1 86 



THE BOOK OF THE CAT, 



that good smokes are never so numerous any- 

 where as to become a nuisance, and we may 

 fairly congratulate ourselves at this stage of 

 the game upon what we have had and bred. 



" Opinions differ as to what is a smoke, and 

 at times we have to be rather lenient in the 

 judging of these cats, for they are apt to be 

 off colour too light or too streaky. No one 

 has yet, in America, taken up the colour 

 solely to breed smokes and nothing else, 

 which seems a pity, for they can be bred and 

 kept with blacks, and each sets off the other, 

 and when visitors come to the cattery the 

 contrast is made more apparent. 



" Those not conversant with the colour are 

 apt to think anything smoky is a smoke 

 exhibition cat, and no doubt, when good, 

 those cats with dark faces and paws and light 



bodies are very handsome, but more often 

 than not they are streaky and are smoke 

 tabbies. After mature consideration and 

 after seeing a good many, we, as well as other 

 breeders, still think that unless the ' South- 

 down ' cats, as some have called them, are 

 very good we had better stick to the old 

 definition of a smoke, and demand them dark 

 enough. 



" A really dark, rich smoke without marks 

 is, without doubt, one of the richest in colour- 

 ing of all our long-hairs, and the stars are 

 few. One may go away from the original 

 definition of a smoke, but when brought face 

 to face with a good one it forces one to con- 

 fess that this is the genuine article, and, when 

 in grand condition, a thing of beauty and a 

 joy for ever." 



" I.UCY CLAIRK." 

 OWNED BY MRS. CLINTON LOCKE. 



