VARIETIES , 45 



tioii correspond with certain varieties of color j 

 and it is a fact that by selection of the breed- 

 ing of like and like, the probability is that the 

 progeny will be like the parent ; and yet this is 

 not a fixed fact. We have curious and inex- 

 plicable variations of color, especially in the 

 breeding of the cat. One of the most curious 

 of these is exemplified in the Tortoise-shell. It 

 is easy to obtain a beautifully marked female 

 Tortoise-shell ; it is difficult to find a good male 

 Tortoise-shell ; yet, having found both, and hav- 

 ing bred them, while the young females may all 

 turn out good Tortoise-shells, the average male 

 will be a red or yellow Tabby. Careful selec- 

 tion and breeding in cats has been an object of 

 attention only for a comparatively few years. 

 It is but a matter of less than half a century 

 since cat shows have been in vogue, and that 

 much attention has been paid to these animals ; 

 and undoubtedly in a few years, when we pay 

 the same attention to the breeding of our cats 

 which we have to that of the thoroughbred 

 horse and all our sporting-dogs, we will obtain 

 more definite and satisfactory results. 



The exhibit division and classification of the 



