THE SENEGAL GENET 3 I 



amount of attention it requires by the continual 

 pleasure of observing its beautiful form and grace- 

 ful movements, but it may also be put to some 

 practical use. When tame it may be set to a 

 very congenial task — that of ridding premises of 

 mice ; indeed, the common genet was formerly 

 domesticated at Constantinople (and in various 

 other places in Europe) for this express purpose, 

 much as mungooses are kept in England for 

 clearinor rat-infested warehouses.^ From their 

 great activity genets require much more cage 

 room than is often their fortune ; a run of at least 

 nine feet by three feet, with branches for climbing 

 exercise, should always be provided. Warmly 

 bedded, with good hay or straw, and with a daily 

 supply of fresh animal food and good water, the 

 Senegal genet will live happy and contented long 

 to delight its owner with its handsome appearance, 

 its graceful movements, and its amiable disposition. 

 Should any reader of these lines wish to purchase 

 a pet which will be beautiful to look upon, easy 

 to tame, to feed and to keep in good health — 

 being at the same time conveniently small (size 

 of a large ferret), and moderate in price— let him 

 buy a genet. He will not regret his choice. 



1 This suggestion is not based on any arm-chair theory since the 

 homing qualities of the genets have been recently put to a practical 

 test. Mr. G. E. Powter, of Mombasa, British East Africa, has 

 shown (Field, 1903), that a tame individual set free in the bush will 

 return over a distance of half-a-mile, and re-enter the house from 

 which it was taken three days after its liberation. 



