QUADRUPEDS. 
65 
( 
THE VIRGINIAN OPOSSUM. 
(Didelphis Virginiana.) 
THIS creature, which is a native of North America, is 
about the size of a cat, and its fur is of a dingy white, ex- 
cept the legs, which are brown, and the nose and ears, 
which are yellowish. There is also a brownish circle 
round each eye, and the ears are nearly black at the 
base. 
This creature generally lives in trees, suspending him- 
self by his tail, by means of which he swings from branch 
to branch. In this manner he catches the insects and 
small birds, on which he generally feeds ; but sometimes 
he descends from his tree, invades poultry-yards, where he 
devours the eggs, and sometimes the young fowls. It 
resembles the kangaroo in its pouch for carrying its 
young, but in no other particular, as it walks on four 
feet, which are equal in size, and in the length of the leg ; 
and it has a long flexible tail, which is of no use to it 
either in leaping, or as a weapon of defence. The tail 
