TO R TOISESHELL-AND - WHITE PERSIANS. 



213 



I think they might also be called patchwork 

 cats ! There is a. great deal in the manner 

 in which the colours are distributed on either 

 side of the head, for expression in a cat goes 

 n long way, and if the patches are badly 

 placed and unevenly distributed the effect 

 may be displeasing, and perhaps grotesque. 



Harrison \Yeir, in writing of this breed, 

 says: "In a good tortoiseshell - and - white 

 there should be more white on the chest, belly, 

 and hind legs than is allowable in the black- 

 and-white cat. This I deem necessary for 

 artistic beauty when the colour is laid on in 

 patches, although it should be even, clear, and 

 distinct in its outline ; the larger space of white 

 adds brilliancy to the red, yellow, and black 

 colouring. The face is one of the parts which 

 should have some uniformity of colour, and 

 yet not so, but a mere balancing of colour ; 

 that is to say, there should be a relief in black, 

 with the yellow and red on each side, and so 

 in the body and tail. The nose should be 

 white, the eyes orange, and the whole colouring 

 rich and varied, without the least ' tabbiness,' 

 either brown or grey, or an approach to it, such 

 being highly detrimental to its beauty." 



This is another of the breeds of long-haired 

 cats that may be said to have no history in the 

 fancy, and I doubt if tortoiseshell-and-whites 

 will ever be taken up seriously. There will 

 always remain the difficulty of obtaining good 

 mates for the queens, as males in this variety 

 are almost as rare as in the tortoiseshells. It 

 would seem that the corresponding males to 

 tortoiseshells and tortoiseshell-and-whites are 

 orange and fawns. I do not remember ever 

 having seen or heard of a long-haired tortoise- 

 shell-and-white torn cat ; and as regards notable 

 females, these have never at any time been 

 numerous, and few really good specimens have 

 been exhibited. 



The most perfect type was Lady Marcus 

 Beresford's " Cora," an imported cat of great 

 size and beautiful shape. Her colouring and 

 markings were lovely, and her round snub 

 face and short nose lent great charm to this 

 unique specimen. It was a grievous loss to 

 her owner and the fancy when poor " Cora " 

 14* 



MISS YEOMAN , S TOKTOISESHELL-AXD-WHITE 



" MARY II." 

 (Photo: D. Pym, Streatlmm.) 



suddenly developed dropsy, and succumbed to 

 this rather unusual complaint amongst cats. 

 Mrs. Davies possessed a fine tortoiseshell-and- 

 white named " Chumly," and Mrs. Bamp- 

 fylde's " Susan " was a good type. Many of 

 the cats exhibited have either too much or 

 too little white, and often there is a grave sus- 

 picion of tabby amongst the black and orange. 



Coming down to the present-day cats, I may 

 mention Mr. Furze's " Beauty of Birming- 

 ham " and " Peggy Primrose," both of which 

 he disposed of after shows where they were 

 exhibited. There is no doubt these cats are 

 very taking in the show pen, where darker 

 feline beauties are at a considerable dis- 

 advantage. 



I have had a difficulty in obtaining any 

 good photographs illustrative of these cats, 

 for, as with tortoiseshells, the colouring cannot 

 be successfully portrayed by any grada- 

 tions in tone, so that the orange and black 

 both appear dark on a white ground, and 



