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 veiy gentle animal in its disposition, as, when captured, it does not bite or scratch, 
but only vents its displeasure in a series of little grunts 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. 
e Thebe 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- 
sorial efforts by their long, prehensile 
tails, which are covered with scales, 
through the interstices of which a few 
short black hairs protrude. The hinder 
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 Vibginian, 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 corner 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 find's 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. 
