9 6 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



closer resemblance than that of the others to the Egyptian cat has 

 suggested that the animal may have come to Europe by way of 

 the Strait of Gibraltar ; and the Manx (Fig. 6), a curious variety, 

 says Wood, on account of the entire absence of a tail, the place of 

 which member is only indicated by a rather wide protuberance. 

 " It is by no means a canny animal, for it has an unpleasant, 

 weird-like aspect about it. ... A Manx cat, with its glowing 

 eyes and its stump of a tail, is a most unearthly-looking beast." 

 The manner in which its peculiarity has been perpetuated has not 

 been accounted for. The long-haired cats include the Persian 



(Fig. 7), a gray -blue and 

 silky animal, having a tail 

 of great length and covered 

 with hair six inches long, 

 which it carries arched over 

 its back like a squirrel's ; 

 and the Angola, a beautiful 

 animal, and knowing it — 



fig. 6,-manx cat. "gorgeous in its superb 



clothing of long, silky hair 

 and bushy tail." It is one of the largest of domestic cats, and 

 one of the heartiest eaters. Then there are the Chinese cat, 

 large, with fine, glossy hair and hanging ears ; the royal cat 

 of Siam (Fig. 8), clear tawny or buff, with black muzzle, face, 

 ears, and feet, suggesting the figure of a pug dog ; black cats, 

 which belong among the tabbies; and white cats, concerning 

 which the belief prevails that if they also have blue eyes they are 

 deaf. This connection has been accepted by Mr. Darwin as an in- 

 stance of correlated variability, and is explained by Mr. Lawson 

 Tait — the white color or albinism being regarded as a result of 

 arrested development — by the fact of the common origin in the 

 epiblast of the three structures affected — the fur, the iris, and 

 the tympanic membrane. 



The bent of the cat's mind was pleasantly defined a few years 

 ago by a writer in the London Spectator, who said there could 

 be no doubt as to the view Puss took of the philosophy of nature 

 and life. She is quite satisfied that the world and everything in 

 it were made and exist for cats. This appears in all that well- 

 bred and cared-for cats do, and in every accent and tone of their 

 voice. Puss possesses herself with the air of a proprietor of the 

 best place and the best food ; expects to be waited upon ; demands 

 a share of every dish ; and looks upon us as at once her Provi- 

 dence and her servant. 



Cats are not demonstrative like dogs, and do not submit to 

 training like the horse. The dog has been credited with un- 

 bounded affections, and the horse with almost human sagacity ; 



