TIIK VIKCINIA ()l'()»snM. 



451 



The opossum is not at all j)ai'ti('ular as to food. Persimmons 

 and apples are staple articles of diet in the fall, where they ean 

 be obtained. Other fruits are also eaten. Insects, crayfish, mol- 

 lusks, salamanders, frogs, small birds and mice are all eaten with 

 apparentl}^ equal relish. Refuse of various kinds, carrion and fresh 

 meat are alst* eaten. 



Mr. E. J. Chansler has given me an account which illustrates 

 both their feeding habits and numbers in Knox County half a 

 century ago. He says: "In 1859 my father killed hogs one day and 

 that evening he killed eight opossums in the dooryard before bed 

 time. They were attracted by the blood and offal." 



These animals are not as numerous in southern Indiana now 

 as then, but are in no danger of extermination. In the Kankakee 

 Valley they are said to have increased in numbers in recent years. 



Professor Van Gorder states that opossums were plentiful in 

 Noble County previous to the winter of 1854-55. The severe 

 weather of that winter exterminated them and he knows of no 

 further records until 1900. Since that time they have again become 

 plentiful, so much so that they are frequently seen on the car tracks 

 of an interurban line and three were killed by a single car during 

 the winter of 1907-8. 



While they occasionally do some damage by killing poultry and 

 useful wild birds, they do more good by destroying harmful insects 

 and mice. The flesh is eaten with great relish by most negroes and 

 many whites, although it is very fat and oily. The skins find a 

 ready sale at from 15 to 25 cents apiece, and are frequently seen 

 made into ladies' furs. 



Order UNGULATA. 



HOOFED ANIMALS. 



Animals which have the feet terminating in rounded hoofs and 

 the heels much elevated above the toes so that only the tips of the 

 latter are placed on the ground in walking. The molar teeth have 

 broad flat crowns and the digestive tube is usually long and com- 

 plex, being adapted to a vegetable diet. 



The ungulates are nearly all animals of medium or large size 

 and are of great economic value. The domestic animals such as 

 swine, sheep, cattle and horses are ail included in this group. They 

 are creatures that, in the process of evolution, have found it ad- 

 vantageous to escape their enemies by flight rather than by cunning 



