TOUCH. 201 



to the baby in the cradle, because it was the warmest 

 place within her knowledge, and next to food she 

 considered warmth as indispensable to life. She 

 persisted thus in venturing to the cradle till she was 

 at length intercepted and killed *. 



It is worth remarking, that this cat was a pale 

 tabby of small size, with a long slender tail tapering 

 to a point, none of which circumstances agree with 

 the common wild cat (Felis catus, LINN.) found in 

 our mountain woods. The latter has a short tail, 

 which, when bent over the back, only reaches to the 

 shoulder ; while it is thick, or rather broad, and does 

 not taper, but ends bluntly as if a portion had been 

 cut off. 



Tails of the wild and domestic Cat. 



M. Temminck, looking at these distinctions, and 

 also at the great difference of size, the wild being a 

 third larger than the domestic cat, is of opinion that 

 they are decidedly different species, and he is dis- 

 posed to consider a new species (Felis maniculata) 

 recently sent from Nubia by M. Riippel as the original 

 of the domestic catf, which opinion would accord 



* J. R. 



t Temminck, Mammalogie, No. iv, sp. 17. We have, since 



u3 



