320 THE CIVEI'. 



"which the creature empties spontaneously. The 

 Dutch keep great numbers ahvc at Amsterdam, for 

 the purpose of collecting the drug from them. 

 When a "sufficient time for the secretion has been 

 allowed, the animal is put into a long wooden cage, 

 so narrow that it cannot turn itself round. The ca<5e 

 being opened by a door behind, a small spoon, or 

 spatula, is introduced through the orifice of the 

 pouch, which is carefully scraped and its contents 

 put into a proper vessel. This operation is per- 

 formed twice or thrice a-wcek ; and the animal is 

 said always to produce the most civet after being ir- 

 ritated. The quantity depends in a great measure 

 also oa the quality of the nourishment which it 

 takes, and the appetite with which it eats. In con- 

 finement, its favourite food is boiled meat, eggs, 

 birds, and small animals, and particularly fish. 



While the French army was in Egypt, the king of 

 Dar-fur sent four Civets to the generals ; and some 

 information was at the same time acquired respect- 

 ing the treatment of the animals in that country. 

 Since very few of theni are found there, and these 

 few are brought from a great distance, the inhabit- 

 ants have found it expedient to adopt some modes 

 of increasing the produce of the civet. They in- 

 troduce into the bag a sn^all quantity of butter or 

 other fat; then sl;ake the animal violently, and by 

 beating, irritate and enrage it as much as possible. 

 This, they say, greatly accelerates the secretion; and 

 the fat also by these means imbibes so much of the 

 c'lvety that the women of Dar-fiir use it upon their 

 hair. Tq this barbarous ysage it is in a great mea- 



