ANIMALS OF NORTH AMERICA. 47 



from a height, as to come down upon their feet, is well known. 

 Even when thrown with the head or back downwards they will 

 turn, so that the feet shall come first to the ground ; and from 

 heights which would destroy the lives, or at least break the 

 bones of any other animal, puss will land in safety, and bound 

 away without a limp. This peculiarity is owing to the chief 

 bulk of the foot being composed of elastic tendons, and balls, 

 or cushions, consisting of a substance intermediate between 

 cartilage and tendon, being attached to the sole of each foot? 

 the middle one being made up of five distinct parts, besides a 

 similar pad to each toe. In walking, the cat tribe do not 

 touch the ground with their claws, for these remain sharp 

 even in old age (which some persons may have learnt to their 

 sorrow). But in seizing their prey, or inflicting vengeance, 

 the feet by means of the claws, become instruments capable 

 of holding the victim, or piercing the skin of an enemy. This 

 is performed by an elastic ligament acting as a spring, by 

 which the claw is drawn up or backward, and to bring down 

 which, muscular action is necessary ; this is effected by 

 the contraction of a strong muscle to which the tendon is 

 attached, the shortening of which pulls down the claw, atta- 

 ched in its turn by a ligament to the bone. 



The long hairs on the upper lips of the cat tribe, are of 

 great importance to these prowlers. They are the organs 

 of touch, each one being connected with the nerves of the 

 lip, so that the slightest contact with any object is known to 

 the animal instantly. These hairs project round the head to 

 such a distance as to equal the diameter of the animal's body, 

 so that by them they can measure the size of an aperture 

 before they attempt to pass through it. The writer well 

 remembers in Leicestershire, when a boy, seeing sundry cats 

 which had been shorn of their whiskers, in consequence .of 

 poaching proclivities ; the gamekeepers asserting that under 

 such manipulation, a cat would never venture far from home 

 among bushes. 



