160 Lloyd's natural history. 



protrude from a Cat's nose and eyebrows are, in the ordinary 

 domestic feline, about three inches long. In the Cats cul- 

 tivated in the cold warehouses the feelers grow to a length of 

 five and six inches. This is probably because the light is dim 

 in these places, and all movements must be the result of the 

 feeling sense. The storage people say that if one of these 

 furry Cats be taken into the open air, particularly during the 

 hot season, it will die in a few hours. It cannot endure a 

 high temperature, and an introduction to a stove would send 

 it into fits. 



Of the more ordinary varieties of the Cat, the best known 

 and most common in England, before crossing with the Per 

 sian breed was introduced, was undoubtedly the Tabby ; this 

 type of coloration consisting of a grey ground colour, with sub- 

 concentric vertical black bands on the body and thighs, longi- 

 tudinal streaks of the same on the top of the head, a black 

 stripe down the back, and bars on the upper surface of the 

 tail. In some individuals the whole fur is of deep black, 

 with the markings visible only in certain lights. From this 

 type there is a transition to Black Cats, in which the coat 

 shows no trace of markings in the adult, although stripes 

 are more or less distinctly displayed in the kittens. Even 

 these Cats are, however, seldom totally black, there being 

 usually some white hairs on the throat. The eyes of Black 

 Cats are of a peculiar clear yellow, standing out in striking 

 contrast to the sable fur. As mentioned above, it is probable 

 that Tabby Cats owe their stripes to crossing with the Wild 

 Cat. 



A Domestic Cat, brought home by Darwin from South 

 America, is remarkable, according to Gray, for its striking 

 resemblance to the Caffre Cat. From that species it chiefly 

 differs in the tail being more slender and tapering, the colours 

 more intense and defined, and the throat Dure white. In 



