SILVER OR CHINCHILLA PERSIANS. 



141 



able thing of beauty, and ere it has reached 

 the age of eight months, bars and stripes will 

 have, so to speak, set in severely, and our 

 unmarked specimen of a silver kit develops 

 into a poorly marked tabby cat. I may say 

 that if the kittens are going to be really pale 

 silvers they will in the majority of cases have 

 very pale faces and paws, with little or no 

 marking, whilst the body will be fairly even 

 dark grey perhaps almost black. In a week 

 or two a change takes place, as the under- 

 coat begins to grow, and it will be noticed 

 that the kittens become more even in colour, 

 the contrast between their light face and dark 

 backs will not be nearly so accentuated, and 

 by the time they are nine or ten weeks old 

 they will look almost unmarked. The reason 

 for this is that the dark fur they are born 

 with is really only the extreme tips of the 

 hair, and as their coats grow in length this 

 shading becomes more dispersed. 



And here I will allude to the so-called three- 

 fold classification which was part of the scheme 

 of the Silver Society, founded by Mrs. Cham- 

 pion in 1900. At the inaugural meeting Mrs. 

 Stennard Robinson took the chair. Voting 

 papers had previously been distributed 

 amongst the members, asking for their votes 

 on the question of establishing three classes 

 for silvers namely, chinchillas, shaded 

 silvers, and silver tabbies. The votes 

 recorded were fifty-four in favour of 

 the threefold classification, and nine 

 against it. So this was carried by a 

 large majority, and the question of 

 points discussed and settled as follows : 



CHINCHILLAS. 



As pale and unmarked silver as possible. 

 Any brown or cream tinge to be considered 

 a great drawback. Eyes to be green or 

 oi'ange. Value of points as follows : 



Head . . . . . . . . . . 20 



Shape . . . . . . . . ..15 



Colour of coat . . . . . . 25 



Coat and condition. . . . . . 20 



Colour, shape, and expression of eyes 10 

 Brush. . . . . . . . 10 



Total . 100 



After much discussion, Lady Marcus Beres-. 

 ford moved, and Mrs. Champion seconded, 

 the following definition of Shaded Silvers : 



SHADED SILVERS. 



Colour : pale, clear silver, shaded on face, legs, and 

 back, but having as few tabby markings as possible. 

 Any brown or cream tinge a great drawback. Eyes 

 green or orange. Value of points : 



Head 20 



Colour of coat . . . . . . . . 25 



Coat and condition . . . . . . 20 



Colour, shape, and expression of eyes 10 

 Shape . . . . . . . . ..15 



Brush . . . . . . . . 10 



Total 100 



From this list it will be seen that for colour 

 the highest points are given, and that eyes 

 may be green or orange. But during the 

 two years which have elapsed since the forma- 

 tion of the Silver Society, there has been a 

 decided desire on the part of breeders for 

 green eyes only, and certainly our best qualified 

 silver judges are not partial to any other 

 coloured eyes in this variety. In an article 

 on the colour of eyes in silvers, " Zaida " of 

 Fur and Feather writes : " Eye colouring 

 threatens to become a matter of fashion. 

 Some eight years ago we received from a first- 

 rate fancier and exhibitor a letter respecting 

 a chinchilla cat, which later became a great 



" SHAH OF PERSIA. 

 THE PROPERTY OF MRS. ANNINGSON. 



