350 



UNITED STATES. 



viz. to eat their young. This was the fate of seve- 

 ral young ones, which with the female, I was bring- 

 ing from Georgia last May. In case of a deficiency 

 of food, such an act might be expected, but my opos- 

 sum was well supplied with vegetable food. 



The kangaroo of New Holland also possesses the 

 peculiarity of the double paunch. 



At the close of Chastelleux's travels in^he United 

 States, vol. ii, there are some interesting observa- 

 tions upon the American opossum, by M.d' Abboville. 

 According to that author, the opossum is more timid 

 than untractable, and very readily becomes tame. 

 His observations upon two of them which he kept in 

 his room in Virginia, would lead to the opinion^ that 

 the period of gestation is about fifteen days, for at 

 the end of that time he felt one of the young opossums 

 at the bottom of the pouch; two days after he felt 

 two, one beside the other, and adherent to the body 

 of the mother. Their volume did not exceed that 

 of a pea. It is probable, therefore, that at their 

 birth they are still smaller. Ten days afterward, the 

 young were felt mo^dng under the finger. The 42d 

 day, they could be plainly perceived on opening the 

 pauch. At the end of two months, the female lying 

 down, the young ones were partly out of the pouch 

 and might be easily seen adhering to the mother by 

 a canal which enters the maw of the young one, and 

 which cannot be withdrawn, at an early period, 

 without destroying it, for the young one is then un- 

 a^ble to take hold again of the teat. But when six 

 weeks old, it can resume it by strong suction, the 

 aperture at the end of the muzzle being barely large 

 enough to receive the pap. 



