THE STORY OF THE CIVET. 



In parts of India, Africa and the Malay Peninsula I have oftentimes had 

 my patience taxed by the conduct of my dogs in leaving the trail they were 

 following to pursue the trail of a civet. The reason why a dog will follow 

 the trail of a civet in preference to any other is that the civet has a scent 

 gland and leaves a highly perfumed trail. In this respect it is like the fox — 

 only more so. 



From this scent gland is extracted the perfume which bears the name of 

 the animal, and which was more highly esteemed a hundred or more years 

 ago than it is now. 



Civets have longer faces than domestic cats, and their bodies are also 

 longer, but their legs shorter than in the members of that family. The tail 

 is usually marked with six black rings, which are much wider than the inter- 

 vening white ones; its tip being black. The Indian civet inhabits the eastern 

 side of India, from Bengal to Sikhim, ascending in the last-named district to 

 a considerable elevation in the Himalaya, and it is also found in Burma, in 

 Siam, in Hainan, and in the south of China. This civet is generally a solitary 

 animal, and it hides in woods, bushes, or thick grass during the day, wander- 

 ing into open country and often coming about houses at night. Not infre- 

 quently it is found in holes, but whether these are dug by it is doubtful. It 



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