MARSUPIALIA 31 



see-sawing legislation immediately produced an outcry from all the 

 societies in the country, and so much feeling was expressed that the 

 Government reconsidered their decision and another Order was issued 

 on 7th August, 191 3, declaring opossums to be absolutely protected 

 in certain specified counties — ^practically in all the bush-covered 

 districts in New Zealand. A further warrant was issued in 191 6 

 absolutely protecting opossums in the Wellington AccHmatisation 

 District. 



The position therefore in 1919^ briefly was as follows: 



Opossums have ceased to be imported game and they have been abso- 

 lutely protected in certain areas. There is therefore no existing law in force 

 giving power to declare an open season for these animals unless they were 

 again declared to be either imported or native game, and this is not prac- 

 ticable as they would then automatically be protected in parts of the 

 Dominion where protection is not desired ; there being no existing power 

 to enable them to be declared imported game in part only of the Dominion. 



In spite of these regulations it is the opinion of some at least of 

 the societies that the law is habitually broken and that the protection 

 is very imperfect, and the WeUington Society in its report for 1915 

 says that "opossums are being slaughtered wholesale." I learn also 

 from the Comptroller of Customs that the number and value of 

 opossum skins exported during the year ended 31st December, 1915, 

 was as follows : 



Wellington 173 skins valued at £43 



Nelson 191 „ „ 48 



Dunedin 2115 „ „ 361 



It is known that thousands more go out of the country, nominally 

 as rabbit-skins. 



Food, Habits, etc. Mr F. Hart of Round Hill, who had a 

 long experience in catching opossums for the Southland Society, wrote 

 a report on the habits of these animals to Mr Eustace Russell of 

 Invercargill, from which I extract the following. The technical names 

 of the plants given are added by myself: 



The food the opossum lives on is chiefly seeds of Broadleaf (Griselinia), 

 Kamai (Weinmannia), Broad-gum (Panax), Maple (Pittosporum), Rata blos- 

 soms (Metrosideros), Supplejack berries (Rhipogonum), Fuchsia, Mako-mako 

 (Aristotelia), and practically all the seeds and blossoms that grow in this 

 part of the bush. The opossum is not a grass-eating animal. They will 

 eat white, or red clover, sweetbriar shoots, and seeds, but if an opossum 

 is caged up and fed on grass, he will die of starvation. Also, if he were 

 fed on turnips, it would take as much to feed one sheep, in quantity, as 

 would feed twelve opossums. When I and my brother were catching 

 1 For recent regulations (May, 1921) see Appendix A, p. 556. 



