SCOUTING FOR GIRLS 
39*^ 
BABY OPOSSUMS RIDING ON THEIR MOTHER’S BACK. 
For the first few weeks after they are born the mother carries her 
babies in her pocket; later they ride on her back holding on by 
clinging to her fur with their paws and by wrapping their tails about 
that of. their mother. Range: Middle and Southern States. From 
Group in American Museum of Natural History. 
3. ANIMALS 
Mammals 
Mammals differ from birds in that they have hair 
instead of feathers, and that they are first fed upoln 
milk produced by the mother. Unfortunately the mam- 
mals are usually called simply animals , but the latter is 
obviously too inclusive a term and should not be used 
in this way. There is no reason why the name mammal 
should not be commonly used, just as birds , reptiles , 
amphibians , and fishes are used for the other groups of 
backboned animals. 
In the United States the lowest or most primitive 
mammal is the Opossum. The baby Opossums — from 
six to a dozen of them — are born when very small and 
