Animal products; . hundred are obtained annually in Alaska. In 1851 weimported 8,415; in 1858, 15,688; in 1861, 8,415; in 1875,15,000. Civet Cats.—The African Civet (Viverra civettd) is mostabundant in the hottest parts of Africa and in Abyssinia. It ischiefly remarkable for the highly odoriferous secretion, from whichthe perfumers used to prepare the old-fashioned musk. Musk CIVET CATS. 233 has now given way to some extent to patchouli, and to far purerand more delicate floral perfumes; so that civets are no longerin the demand which former periods of fashion created for them. The skin of the
Animal products; . hundred are obtained annually in Alaska. In 1851 weimported 8,415; in 1858, 15,688; in 1861, 8,415; in 1875,15,000. Civet Cats.—The African Civet (Viverra civettd) is mostabundant in the hottest parts of Africa and in Abyssinia. It ischiefly remarkable for the highly odoriferous secretion, from whichthe perfumers used to prepare the old-fashioned musk. Musk CIVET CATS. 233 has now given way to some extent to patchouli, and to far purerand more delicate floral perfumes; so that civets are no longerin the demand which former periods of fashion created for them. The skin of the civet has a yellowish-grey ground colour, withlong hair on the back, large dusky spots disposed in longitudinalrows on each side. Furriers often confound this skin, which islight and soft, with that of the Zibet and Genet. The pouch situated near the genitals is a deep bag, sometimesdivided into two cavities, whence a thick, oily, and strongly musk-like fluid is poured out. When good, this odoriferous substance. ANIMALS FURNISHING CIVET AND MUSK. is of a clear yellowish or brown colour, and of about the con-sistence of butter • undiluted, the smell is powerful and veryoffensive, but when largely diluted with oil or other ingredients, itbecomes an agreeable perfume. Important medical virtues wereformerly attributed to the civet; it, however, no longer forms anarticle in the materia medica, and even as a perfume has been laidaside. Until the time of Buffon, the difference between the Africanand Asiatic species was unobserved, both being of nearly thesame form and colour, but the number of dark marks on the tailis different in the two. 234 THE ZIBET AND GENET Zibet (Viverra Zibethd).—The skin of the Asiatic speciesdiffers somewhat in its markings from its African congener. Theanimal furnishes the same secretion, and has been found in thePhilippine Islands. The caudal rings of this species hold anunvarying character, and are uniformly six in number, pale, upona black ground.
Size: 2123px × 1177px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., book, bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookidanimalproducts00simm
