STORY OF THE OPOSSUM. 
A favorite sport in the southern part of the United States is “ 'possum 
hunting-,” and is particularly popular with the colored population. 
The time to hunt opossums is a bright moonlight night, and the best 
locality, a marsh or swamp where persimmon trees grow. The hunter will 
need only a good dog. As soon as the opossum, finds out that a dog is on 
its trail it takes to the, trees, and usually it is but a short time after striking a 
trail until the ’possum is “treed.” Then it can be easily secured by taking 
hold of its tail, which is prehensile, and which the animal wraps around any 
object that touches it. 
The flesh of the opossum is coarse and fat, but it is esteemed a great 
delicacy by the negroes. 
There are about twenty-four varieties of the opossum, but only one of 
them is found in the northern half of America, all the others being confined 
to the southern half. 
All the opossums, with the exception of the water-opossum, inhabit trees. 
They spend the day concealed among the foliage and are active through¬ 
out the night. The opossums take the place in America of the insect eating 
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