64 THE GENETTS. 
pouch, and is kept in a state of captivity, so as to afford a continual supply 
of the odoriferous material. 
The claws of the Civet are only partially retractile. The eyes are of a dull 
brown, very protuberant, and with a curiously changeable pupil, which by 
day exhibits a rather broad linear pupil, and glows at night with a brilliant 
emerald refulgence. The body is curiously shaped, being considerably flat- 
tened on the sides, as if the animal had been pressed between two boards. 
Altogether, the Civet is a very handsome animal, the bold dashing of black 
and white upon its fur having a very rich effect. The face has a curious 
appearance, owing to the white fur which fringes the lips, and the long pure 
white whisker hairs of the lips and eyes. When young it is almost wholly 
black, with the exception of the white whisker hairs and the white. fur of the 
lips. 
GENETTS. 
A small, but rather important, group of the Viverrine animals, is that the 
members of which are known by the name of the GENLTTS. These crea- 
Ss Sq y 
Wi 
Buus CHED GENETT.—(Genetla Zigrina.) 
tures are all nocturnal in their habits, as are the civets, and, like those ani- 
mals, can live on a mixture of animal and vegetable food, or even on vegetable 
food alone. The Genetts possess the musk-secreting apparatus which much 
resembles the pouch of the civet, although in size it is not so large, nor daes 
it secrete so powerfully smelling a substance as that of the civets. 
The best known of these animals is the COMMON, or BLOTCHED GENETT, 
an inhabitant of Southern Africa and of various other parts of the wor!d, 
being found even in the south of France. It is a very beautiful and graceftl 
animal, and never fails to attract attention from an observer. The generel 
colour of the fur is grey, with a slight admixture of yellow. Upon this 
groundwork dark patches are lavishly scattered, and the full, furry ‘tail is 
ccvered with alternate bands of black and white. The muzzle would be cn- 
