The wolf, the fox, and the opossum are also invoked for this purpose, and for the same reason.
Imitates the cry of anopossum when cornered, and throws his head back as that animal does when feigning death.
The whole score is wiped out by the opossum feast, which suitably closes the season.
The negro and the opossum come into direct competition for the fruit of this tree.
While the fur of coon and opossum will never be very valuable, yet, as both fur and carcass have a cash value, they will prove greater money makers than many believe.
While the opossumis a nocturnal animal, it is sometimes seen in daylight, but this is of rare occurrence.
Skunk and opossum are two animals that do not travel much in extreme cold weather, so that an island in a lake or large river, could be used with no fencing.
Illustration: Ideal Spot for anOpossum or Raccoon Fur Farm.
Opossum are stretched on boards fur side in and are left in that condition after removing the boards.
The opossum is a southern animal and is found in abundance in most parts of the Southern States.
There has been no better or cheaper material found for constructing fences for opossum raising purposes than galvanized wire.
There are, however, islands in the Great Lakes and elsewhere, that can be used for raising both skunk and opossum with little or no cash outlay at the start.
If you live near a large city which offers a market for coon and opossum carcasses, this should be considered as these animals are easy to raise and opossum especially are very prolific, producing from six to twelve at a litter.
St. Louis, Louisville and other southern cities being near the coon and opossum producing sections does not offer so good a market.
In New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, there is a ready sale for all coon and opossum carcasses at good prices.
The opossum raiser has two sources of revenue--fur and carcass.
Raccoon and opossum are compared with many fur-bearing animals as producers of cheap furs.
A genus of small schizopod shrimps found both in fresh and salt water; the opossum shrimps.
A good dog, well broken to hunt 'coon, skunk or opossum is worth scores of traps.
A dog trained to hunt 'coon will have no trouble attending to opossum and skunk, if his owner desires it.
The skunk and opossum are common to many sections of this country.
Two clans of Western Australia, who are named after a small opossum and a little fish, think that they are so called because they used to live chiefly on these creatures.
The first thing to be done is to ascertain that the opossum has really concealed itself somewhere in the tree.
These are carried in the girdles of men, especially of the sorcerers or corad-jes, and no woman is allowed to see the contents of the round balls made of woollen cord from the fur of the opossum in which these crystals are enclosed.
As the bite of the opossum is very painful and severe, due care is taken, in laying hold of it, to keep clear of all danger from its teeth.
Frost had come; persimmons were ripe, and Aunt Milly was going to give the first opossum supper of the fall.
A chorus of wondering ejaculations rose from the superstitious listeners, and for a moment opossum meat and potatoes were forgotten.
A whole opossum embedded in a great heap of fried sweet potatoes was placed by Len and Cæsar on each end of the long table, and Aunt Milly followed them with a great bucket of coffee and pans of smoking biscuits.
I have often thought what a pity it would be if the 'coon and the opossumshould be extirpated before slavery itself became extinct.
Perhaps the opossum is the best and most crucial instance that can be found of the intimate connection which exists between touch and intellect.
And small blame to them, for I was an idler who had labored and salvaged a perfectly good opossum and the scion of a mighty mora for naught.
As I reached for the little creature, the young opossum gave up and slipped into the water, and a ripple showed where a watchful fish had snapped it up.
My mind instinctively went back to the mother opossum and her young.
Then Persaid of the prominent teeth, who had tried to cheat me of a sixpence already paid for a mouse-opossum with her young.
The opossum is a voracious and destructive animal, prowling about during the hours of darkness and prying into every nook and corner in hope of finding something that may satisfy the cravings of imperious hunger.
The Opossum yields a fur in very common use among the masses, and the skins of the domestic Cat are utilized to a considerable extent in the manufacture of robes, mats, etc.
Illustration] The opossum is found more or less throughout nearly all the United States.
Though cunning in many ways, theopossum is singularly simple in others.
The opossum can hardly be classed among the game animals of America, yet its pursuit in the South in old plantation days used to afford the staple amusement for the dusky toilers of the cotton states.
The opossum is the only member of its order, the Marsupialia, which inhabits North America, says Mr. Chas.
The wonder to us was that this extremely irascible and venomous serpent should be living in a nest with a large family of opossums, for it must be borne in mind that the opossum is a rapacious and an exceedingly savage-tempered beast.
We will surely get a coon oropossum before morning," Charley declared.
The opossum they broiled and ate for breakfast while the coon they roasted to carry along with them for dinner.
All were sprung, but, outside of the skunk, the only victims were an opossum and a coon which they bore back to their new fire.
One of the blacks being anxious to get an Opossumout of a dead tree, every branch of which was hollow, asked for a tomahawk, with which he cut a hole in the trunk above where he thought the animal lay concealed.
They used some of the opossum skin for bait, but either the river was too high, or the bait was not tempting enough, for they got no bites.
It was nearly noon, and the last of the opossum meat had been served, and the last of the coffee made.
The Tree Trap can be used to advantage in catching opossum as this trap is so made that it can be nailed to a tree or stump and baited.
This makes opossum rather difficult to assort unless turned fur side out.
Opossum is the only animal that may have a "prime" pelt but an "unprime" coat of fur.
If opossum have been properly skinned and stretched they will, when unprime, show a dark blue spot on the under side at the throat.
Last season I saw many hundreds of skunk, coon and mink and also opossum skins that had been taken in October and were only trash.
We all admit that the fox and wolf are shy animals and are rather difficult to catch, yet they are frequently caught by trappers who are only trapping for opossum or skunk.
Opossum skins seldom turn blue even if caught early--most other skins do.
Opossum and coon he knows are apt to be found in the dense woods, and mink along streams and swamps.
The opossumis not a cunning animal and takes bait readily.
I have had skunk and opossum hides offered me that had a pound or two of tainted fat on them, and skins that were taken out of season, for which they expect to get No.
The first species of the group, known to voyagers and naturalists, was the celebrated opossum of North America, whose instinctive care to defend itself from danger causes it to feign the appearance of death.
Diabolus ursinus, the ursine opossum of Van Diemen's Land, a great destroyer of young lambs.
In a small orifice or chamber of the pillar I discovered an opossum asleep, the first I had seen in this part of the country.
This little animal, the smallest and most beautiful of the opossum tribe, is exceedingly numerous in the vicinity of Port Jackson.
The opossum scampers up a tree, carrying all her numerous family on her back, and they do not fall off because each infant is securely moored by its own tail to the uplifted tail of its mother.
The opossum is the chief competitor of the local negro in harvesting the persimmon crop.
The breakfast would have been an excellent one at any time, as the flesh of the opossum tastes almost exactly like that of a suckling pig, but it was doubly good to the poor half-famished boy.
A fine large opossum had taken refuge in one of the upper branches, and Sam used his rifle to good purpose in bringing him down.
He was delighted therefore to get a fat young opossum for breakfast.
Sam waited patiently for an hour, when, opening his earth oven, he found his opossum cooked to a rich, crisp brown.
For many years anopossum had anointed his tail with bear's oil, but it remained stubbornly bald-headed.
To escape from a peasant who had come suddenly upon him, an opossum adopted his favourite expedient of counterfeiting death.
They said and did a good deal more before the opossum withdrew his cold and barren member from consideration; but the judicious fabulist does not encumber his tale with extraneous matter, lest it be pointless.
