CHAPTER XIV 



MAMMALS (BEASTS AND MAN) 



SUGGESTIONS. A tame rabbit, a house cat, or a pet squirrel may 

 be taken to the school and observed by the class. Domestic ani- 

 mals may be observed at home and on the street. A study of the 

 teeth will give a key to the life of the animal, and the teacher 

 should collect a few mammalian skulls as opportunities offer. The 

 pupils should be required to identify them by means of the chart 

 of skulls (p. 194). If some enthusiastic students fond of anatomy 

 should dissect small mammals, the specimens should be killed with 

 chloroform, and the directions for dissection usual in laboratory 

 works on this subject may be followed. There is a brief guide on 

 page 223. The following outline for the study of a live mammal 

 will apply almost as well to the rabbit or squirrel as to the cat. 



The Cat. The house cat (Felts domes tica) is probably 

 descended from the Nubian cat (Felts maniculata, Fig. 333) 

 found in Africa. The wild species is about half again as 

 large as the domestic cat, grayish brown with darker 

 stripes ; the tail has dark rings. The lynx, or wild cat 

 of America (Lynx rufns\ is quite different. Compare the 

 figures (333, 335) and state three obvious differences. 

 To which American species is the house cat closer akin, 

 the lynx (Fig. 335) or the ocelot (Fig. 334)? The domes- 

 tic cat is found among all nations of the world. What is 

 concluded, as to its nearest relatives, from the fact that the 

 Indians had no cats when America was discovered ? It 

 was considered sacred by the ancient Egyptians, and after 

 death its body was embalmed. 



The body of the cat is very flexible. It may be divided 

 into five regions, the head, neck, trunk, tail, and limbs. Its 



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