In various particulars the badger is an useful animal to mankind. Its _flesh_, which is somewhat similar in taste to that of the wild dog, is much esteemed in Italy, France, and Germany, and may be made into excellent hams, and bacon. The _skin_, when dressed with the hair on, makes excellent knapsacks, and covers for pistol furniture and travelling trunks. For all these purposes it is frequently used, as it is impervious by rain, and needs no additional preparation to render it water-proof. In the paralytic complaints of old persons, it is asserted that the hairy skin of the badger, worn next to the body, has been of great service, by stimulating the nerves into action. The _hairs_ or bristles are made into brushes for painters; and the _fat_ is applied to many useful purposes, both externally and internally, in medicine. Badgers are generally caught in sacks fastened at night, when the animals are abroad in search of food, into the mouth of their burrows in the ground. When these are fixed, the animals are hunted home from the adjacent fields with dogs, and, on entering their usual places of retreat to escape from their foes, they are immediately seized and tied up in the sacks by men who are stationed at hand for that purpose. Badgers are also sometimes caught by steel traps placed in their haunts. These animals subsist principally upon roots and other vegetable food, which they scratch and root out of the ground during the night. Their dens or burrows are generally formed in woody places, or the clefts of rocks. Though in almost every respect innoxious, they are endowed with such strength as successfully to oppose the attacks of animals apparently much more powerful than themselves. 65. _The VIRGINIAN OPOSSUM_ (Didelphis opossum) _is a whitish-coloured animal about the size of a small cat, but with feet somewhat like those of the monkey, slender muzzle, and scaly tail; the female has a pouch or bag on the under part of the body, in which she places her young ones, when very small, and where they afterwards find a place of retreat from danger._ _This species of opossum are numerous in Virginia, Louisiana, Surinam, and other warm and temperate parts both of North and South America._ Notwithstanding the disgusting smell of these animals whilst alive, when dead and skinned, their _flesh_ is as sweet and excellent as any other animal food. All the American travellers who have partaken of it appear to agree that it much resembles that of sucking pig. The _hair_, which is of considerable length, is spun, by the American Indians, into thread, dyed red, and then woven into girdles and other parts of dress. 66. _The COMMON MOLE_ (Talpa europæa) _is a small and well-known British quadruped of black colour, with broad fore feet, large head terminating in a slender snout, extremely small eyes, no external ears, and short tail._