98 ANIMALS IN MENAGERIES. 



with Europeans, is so much prized by the inhabitants 

 of the East, that it forms with them an important article 

 of commerce. Father Poncel affirms that he has seen, 

 in Abyssinia, near 300 of these animals domesticated^ 

 and in the possession of one merchant ; that the town 

 of Enfras is celebrated for this trade, and that im. 

 mense numbers of this animal are there domesticated. 

 It appears also, that, when this perfume was more in 

 demand, numbers of the civet were imported- into 

 Holland, and reared for the same purpose. Both trades, 

 however, so far as regards Europe, have very much de- 

 clined, and even the animal itself is not often seen in 

 menageries. 



In confinement, the civet appears to be a remarkably 

 lethargic animal, being described as continually sleep- 

 ing, and as roused with much difficulty ; but this is 

 probably only during the day ; since nearly all the car- 

 nivorous animals of this tribe are nocturnal, and evince, 

 during the night, the greatest activity. When irritated, 

 the musky odour they send forth is very strong ; and 

 from time to time the substance itself falls from the 

 pouch in small pieces, about the size of a nut. 



The bag, which contains the perfumed substance, is 

 a remarkable peculiarity in the organisation of the civet ; 

 it opens immediately under the tail by a narrow slit, 

 which leads to two cavities, each large enough to contain 

 a nut : the internal surface is slightly clothed with fine 

 hairs, and perforated with small holes, each of which is 

 the orifice of an oval follicle, the surface of which is 

 again pierced with innumerable pores, from which issues 

 the perfumed substance. By means of certain muscles, 

 this substance is made to pass through aU these cover- 

 ings, and finally can be ejected by the animal from the 

 first named orifice, when the secretion has been super- 

 abundant. These observations have been made by M. 

 Fred. Cuvier, from specimens which were dissected at 

 the Paris menagerie. 



The length of the civet is nearly two feet and a half, 

 the tail measuring one foot. The body is marked by 



