178 IN NATURE'S WAYS 



a mouse-hole, like a graven image of a cat, for many 

 hours a day, day after day, waiting with infinite 

 patience for the mice to come out. So crouched, and 

 sprang, and waited her wild cat ancestors. And she is 

 half wild still, though she seems wholly tame. 



When it has been pointed out (as by Darwin) we 

 may observe that different cats show great differences 

 in their natural instincts. One cat catches rats, not 

 mice ; another takes mice, not rats. One brings home 

 birds, another rabbits. One there was who hunted 

 marshes at night, and almost nightly caught woodcock 

 and snipe. Darwin urged that those cats which pre- 

 ferred to catch rats rather than mice had ancestors 

 who likewise preferred rats and so inherited the 

 taste. 



Now and again one hears of a cat which knows 

 how to fish, though it is true that few can catch fish 

 or care to brave water. 



Some cats, which like to keep their feet dry, have 

 taken to fishing from a bank in shallow water. Others 

 will dart on to trout lying in deep clear water. One 

 cat that lived in old days at Carshalton, in Surrey, 

 would plunge without hesitation into the River 

 Wandle, and swim over to an island, first for the sake 

 of the fish she saw on the way, and then for the vermin 

 of the island. 



Another famous case was that of a cat, a household 

 favourite, which lived near Caverton Mill, in Roxburgh- 

 shire, and was very fond of fish and fishing. When 

 the mill stopped, only shallow water ran over the 

 dam, leaving the trout in difficulties. So well did the 

 cat know this, that the moment the noise of the mill- 

 clapper ceased, she would scamper to the dam and 

 run into the water, " to catch fish," it is related, " like 

 an otter." 



