THE RACOON 223 



for the whole cat tribe are formed ahnost in entirely the 

 same manner. The reader is referred to a work of ours, 

 entitled '' The Cat," published by John Murray of London 

 and Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Therein the 

 anatomy, physiolog}^, development, and general natural 

 history of the cat and cat tribe are set forth in detail. The 

 cat's teeth are admirably adapted for cutting flesh, two 

 opposite grinders especially, one in the upper and one 

 in the lower jaw, having sharp cutting blades, which play 

 one against the other like the blades of a pair of scissors. 

 On this account these two teeth are known as the 

 " sectorial " teeth. The small number of the teeth is also 

 a noteworthy character. Behind the large eye teeth, or 

 canines, there are in the lower jaw but three teeth on 

 each side. Of these, the first is but a small one, while 

 the third and largest is the lower sectorial tooth. 

 In the upper jaw, the first tooth behind the canine is 

 exceedingly small, and in some kinds of the cat tribe is 

 wanting altogether. The third tooth is much the largest, 

 and, with its sharp cutting edges, is the upper sectorial. 

 Behind this is a very minute tooth, which has no cutting- 

 edges, but is like each of the grinders of the bear and 

 racoon family, a tubercular tooth Except in the 

 hunting leopard, or cheetah, all the claws are completely 

 retractile. 



There are more than forty different species of the cat 

 tribe. As was long ago remarked by Buffbn, the great 

 cats of the Old and New World are markedl}^ distinct. 

 The lion, tiger, leopard, ounce, clouded tiger, caracal, and 

 cheetah, wuth a variety of smaller cats, are all inhabitants 

 of the Old World only. The puma, jaguar, ocelot, 

 jaguarondi, eyra, collocolli, the pampas cat, and one or 

 two others, are exclusively inhabitants of the New 

 World. It is only among the lynxes that we find a form 



