THE CIVET. 



183 



well as the central chamber, are common to the inhabitants, is not known. It seems, however, 

 to be probable that such a mode of procedure would be adopted, and that each member of the 

 little community appropriated to itself the tunnel which its own paws had dug. 



The color of the Aard Wolf is gray, with a decided tinge of yellow. Several broad bands 

 of darker fur are seen on the sides, and the paws are quite black. The hair of this animal 

 is of two kinds, a thick, short, woolly coating, which lies next to the skin, and a longer and 

 coarser set of hairs, which protrude through the woolly coating, and hang downwards to some 

 length. The adult Aard Wolf is about three feet six inches in total length, the tail being 

 about a foot long. 



The food of this animal is similar to that of the hyena, and consists chiefly of carrion and 

 small animals. It does not disdain to make an occasional meal on insects, for a number of 

 ants were discovered in the stomach of an Aard Wolf that had been killed. 



CIVET. Viverra civetta. 



THE CIVET, sometimes, but wrongly, called the Civet Cat, is a native of Northern Africa, 

 and is found plentifully in Abyssinia, where it is eagerly sought on account of the peculiarly 

 scented substance which is secreted in certain glandular pouches. This Civet perfume was 

 formerly considered as a most valuable medicine, and could only be obtained at a very high 

 price ; but in the present day it has nearly gone out of fashion as a drug, and holds its place in 

 commerce more as a simple perfume than as a costly panacea. 



In this animal we may trace a decided resemblance to the Aard Wolf, both in the shape 

 of the body and in the markings. 



But the Civet bears itself in a very different manner, having more of the weasel than of 

 the hyenine nature, and the coloring of the fur is of a much richer character than that of 

 the previously mentioned animal. 



It is nearly as large as the Aard Wolf, its total length being about three feet six inches, 

 of which the tail occupies nearly one-third. Along the back, and even on part of the tail, runs 

 a boldly marked crest or mane, which can be erected by the animal at pleasure, or can lie 

 nearly, but not quite, evenly with the fur. 



The substance which is so prized on account of its odoriferous qualities is secreted in 

 a double pouch, which exists under the abdomen, close to the insertion of the tail. As this 



