192 MOSTLY MAMMALS 



domestic cat from the Egyptians by means of the Phoenician 

 traders, as in the very earliest and rudest Etruscan tombs 

 in the neighbourhood of Civeta Castellani (the contents 

 of which are now in the Museum of Papa Giulio, near 

 Rome) there are unmistakable traces of the Phoenician 

 trade." Without denying that such may have been the 

 case, the discovery of the Mediterranean cat, as already 

 mentioned, suggests the possibility of a European origin 

 for the domesticated breed. On the other hand, the 

 Mediterranean cat itself may prove to be merely a feral 

 race derived from an Egyptian importation. 



Be this as it may — and the problem is one hardly 

 capable of decisive solution — Dr. Nehring is of opinion 

 that wild cats were originally brought under subjugation 

 by stationary agricultural tribes, to whom it must have 

 been of the utmost importance that their hoards of grain 

 should be protected as much as possible from the ravages 

 of rats and mice. 



When once a domesticated breed had become established 

 in Europe, it would certainly have freely crossed with the 

 wild cat. And it seems highly probable that to such 

 crossing is due the great prevalence of " tabbies " in Europe 

 previous to the introduction of the now fashionable Persian 

 breed, the wild cat having the dark stripes broader, and 

 frequently more numerous, than they are in the Egyptian 

 cat. 



As to the date of introduction of the domesticated cat 

 into Britain, the earliest written evidence of its existence 

 there occurs in the laws of the Welsh prince Howel 

 Dhu, which were enacted about the middle of the tenth 

 century. Certain remains of cats have, however, been dis- 

 covered in Roman villas in this country, which appear to 

 belong to the domesticated breed ; and if these be rightly 



