64 THE MENDEL JOURNAL 



Grahamstown, South Africa, where the multiplication 

 and the fusion of small spots has produced a black 

 animal by a totally different process from that 

 which gives rise to ordinary black leopards. The 

 uniformity in colour of self-coloured cats has probably 

 in most cases been produced by the toning down of 

 the pattern to match the ground colour, or by the 

 mutual alteration of both to the same tint. But one 

 breed known as the " ticked " seems, like the 

 Grahamstown leopard, to owe its origin to the 

 disintegration and general diffusion of the pattern of 

 the Striped Tabby. " Ticked " domestic Cats, which 

 may be met with amongst London Cats, are practically 

 indistinguishable from so-called " Abyssinians." Both 

 appear to be mutations of the Striped, not of the 

 Blotched Tabby. 



All the Cats above mentioned, be they " blacks," 

 "blues," "smokes," "reds," "creams," "whites," 

 " skewbalds," or " piebalds," are probably all to be 

 regarded as mutations either of the one kind of tabby 

 or the other. This remark applies both to long- 

 haired and short-haired Cats. 



It is possible, but I think not probable, that all 

 English long-haired Cats trace their descent from 

 specimens imported from Persia or Asia Minor. At 

 all events, there is a tradition to that effect ; but the 

 truth of it can neither be proved nor disproved. It 

 is quite possible that a long-haired breed was in 

 ancient times fostered in the countries lying near 

 the eastern end of the Mediterranean, just as a special 

 breed has for generations been fancied and rigorously 



