is of a bright red color on the head, back, and sides; on the throat and neck of a dark gray; and pale red on the under parts of the body. It bears a strong resemblance to the common European fox, but differs from it in the breadth and capacity of its feet for running on the snow; and the quantity of long hair, clothing the back part of the cheeks, with the shorter ears and nose, give the head a more compact appearance. It has a much finer brush than the European one, and is altogether a finer animal. It is very plentiful in the wooded district of the fur countries, about eight thousand being annually imported into England from thence.

Red foxes prey much on the smaller animals of the rat family, but they are fond of fish, and reject no kind of animal food that comes in their way. They hunt their food chiefly in the night, though they are frequently seen in the daytime. They are taken in steel traps, but much nicety is required in setting them, as the animal is very suspicious.

THE FENNEC.1

THIS beautiful and extraordinary animal, or at least one of this genus, was first made known to European naturalists by Bruce, who received it from his dragoman, whilst consul general at Algiers. Bruce kept it alive for several months. Its favorite food was dates, or any other sweet fruit; it was also very fond of eggs; when hungry it would eat bread, especially with honey or sugar. His attention was immediately attracted if a bird flew near him, and he would watch it with an eagerness that could hardly be diverted from its object: but he was dreadfully afraid of a cat, and endeavored to hide himself, the moment he saw an animal of that species, though he showed no symptoms of preparing for any defence. Bruce never

heard that he had any voice. During the day he was inclined to sleep, but became restless and exceedingly unquiet as night came on.

Bruce describes his fennec as about ten inches long, and of a dirty white color; the hair on the belly being softer, whiter, and longer than on the rest of the body.

There has been great diversity of opinion among naturalists concerning this animal. Cuvier treats Bruce's account as scarcely worthy of credit; but Denham and Clapperton, on their return from Central Africa, brought a skin of the animal, and thus placed its existence beyond doubt.

THE CIVET1

Is from two to three feet in length, stands from ten to twelve inches high, and has a tail half the length of its body. The hair is long, and the ground color of it is a brownish gray, interspersed with numerous transverse, interrupted bands or irregular spots of black. Along the centre of the back, from between the shoulders to the end of the tail, is a kind of mane, which can be erected or depressed as the animal pleases, and which is formed of black hairs, longer than those of the body. The sides of the neck and the upper lip are nearly white. The legs, and the greater part of the tail,

are perfectly black; there is a large, black patch round each eye, which passes thence to the corner of the mouth; and two or three bands of the same color stretch obliquely from the base of the ears towards the shoulders and neck, the latter of which is marked with a black patch.

The perfume of the civet is very strong; and though the odor is so strong, it is yet agreeable, even when it issues from the body of the animal. The perfume of the civet we must not confound with musk, which is a sanguineous humor, obtained from an animal altogether different from either the civet or the zibet.

* The civets, though natives of the hottest climates of Africa and of Asia, are yet capable of living in temperate, and even in cold countries, provided they are carefully defended from the injuries of the air, and provided with delicate and esculent food. In Holland, where no small emolument is derived from their perfume, they are frequently reared. The perfume of Amsterdam is esteemed preferable to that which is brought from the Levant, or the Indies, which is generally less genuine. That which is imported from Guinea, would be the best of any, were it not that the negroes, as well as the Indians and the people of the Levant, adulterate it with mixtures of laudanum, storax, and other balsamic and odorous drugs.

Those who breed these animals for the sake of their perfume, put them into a long and narrow sort of box, in which they cannot turn. This box the person who is employed to collect the perfume, opens behind, for this purpose, twice or thrice a week; and, dragging the animal which is con⚫ fined in it, backward by the tail, he keeps it in this position by a bar before. This done, he takes out the civet with a small spoon, carefully scraping with it, all the while, the interior coats of the pouch under the tail, which secretes and contains it. The perfume thus obtained, is put into a vessel, and every care is taken to keep it closely shut.

The quantity which a single animal will afford, depends greatly upon its appetite, and the quality of its nourishment. It yields more in proportion as it is more delicately and abundantly fed. Raw flesh hashed small, eggs, rice, small animals, birds, young fowls, and particularly fish, are the food in which the civet most delights.

As to the rest, the civet is a wild, fierce animal, and, though sometimes tamed, is yet never thoroughly familiar. Its teeth are strong and sharp; but its claws are feeble and blunt. It is light and active, and lives by prey, pursuing birds, and other small animals, which it is able to overcome. It generally attacks at night, and by surprise. They are sometimes seen stealing into yards and out-houses, like the fox, in order to carry off poultry. Their eyes shine in the night; and it is very probable that they see better by night than by day. When they fail of animal food, they are found to subsist upon roots and fruits. They very seldom drink; nor do they ever inhabit humid ground; but in burning sands, and in arid mountains, they cheerfully remain. There is another animal called

THE ZIBET,1

WHICH differs from the civet, in having a body longer and less thick, a snout flatter, more slender, and somewhat concave at the upper part; its hair is much shorter and softer; it has no mane, no black under the eyes, or upon the cheeks. All these characteristics are peculiar to, and very remarkable in, the civet.

DIFFERS considerably from the common civet. The body, narrow, compressed, and higher behind than before, is from fifteen to eighteen inches long. The back is strongly arched. The muzzle is narrow and tapering; the ears short and rounded; the profile forms a perfectly straight line; the tail, tapering gradually to the tip, is as long as the body, and is marked with eight or nine broad, black rings, which alternate with as many of a grayish hue. A much lighter gray than that of the civet composes the ground color; there is a broad, longitudinal dorsal line of black, and on each side two or three narrower black lines, consisting of confluent spots. Over the rest of the body these spots are thickly but rather irregularly scattered, so as to constitute a series of flexuous, dotted lines. The side of the neck above is occupied by a deep, longitudinal black line, and, below, there is a second, which is more obliquely placed. The head is grayish, and has no spots; and the legs are externally black.

1 V. zibetha, LIN.

2 V. Rasse, HORSF.

Is an animal smaller than the civets. It has a long body, short legs, a sharp snout, and a slender head. Its fur, which is exceedingly smooth and soft, is of an ash color, glossy, and marked with black stripes, which are separate upon the sides, but which unite upon the back. It has, also, upon the neck, a kind of mane, or longish hair, which forms a black streak, from the head to the tail, which last is as long as the body, and is marked with seven or eight rings, from the insertion to the tip, which are alternately black and white.

The genet has under the tail, and in the very same place with the civets, an opening, or pouch, in which is separated a kind of perfume resembling civet, but less strong, and apt sooner to evaporate. It is an animal somewhat larger than the marten, which it strongly resembles, not only in the form of the body, but also in disposition and habit, and from which it seems chiefly to differ in being more easily tamed. It is a native of Spain, Africa, and the south of Asia.

FROM the tip of the nose to the end of the tail, is from twenty-four to fortytwo inches in length; nearly half of which is occupied by the tail. At the base, the tail is very thick; it tapers gradually towards the point, which is

1 V. Genetta, LIN.

2 Herpestes Pharaonis. The genus Herpestes has six upper and six lower incisors; two upper and two lower canines; ten upper and ten lower molars. Body elongated; anal pouch large; feet pentadactyle, semi-palmated, with nails partly retractile.