OEDEE OF CAENIVOEA. 



421 



and rice, were the articles of diet mostly adopted. Two or three 

 times a week the pouch was emptied by means of a spoon, 

 and the contents were then put in a vessel hermetically closed. 

 The males give more than the females, and this difference is 

 still more marked at the coupling season. The odour of this 

 product is so intense, that it remains for a long time in the 

 skins of the animals even after they have been dressed. The 

 skeleton even emits traces of it, after repeated washing. 



In certain towns of Abyssinia the Civet is reared' on a very 

 large scale, and the people live almost exclusively on the profits 

 derived from this source. Father Poncet speaks of having seen 

 traders at Enfrar who had more than three hundred. 



These animals are naturally irritable and ferocious, and they 



Fig. 169. — Alrican Civet ( I'ivcrra civetta, Wood). 



cannot be really domesticated. Their vision being nocturnal, 

 they sleep nearly all the day. 



Civets are frequently exhibited in our menageries. The 

 Dutch used to bring them from the Indian Archipelago to rear 

 in Holland, and thus obtain the perfume unadulterated. The 

 Civet of Amsterdam thus acquired a great reputation. 



Two kinds of Civet are distinguished : the African Civet, or 

 true Civet (Fig. 169), and the Indian Civet. The latter inhabits 

 not only the Indian Continent, but also the neighbouring islands, 

 such as Java, Sumatra, Borneo, Amboyna, and Celebes. It differs 

 from the first in having its coat longer and rougher. Both have 

 a fawn-coloured covering, marked with stripes or browoi spots. 



