ABYSSINIAN CAVIES 293 



specimen have been adopted, I think it may be said of 

 them, as we are told about poets, " they must be born, not 

 made." 



Only secondary to the texture of the coat comes the 

 question of rosettes, which, for the information of any 

 novices amongst my readers, I may explain, are little 

 circular stars of hair, each distinct and prominent, about 

 the size of a florin, or larger, and dotted about all over 

 the little animals' head and body, giving a rumpled and 

 hair-brushed-the-wrong-way effect, and with short bristly 

 hair about the face and lips, making it look what it 

 certainly is not, a most savage and ferocious little brute. 



Although I think there are more breeders of these 

 than of Peruvians, partly because they do not require so 

 much space and are less trouble to keep in order, I con- 

 sider they are prejudiced by being at the great majority 

 of shows thrown into competition with them, it being so 

 often that the classification is merely " Rough and 

 Smooth Cavies," when a Peruvian stands a good chance 

 of being put over an Abyssinian, unless the judge is a 'keen 

 fancier of cavies, as well as of the other descriptions of 

 <c Fur " coming under his judicial functions. 



Questions of colour are, as I said about the Peruvians, 

 not deemed so important in this variety ; for my own 

 part, I prefer pure self or tortoiseshell to any other 

 shades, but, as the right sort of coat and a good distribu- 

 tion of rosettes are so much the hardest points to obtain, 

 the best-coloured specimens would have to stand back 

 unless they were also good in those respects. This 

 variety requires little preparation or grooming, it being 



