less prehensile at the tip, and that in conformity
with this structure, their habits are arboreal.
The soles of the feet are covered with a naked
skin of great sensibility: the ears and the tip of
the muzzle are likewise naked. The fur is gene-
rally more or less woolly, and is not valued. In
some species the pouch exists only in a rudimen-
tary condition, as slight folds of the skin: "the
young of these, when very small, remain attached
to the nipple of the parent, but when of larger
size, they quit this, and are carried on her back,
where they hold themselves, by entwining their
prehensile tails round that of the parent." In the
British Museum there is a well-prepared specimen of D. dorsigera, (Linn.) which shews the young in this position.
The common Opossum of the United States, (Didelphys Virginiana, Linn.) is perhaps the best known species of the genus, as it is one of the largest and most characteristic. As early as 1649, it was thus described in the "Perfect Description of Virginia ;"—"Passonnes.— This beast hath a bagge under her bellie, into which she taketh her young ones, if at any time they be affryghted, and carrieth them away." And Lawson states of the "Possum,"—"She is the wonder of all the land animals, being the size of a badger, and near that colour. The female, doubtless, breeds her young at her teats, for I have seen them stick fast thereto, when they have been no bigger than a small raspberry, and seemingly inanimate. She has a paunch, or false belly, wherein she carries her young, after they are from those teats, till they can shift for themselves. Their food is roots, poultry, or wild fruits. They have no hair
