food it finds in the open forests, but must needs insinuate itself into the poultry-yard, and 

 make a meal on the fowls and their eggs. When it has once determined on making such a 

 raid, it can hardly be baffled in its endeavors by any defences except those which consist of 

 stout walls and closely-fitting doors ; for it can climb over any ordinary wall, or thrust itself 

 through any fence, so that there is but little chance of preventing it from making good its 

 entrance into the precincts of the farm-yard. 



OPOSSUM — Didelphys virginiana. 



