160 
8 Yiverra zibetha. Zibet. This, which 
vasfigured as a variety by Gesner, and more 
trecisely discriminated by Button, seems to 
te considered -by modern naturalists as a 
ustnct species. The zibet is chiefly found 
n Iidia and the Indian islands. Its general 
•sptct is the same with the former species, 
lut ts snout is somewhat sharper, and its tail 
bngir. In short, this species may be called 
he Indian, and the former the African, civet- 
at. In disposition and manners they both 
seen to agree ; as well as in the secretion of 
tie jerfume before described, which is col- 
I cttd from both animals in the same manner. 
9. Yiverra genetta. The genet is one of 
tie nost beautiful animals of this genus. It 
isabmt the size of a very small cat, but is of 
alorger form, with a sharp-pointed snout, 
turijdit ears, slightly pointed, and very long 
t.il. i lie colour ot the genet is commonly 
apa'e-reddish grey, with a black or dusky 
lue running along the back, where the hair is 
ntlur longer than on the other parts, and 
Inin: the appearance of a very slight mane ; 
aone the sides of the body run several rows 
oi romdish black spots, which sometimes in- 
cinea little to a squarish form ; the muzzle is 
disk; ; beneath each eye is a white spot ; the 
cleels, sides of the neck, anti the limbs, are 
sptftd in a proportionally smaller pattern 
tlim die body, and the tail is annulated with 
back 
. ^h? genet is an animal of a mild disposi- 
tun, uid easily tamed. In various parts of 
t:a Fast, as well as at Constantinople, it is 
dcneticated like the cat, and is said to be 
eqial or superior, to that animal in clearing 
hoise from rats or mice. It is a cleanly 
an m d, and has a slight musky smell. It is a 
naivt of the western parts of Asia, but is said 
lik'wne to occur in Spain, and even occasion- 
alb ii some parts of France. 
0. \ iverra fossa. 'I he fossane appears to 
beso learly allied to the genet, that it might 
alnos pass for a variety of that animal. This 
anma is a native of Madagascar, Guinea, 
Beigd, Cochinchina, and 'the Philippine 
is, aid. It is said to be possessed of consi- 
derable fierceness, and to be with difficulty 
tailed It destroys poultry in the manner 
of lie common weesel. When young, it is 
?au t< to be good food. Its size is that of 
megeiet. See Plate Nat. Hist. fig. 419. 
1. ^Viverra caudivolvnla. Prehensile wee- 
sel r ’his animal, having a prehensile tail, is 
niirtein inches in length from the nose to 
ihetai, which is seventeen inches long. The 
nos i: short and dusky; the eyes small ; the 
Jar shirt, broad, and flapping, and placed at 
i gea distance from each other ; the head 
lat ard broad ; the cheeks swelling out ; the 
oigur very long ; the legs and thighs short 
ini thek. with five toes to each foot ; claws 
ar;e, slightly hooked, and flesh-coloured, 
ts coour yellow, shaded with dusky. A 
ilaikisi or dusky list runs down the back 
ron feae to tail, and a similar one half way 
loin he belly, d his animal is of gentle 
names, active and playful, and hangs by 
ts ail occasionally, in "the manner of the 
ireierrile-tailed monkeys. It is supposed 
o le a native of Jamaica. 
11. dverra foina. The marten is an affi- 
nal oi a highly elegant appearance. Its 
jeirra length, from nose to tail, is about a 
bofant a half, and the tail is ten inches long. 
V1VERRA, 
The marten is of a blackish tawny colour, 
with a white throat; and the belly is of a 
dusky brown ; the tail is bushy, or full of 
hair, and of a darker colour than the other 
parts; the ears are moderately large and 
rounded, and the eyes lively. This animal 
is a native ot most parts of Europe; inha- 
bitinr 1 
woods and fields, and preying on bird 
and other small animals. If taken young, it 
may be easily tamed, and even rendered do- 
mestic. It breeds in the hollows of trees, 
and brings forth from three to five youp.°\ 
The skin is used as a fur. 
13. Yiverra zibellina. The sable is greatjy 
allied to the marten in its appearance, but has 
a longer or sharper head, and more length- 
ened ears. Its general colour is a deep 
glossy brown; the hair being ash-coloured 
at the roots and black at the' tips ; the chin 
is cinereous, and the edges of the ears yel- 
lowish. Its size is equal to that of the mar- 
ten ; but, exclusive of other differences, a 
principal one consists in tiie tail, whic h is 
much shorter in proportion than in the mar- 
ten. The sable is an inhabitant of the northern 
parts ol Asia, and is an extremely important 
article in the fur-trade. It principally lives 
in holes under ground, especially under the 
roots ot trees, and sometimes, like the mar- { 
ten, forms its nest in the hollow's of trees. It ! 
is an active, lively animal, preying, in the j 
manner of the marten, on the smaller qnadru- i 
peds, birds, &c. Like the marten, it is also 
most lively during the night, and sleeps much i 
by day. In autumn the sable is said to eat I 
cranberries, whortles, &c. It brings forth I 
early in the spring, and has from three to five 
young at a time. The chase of the sable,} 
according to Mr. Pennant, w ; as, during the 1 
more barbarous periods of the Russian era- i 
pire, the principal task of the unhappy exiles 
who w'ere sent into Siberia, and who, as well 
as the soldiers sent there, were obliged to 
furnish, within a given time, a certain quan- 
tity of furs ; but as Siberia is now become 
more populous, the sable have in a great mea- 
sure quitted it, and have retired farther to the 
north and east, into the desert, forests, and 
mountains. 
Sables are numbered among the most va- 
luable of furs. From an abstract drawn up 
by the late Dr. Forster, from Muller’s ac- 
count of its commercial history, it appears 
that the price varies, from one to ten pounds 
sterling and above. The blackest; and those 
which have the finest bloom or gloss, are re- 
puted the best. The very best are said to 
come from the environs of Nertchisk and 
Yakutsk, and in this latter district the country 
about the river Ud sometimes affords sables 
of which a single fur is sold, at the rate of 
sixty or seventy rubles, or twelve or fourteen 
pounds sterling. Sometimes the furs of sables 
are fraudulently dyed, and otherwise pre- 
pared, in order to give them a more intense 
colour, but these are very inferior to the fine 
natural ones, and are distinguishable by a 
kind of withered or dull appearance of the 
hair itself when accurately inspected. 
The sable occurs in North America, as 
well gs in Asia ; the American sables are said 
to be chiefly of a chesnut-colour, and more 
glossy, but coarser, than the Siberian sables. 
It is necessary to observe, that the sable 
varies in its cast of colour at different 
seasons and in different districts ; instances 
5 
have been known, though rarely, of its being- 
found perfectly white. a? 
14. Viverra putorius. The polecat is one 
of the most remarkable European species of 
the weesel tribe. Its colour is an extremely' 
deep blackish-brown, with a tawny cast 
slightly intermixed ; the ears are edged with 
white, and the space round the muzzle is also 
whitish. The general length of this animal 
is seventeen inches, exclusive of the tail, 
which measures about six inches. The pole- 
cat is found in most parts of Europe, as well 
in some ot the Asiatic regions, as in Siberia, 
where it is said to be generally found wffih the 
tump a a whitish or yellowish tinge, sur- 
■ rounded with black. 
j The polecat commonly forms itself a sub- 
, terraneous retreat, sometimes beneath thJ 
j *'oots of large trees, and sometimes undetf 
j hay-ricks, and in barns. It preys indiscrimi- 
: lately on the smaller animals, and is very! 
destructive to poultry: it is also, like the ferretl 
a cruel enemy to rabbits, which it destroys! 
by sucking their blood, instead of tearing 
them immediately in pieces. It steals into 
hams, pigeon-houses, &c. where it occasion-! 
i ally makes great bavock ; biting off the ■ 
; heads ot fowls and pigeons, and then carrying 
them away' to its retreat; and sometimes it 
.carries oft the heads alone. During the 
summer, however, it principally frequents 
rabbit-warrens, or the hollow trunks of trees, 
&c. &c. and prowls about in quest of y oung 
birds, rats, field-mice, &c According to 
the count de Buffon, a single family ot pole- 
cats is sufficient to destroy a whole warren of 
rabbits ; and he observes, that this would be 
a simple method of diminishing the number 
of rabbits where they are too abundant. In 
Spain the ferret is said to have been formerly- 
introduced for a similar purpose. The pole- 
cat also preys occasionally on fish, of which a 
curious instance is recorded in Mr. Bewick’s 
History ot Quadrupeds. During a severe 
storm, one of these animals w r as tracked in 
the snow from the side of a rivulet to its hole 
at some distance from it ; as it was observed 
to have made frequent trips, and as other 
marks were seen in the snow, which coukl 
not easily be accounted for, it was thought a 
matter worthy of more diligent enquiry 5 ; its 
hqje was accordingly examined, the animal 
taken, and eleven fine eels were discovered, 
to be the fruits of its nocturnal excursions ; 
the unusual marks in the snow having been 
made by the motion of the eels while dragged 
along in the animal’s mouth. That the pole- 
cat, however, sometimes feeds in this man- 
ner, is, in reality, no new' observation ; since 
Aldrovandus assures us that it will occasion- 
ally take up its residence in the hollow banks 
ot rivulets, in order to lie in wait for and 
prey upon, fish. The polecat is also de- 
lighted with milk, and will visit the dairy, i n 
order to indulge in this article. It has been 
known to attack bee-hives in the winter sea- 
son, and to feed on the honey. The sprin<* 
is the season in which it breeds ; the female 
producing three or four at a birth, which she 
is said to suckle but a short time, accustom- 
ing them early to suck the blood of" the 
animals which she brings to them, as w'ell as 
eggs, &c. 
1 lie polecat has been known to breed with 
the ferret ; and it is said to be a practice with 
warreners, who keep these animals, to pro- 
cure a mixed breed from time to time, which 
