58 



CIVET. 



vvhat it consists, because it is a likeness of the whol 

 character of the animals as made up of structure 

 disposition, and habit, rather than of any one of th 

 elements which form that character. 



They are all nocturnal animals ; their eyes close 

 to a vertical line in the pupil, like those of th 

 Common cat, and, as is the case with that animal 

 they all glisten in dull light. Some account of thi: 

 glistening of the eyes of nocturnal animals may b( 

 found in the article CAT ; and we may here add, tha 

 the reason why the eyes of the same animals do noi 

 glisten in bright daylight, is the necessary contraction 

 of the aperture of the pupil by the action of the light 

 upon it. In this case, the quantity of light which 

 gets admission to the eye is very small ; and there- 

 fore the portion of it which the eye reflects, is noi 

 equal to that reflected by objects illuminated in the 

 common way ; but when the animal is under the 

 shade, if that shade is moderately obscure, the eyes 

 glisten just as much during the day as during the 

 night. 



Animals of this genus are not entirely carnivorous, 

 but can, when necessity urges them to it, feed upon 

 vegetable matter, of which they prefer sweet and 

 succulent fruits. Their proper food, however, may 

 be regarded as being animal much more than 

 vegetable, because the carnivorous character not 

 only predominates in their teeth, but is more strongly 

 marked in them than in any animals except the 

 hyaenas and cats. They are very expert in catching 

 birds, upon which they spring much in the same 

 manner as cats do ; they also catch mice and other 

 small animals with much dexterity, and in some parts 

 of the world some of the species are kept in houses 

 for this purpose. They have, however, other habits 

 in their feeding, different from those of cats, for they 

 are great destroyers of eggs. During the day, the 

 greater number of them are exceedingly indolent, 

 and sleep almost the whole of their time. Others, 

 however, are more of diurnal animals, and follow at 

 least some of their prey by coursing. They are all 

 animals of tropical countries, or at least of countries 

 bordering on the tropics ; they are wholly natives of 

 the eastern continent and the adjacent islands. There 

 is not above one species met with in any part of 

 Europe, and that species is confined to the warmer 

 parts of the south, and is far from being numerous 

 there. Africa, India, and the Oriental isles, more 

 especially the latter, are their head quarters, and it 

 does not appear that a single species has been met 

 with in Australia, or in the remote isles of the 

 Pacific. From their indolent habits, and their short 

 legs, they cannot be expected to migrate far in quest 

 of food, and therefore they need hardly be looked for 

 in places which are subject to seasonal barrenness. 

 They are not aquatic animals, however, but frequent 

 the banks of streams, the wood-lands, or the open 

 glades, preying generally upon the smaller reptiles 

 and the eggs of the larger in the first of those places, 

 on birds and small quadrupeds in the second, and on 

 the smaller lizards in the third. They are usually 

 divided into three sub-genera Civets, Gennets, and 

 Ichneumons, and perhaps there are some other sub- 

 genera which may be added. 



CIVETS. These have the scent bag large and 

 deep, divided into two cavities, and producing 

 abundantly the unctuous substance, which has a 

 more musky scent in this genus than in perhaps 

 any other. There are at least two principal species, 



the civet and the zibeth, which names have, however, 

 exactly the same meaning, though the animals differ. 

 The civet is found chiefly in Africa, and in the south- 

 west of Asia ; the other species in the south-east ; 

 and it is probable that there are several varieties of 

 the latter, 



Civet. This animal is often in common language 

 styled " the civet cat" but the name is of course 

 inapplicable, except in some slight resemblance in 

 the manners, in the fur on the body, and in the form 

 of the tail. 



Civet. 



This species measures about two feet three or two 

 Feet four from the muzzle to the tail, and it stands 

 from ten inches to a foot in height at the shoulder. 

 Its muzzle is produced and pointed, but not quite so 

 much so as the fox ; the ears are short and round ; the 

 hair on the body is long and coarse, and that which 

 ranges along the line of the back and the upper part 

 of the tail, forms a sort of crest, which is turned back 

 towards the neck ; the ground colour is bright 

 jrownish grey, with various spots and bands of 

 jlackish brown, and the dorsal crest of the same 

 colour ; the head is whitish, with the exception of a 

 spot round the eyes ; the cheeks and chin are brown ; 

 he naked part of their nose is black ; the legs and 

 inder part of the tail are brown, the hair on the 

 brmer especially being much shorter than that on 

 he body ; the tail on the upper part is partially 

 annulated. 



The most remarkable peculiarity in the anatomy 

 of the civet, is the organisation of the bag containing 

 ts peculiar scent. It opens externally by a narrow 

 :left, situated between the anus and the parts of 

 generation, and is exactly similar in both sexes, 

 rt'hich renders their apparent difference but trifling. 

 This cleft conducts into two cavities, which might 

 sach of them contain an almond. Their internal 

 urface is slightly covered with fine hair, and pierced 

 ivith many holes, each of which conducts into an 

 >val follicle of very slight depth, the concave surface 

 f which is again pierced with innumerable pores. 

 The odoriferous substance comes from these pores, 

 "t fills the follicle, and when this is compressed, it 

 iroceeds from it something in form like vermicelli, 

 nd enters the larger bag. All these follicles are 

 nveloped by a membranous tunic, which receives 

 uuiy of the sanguineous vessels ; and this tunic, in 

 ts turn, is covered by a muscle which comes from the 

 ubis, and has the power of compressing all the 

 ollicles, and with them the entire bag to which they 



