VARIETIES 53 



when sold in England were called "atabi" or 

 "taffety"; and from the similarity of the 

 stripes of the banded and the brindle cats, the 

 latter were called " Tabby." Weir says that in 

 the south of England (Norfolk and Suffolk) the 

 Tabby is called a Cyprus Cat j and he found in 

 Bailey's Dictionary (1730 A.D.) that "Cyprus" 

 was a kind of cloth made of silk and hair, show- 

 ing wavy lines on it, and coming from Cyprus. 

 Evidently, therefore, the " Taffeta " or " Tabby " 

 indicates the striping, and not the color. 



The Tabby presents numerous varieties in 

 color and shade, but may be divided into four 

 general classes : 



1. The Brown Tabby. 



2. The Spotted Tabby. 



3. The Blue or Silver Tabby. 



4. The Red Tabby. 



The Broivn Tally. 



The Brown Tabby has a ground color of 

 a rich, reddish dark brown, with no white, 

 and even, regular bars and bands of solid, 

 shining black over the face, head, breast, sides, 



back, belly, legs, and tail. The face, legs, 

 5 



