40 ROUND THE YEAR 



of Asia Minor, and has been a place of note for 2,000 

 years. Under the name of Ancyra it was the capital 

 of the Roman province of Galatia. Not only the cats, 

 but the goats and dogs of Angora have thick, long, 

 and silky hair. This is attributed to the action of the 

 climate, which is very cold in winter and hot in 

 summer, and we are told that all these animals lose 

 much of their beauty when taken away from their 

 native country. 



I am fond of a cat, and I admire her yet more than 

 I love her. The cat has a beauty which comes of 

 perfect adaptation to a life of emergencies. She 

 is light, swift, adroit, quick to perceive, quick to act. 

 She is most at home on trees, where her wild pro- 

 genitors sought their prey. The stealthy and self- 

 effacing movement by which a cat in pursu t of a bird 

 creeps along a bough reminds us of a tree-snake. 

 The peculiar iris of a cat, which can change the pupil 

 from a vertical slit to a circle, is excellently suited to 

 an animal which has continually to pass from the 

 shade of dense foliage into full sunlight, and back 

 again into shade. The presence of mind of the cat is 

 marvellous. I have seen a cat chased by two dogs 

 into a corner of a yard with high walls, but the 

 cat escaped unharmed by a gymnastic feat which 

 involved running for several feet up a vertical wall, 

 turning in the air, alighting on the back of one of the 

 dogs, and springing thence to the top of a gate. 



Perhaps no animal surpasses the cat, and few rival 

 her in the power of alighting on her feet when 

 accidentally falling. The mechanics of this wonderful 

 accomplishment, which must often preserve the cat's 



