I 



Guinea- Pigs. 47 



in 1889, and died on November 5th, 1906, its sire being * Pereo,' 

 and its dam ' Beauty.' It was bred by Miss M. Gresham (Mrs. 

 E. T. Bridgewater), and presented by Mrs. 1). B. Balding in 1907. 

 The Smoke Persian breed is represented by the skin and skeleton 

 of a male, bred by Miss Power in 1898, which died in 1900. The 

 specimens were presented by Mr. W. F. Heath, The brown Tabby 

 Persian Cat is represented by a male specimen presented by Sergeant 

 S. Ingram in 1902 ; while the Blue Persian breed is shown by 

 ' Forget-Me-Not,' a cat formerly belonging to Mrs. Herring, by 

 whom it was presented on its death in 1903. Of the Manx Cat the 

 collection includes a specimen from the Isle of Man, presented by 

 Mr. G. 0. Bacon in 1903 ; and there is also a Tailless Cat from 

 Cornwall, presented by Mr. C. L. Hart Smith in 1903 ; and the 

 skeleton of a third, presented by Mrs. Collins in 1902. The Siamese 

 Cat is represented by an immature specimen bred in England, and 

 presented by Mr. J. Harrington in 1902 ; while of the Indian 

 Domesticated Cat there is an example purchased in 1903. Mention 

 may also be made of the skeleton of the fore-limbs of a Many-toed, 

 or Polydactyle Cat, having in one limb the normal first toe double 

 and in the other triple. This interesting sijecimen was presented by 

 Mr. P. E. Rumbelow in 1905. 



The Ferret {Putorius fiiro) is a domesticated and 

 generally albino derivative of the Wild Polecat {Putoriits 

 fuctidus, or P. putorius) ; and is represented by a specimen presented 

 by Mr. W. Mayes in 1900. Brown Ferrets, or so-called Polecat- 

 FeiTets, are generally, if not invariably, hybrids between the Ferret 

 and the Polecat. Two examples of the AVild Polecat from 

 Aberystwyth, N. Wales, presented by Mr. W. Ruskin Butterfield in 

 1902, are exhibited in the case to show the parent-form of the 

 Ferret. 



_ . p. The Domesticated Guinea-Pig is believed to be 



° ' descended from the wild Aperea {Cavia cidleri) 

 of Peru, w^liich was tamed by the ancient Incas. In the case is 

 exhibited a specimen of the uniformly coloured phase resembling the 

 wild race ; another of the variegated phase ; and a third of the 

 rough-haired breed, originally Japanese. All three were bred in 

 England, and presented by the Zoological Society in 1901. Two 

 other specimens, a grey and white and an orange and white, are 

 exhibited in order to illustrate the ' disiissociation ' of the two 

 colour-elements in the original brownish grey of the wild race. In 

 the one case we have black (mingled with white to form grey), and 

 in the other oransre. 



