I 7 8 



MKS. STEAD'S SMOKK LITTER BY " RAXJL" 



(Photo : Russell & Sons, Baker Street.) 



CHAPTER XIV. 



SMOKE PERSIANS. 



I 



T is only 

 within re- 

 cent years 

 that smoke 

 Persian cats 

 have really 

 come into no- 

 tice at all, and 

 even now these 

 lovely cats may 

 be said to be 

 sadly neglected 

 in the fancy. It 

 was not till the 

 year 1893 that 

 they were con- 

 sidered suffici- 

 ently popular 

 to deserve a 



class to themselves. They were formerly 

 relegated to the " any other colour " class, and 

 very often at smaller shows this is where we 

 find the smokes penned. A really good smoke 

 is a thing of beauty, and it seems certain that 

 as the fancy expands and the Silver and 

 Smoke Cat Society looks after their interests, 



1 JO " AND " TINY " (SMOKES). 

 (I'hoto: Cross, Brooklyn, N.Y.) 



a good time will be in store for breeders of 

 this handsome variety. 



Smokes may therefore be called a new 

 breed, and it is a very distinctive one, made 

 up, as it were, of the three self colours 

 black, white, and blue. It is a shaded cat 

 without markings, the fur being pure white 

 underneath and gradually assuming almost a 

 black tone on the outer coat. The face, 

 paws, and back down to the tip of the tail 

 are the darkest parts, shading to a dark grey 

 down the sides and on the under part of the 

 tail. A very great beauty in smokes is the 

 light frill and ear tufts, which lend an air of 

 much distinction to this breed. The great 

 failings in many smokes is the appearance of 

 tabby markings ; these especially mar the 

 beauty of head and face, and take away from 

 their value in the show pen. The tail should 

 be quite free from any rims of light and dark, 

 and should have the upper part an even dark 

 colour, and underneath a cinder grey. Some 

 smokes are so dense in the surface coat as to 

 be really black cats with white under-coats, 

 having none of the modulated grades of dark 

 and light grey. These cats are often minus 



