WEASEL KIND. 99 



cept it is injured or frighted. They are also 

 known to eat its flesh, which some assert to be 

 tolerable food ; however, they take care to de- 

 prive it of those glands which are so horridly 

 offensive. 



THE GENETTE. 



FROM the squash, which is the most offensive 

 animal in nature, we come to the Genette, which 

 is one of the most beautiful and pleasing. In- 

 stead of the horrid stench with which the for- 

 mer affects us, this has a most grateful odour ; 

 more faint than civet, but to some, for that rea- 

 son, more agreeable. This animal is rather less 

 than the martin, though there are genettes of 

 different sizes, and I have seen one rather larger. 

 It also differs somewhat in the form of its body. 

 It is not easy, in words, to give an idea of the 

 distinction. It resembles all those of the weasel 

 kind, in its length, compared to its height ; it 

 resembles them in having a soft beautiful fur, in 

 having its feet armed with claws that cannot be 

 sheathed, and in its appetite for petty carnage. 

 But then it differs from them in having the nose 

 much smaller and longer, rather resembling that 

 of a fox than a weasel. The tail, also, in- 

 stead of being bushy, tapers to a point, and is 

 much longer ; its ears are larger, and its paws 

 smaller. As to its colours, and figure in general, 



