. Animals in menageries. o place it with either. As wehave a particular aversion to names which mean nothing,or at least convey no definite idea to the English reader,we have ventured to call this the Weasel-Cat. In itsnative state it inhabits the vast forests of the eastern ex-tremity of Java : but even there it is of such rarity thatDr. Horsfield was only able to procure two specimens ;neither could he learn any thing of its manners or habitsfrom the natives. The size is small: the body measures about onefoot three inches, and the tail something more thananother foot. Its body is slender, it
. Animals in menageries. o place it with either. As wehave a particular aversion to names which mean nothing,or at least convey no definite idea to the English reader,we have ventured to call this the Weasel-Cat. In itsnative state it inhabits the vast forests of the eastern ex-tremity of Java : but even there it is of such rarity thatDr. Horsfield was only able to procure two specimens ;neither could he learn any thing of its manners or habitsfrom the natives. The size is small: the body measures about onefoot three inches, and the tail something more thananother foot. Its body is slender, its head tapering,and its muzzle sharp: the tail is long and thick, andthe limbs are slender and delicate. The whole animal iselegantly marked with stripes and bands of deep brownupon a pale yellowish white ground. There is a beau-tiful specimen preserved in the East India companysmuseum, and which is figured in Dr. HorsfieldsResearches. The Civet. Viverra Civetta, Gmelin. La. Civette, (Fig. 11.) The The odoriferoussubstance producedby this animal, al-though now scarce-ly known among theperfumes in use 98 ANIMALS IN MENAGERIES. with Europeans, is so much prized by the inhabitantsof the East, that it forms with them an important articleof commerce. Father Poncel affirms that he has seen,in Abyssinia, near 300 of these animals domesticated^and in the possession of one merchant; that the townof Enfras is celebrated for this trade, and that numbers of this animal are there appears also, that, when this perfume was more indemand, numbers of the civet were imported- intoHolland, and reared for the same purpose. Both trades,however, so far as regards Europe, have very much de-clined, and even the animal itself is not often seen inmenageries. In confinement, the civet appears to be a remarkablylethargic animal, being described as continually sleep-ing, and as roused with much difficulty ; but this isprobably only during the day ; since nea
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Keywords: ., bookauthorrichmondch, bookcentury1800, booksubjectanimalbehavior
