THE AMER GENETT. 



235 



attention from an observer. The general color of the fur is gray, with a slight admix- 

 ture of yellow. Upon this groundwork dark patches are lavishly scattered, and the full 

 furry tail is covered with alternate bands of black and white. The muzzle would be 

 entirely black but for a bold patch of white fur on the upper lip, and a less decidedly 

 white mark by the nose. The feet are supplied with retractile claws, so that the animal 

 can deal a severe blow with its outstretched talons, or climb trees with the same ease 

 and rapidity which is found in the cat tribe. 



Another pretty species of this genus is the PALE, or SENEGAL GENETT. 



The fur of this animal is whiter than that of the Blotched Genett, and the markings 

 are rather differently arranged. Along the spine a nearly unbroken dark stripe is 

 drawn, and upon the neck and shoulders the spots have a tendency to merge into each 



PALE GENETT. Genetta Seoegaleosls. 



other and to form stripes, extending from the head along the neck and over the shoul- 

 ders. On each side of the face is a bold black patch. The hinder legs are quite 

 black at the ankle joint. 



These animals are very susceptible of domestication, and in various Eastern districts, 

 are as familiar inhabitants of the house as the domestic cat. Like the house cat, the 

 Genett signalizes itself in the destructive wars which it wages against rats and mice, 

 being especially fitted for such a pursuit by its active limbs and lithe form. The 

 Genetts seem, when wild, to prefer the low grounds in the vicinity of rivers to the 

 higher forest lands, and are there captured. 



They are not nearly so large as the civet, being only five inches in height at the 

 shoulder, and about twenty inches in total length. The eye is of a light brown color, 

 and rather protuberant. The young of the Pale Genett has the spots of a light chest- 

 nut instead of the deep blackish-brown of the adult animal. 



The AMER GENETT, an inhabitant of Abyssinia, is a boldly and handsomely marked 

 creature. The general color of its fur is a darkish* yellow gray, on which are placed a 

 number of well-defined dark spots. These markings run in fine regular lines, being 



