CHAPTER XI. 



HABITS AND HAIR OF CARNIVORES. 



Cats. 



Another large and important order of hair-clad mammals must 

 now be considered, and the same course as in the case of the ungu- 

 lates will be followed ; the two leading families of Felidse and 

 Canidse will be taken, and a type of each examined in reference 

 to its hair-distribution. Lydekker gives about 100 pages to the 

 cats and 80 to the dogs, so from the point of view of general biology 

 there seems little to choose between them. The bears, racoons, 

 weasel tribe, seals and walruses may be put out of account. They 

 are painfully old-fashioned or Normal as to the arrangement of 

 their hair. 



First things first is always a good rule, and there is little doubt 

 where we ought to begin among the families and species Carnivores. 

 Among Felidae one cannot unfortunately choose the harmless 

 necessarj' cat of tiles, areas, firesides and ladies' laps, to say nothing 

 of those lovers of cats like Huxley who would never eject his cat 

 from his armchair if she had been there before him. It is true 

 that we know much of her daily and nightly mode of life — many 

 of us too much — and in that respect one could set to work with 

 confidence in interpreting her hair patterns, but on account of 

 her long and thick coat we can only speculate what patterns or 

 innovations of her family uniform she might have devised ; but 

 here we are not concerned with romance or the " might have beens." 

 It will be remarked that one perforce unconsciously calls the 

 domestic cat " she " as sailors do their ships. I understand that 

 in Somersetshire they call everything of their common life " he " 

 except the tom-cat who is always " she." The reasons for the use 

 of genders in different creatures would be an interesting little study. 



Lion. 



The King of Beasts will, therefore, be the hero of this chapter. 

 Lydekker tells us that the lion, like many heroes of antiquity 

 who are no heroes to their valets, in spite of his character for 

 grandeur, nobility and courage, has been subjected to the merciless 

 higher criticism of modern travellers, Selous, Livingstone, and others, 



