112 
VIRGINIAN OPOSSUM. 
in which they may not be found roaming about ; and although in their far- 
thest northern range they are seldom seen when the ground is covered with 
snow, yet we recollect having come upon the track of one in snow a foot 
deep, in the month of March, in Pennsylvania ; we pursued it, and captured 
the Opossum in its retreat — a hollow tree. It may be remarked, that ani- 
mals like the Opossum, raccoon, skunk, &c., that become very fat in autumn 
require but little food to support them through the winter, particularly 
when the weather is cold. 
The Opossum, although nocturnal in its general habits, is not unfrequent- 
ly, particularly in spring and summer, found moving about by day. We 
have on several occasions met with it in the woods at mid-day, in places 
where it was seldom molested. 
Nature has wisely provided this species with teeth and organs indi- 
cating its omnivorous character and its possessing an appetite for nearly 
all kinds of food ; and in this particular it exhibits many of the pro- 
pensities and tastes of the raccoon. It enters the corn fields (maize), crawls 
up the stalks, and sometimes breaks them down in the manner of the rac- 
coon, to feed on the young and tender grains ; it picks up chesnuts, acorns, 
chinquapins and beach nuts, and munches them in the manner of the bear. 
We have, on dissection, ascertained that it had devoured blackberries, 
whortleberries, and wild cherries, and its resort to the persimmon tree is pro- 
verbial. It is also insectivorous, and is seen scratching up the leaves in 
search of worms, and the larvae of insects, of which it is very fond. In 
early spring it lays the. vegetable kingdom under contribution for its 
support, and we have observed it digging up the roots of the small atama- 
masco lily, {Zepherina atamasco^ and the young and tender shoots of the 
China brier, {Smilax rotundifolia,) as they shoot out of the ground like as- 
paragus. It is moreover decidedly carnivorous, eating young birds that 
it may detect on the ground, sucking the eggs in all the partridge, towhee- 
bunting and other nests, it can find in its persevering search. It destroys 
mice and other rodentia, and devours whole broods of young rabbits, 
scratching about the nest and scattering the hair and other materials of 
which it was composed. We have observed it squatting in the grass and 
brier thickets in Carolina, which are the common resort of the very abun- 
dant cotton rat, {Sigmodon hispidum,) and from patches of skin and other 
mutilated remains, we satisfied ourselves that the Opossum was one among 
many other species designed by Providence to keep in check the too rap- 
id increase of these troublesome rats. We must admit that it sometimes 
makes a sly visit to the poultry house, killing a few of the hens and 
playing havoc among the eggs. The annoyances of the farmer, however, 
from this mischievous propensity, are not as great as those sustained from 
