68 VERTEBRATES. 



half of which is occupied by the tail. At the base, the tail is 



very thick ; it tapers gradually 

 towards the point, which is 

 slightly tufted. The eyes are 

 of a bright red ; the ears al- 

 ichneumon. niost naked, Small and rounded ; 



the no^e is long and slender. 

 The legs are short. The hair is hard and coarse, and of a pale 

 reddish grey, each hair being mottled with brown or mouse :olor. 

 This animal is domestic in Egypt, like our cat; and, like 

 that, is serviceable in destroying rats and mice ; but its inclination 

 for prey and its instinct are much stronger and more extensive than 

 the cat's ; for it hunts alike birds, quadrupeds, serpents, lizards, 

 and insects; it attacks every living creature in general, and feeds 

 entirely on animal flesh ; its courage is equal to the sharpness of 

 its appetite; it is neither frightened at the anger of the dog nor 

 the malice of the cat, nor even dreads the bite of the serpent : it 

 pursues them with eagerness, and seizes on them, however veno- 

 mous they may be. As soon as it begins to feel the impressions 

 of their venom, it immediately goes in search of antidotes, and 

 particularly a root that the Indians call by its name, and which, 

 they say, is one of the most powerful remedies in nature against 

 the bite of the viper. It sucks the eggs of the crocodile, as well 

 as those of fowls and birds ; it also kills and feeds on young croco- 

 diles, when they are scarcely come out of their shell ; and, as fable 

 commonly accompanies truth, it has been currently reported, that, 

 by virtue of this antipathy, the Ichneumon enters the body of thti 

 crocodile, when it is asleep, and never quits it till he has fevoured 

 its entrails. It was formerly deified by the Egyptians for its ser- 

 viceable qualities. 



The Javanese Civet differs considerably from the common 

 Civet. The body, narrow, compressed, and higher behind than 

 before, is from fifteen to eighteen inches long. The back is 

 strongly arched. The muzzle is narrow and tapering; the ears 

 short and rounded ; the profile forms a perfectly straight line ; the 

 tall, tapering gradually to the tip, is as long as the body, and is 



