36 NATURAL HISTORY, 

saben a te RRS tN 
Bink a 
ANIMALS of the WEASEL KIND. — 


- 
PS ip LTE IPO a : 
"Tuts fpecies is diftinguifhable from other carniv- 
orous animals, by their long and flender bodies, 
which enable them to creep into very {mall aper- 
tures after their prey. ‘lhey are called vermin, from 
refembling the worm inthis particular. The form 
and difpolition of the claws differ from thofe of the 
cat kind, as they cannot either extend or contract 
them. They vary from the dog kind, in. being clothed 
with fur rather than hair; and differ both in difpo- 
fition and appearance. ‘They are cruel, cowardly 
and voracious; fubfift moftly by theft; and deftro 
all about them before they begin to feed. They fuc 
the blood of every animal before they eat the flefh. 
Of the various indi’idua!s of this fpecies, we fhall 
felect the moft remarkable, beginning with the Civet, 
CIVET. 
"Tue civet, like the reft of the weafel kind, has a 
long flender body, fhort legs, and an odorous matter 
exuding from the glands behind. It is much larger 
than weafels in general; being inlength, from nofe 
- to tail, two feet three inches, the tail fourteen inches, 
and the body rather thick: Tt ts moflly of an ath col- 
our, fpotted with black ; has a long nofe, with whifk- 
ers ; and eyes that are black and beautiful. 
This animal is anative ef India, the Philippine IMes, 
