218 



THE BOOK OF THE CAT. 



so writes Mrs. Balding, " would probably be 

 tortoiseshell - and - sable tabby, as free from 

 marking and as red in ground colour as 

 possible. A cross of orange, bright coloured 

 and as nearly as obtainable from unmarked 

 ancestors, would be useful. Some nine years 

 ago I purchased a dimly marked bright sable 

 coloured cat, ' Molly,' shown by Mrs. Davies 

 at the Crystal Palace, with a view to producing 

 a self-coloured sable cat ; but ' Molly ' unfor- 

 tunately died, and I abandoned the idea." The 

 nearest approach to a self-sable I have ever 

 come across was a cat I obtained for the 

 Viscountess Esher, which had, alas ! been 

 neutered. He was almost unmarked, and of 

 the colour of Canadian sable, with golden eyes 

 a most uncommon specimen. 



Another species is the spotted tabby, but I 



have never seen a true specimen in Persians. 



Some brown tabbies are ticked or spotted on 



the sides, but they have the spine line and 



ings on neck, head, and tail. 



Very few and far between have been good 

 brown tabbies in the history of the fancy. 

 Amongst the males two names may be said 

 to stand out conspicuously Miss Southam's 

 " Birkdale Ruffie " and my own " Persim- 

 mon." Both these cats, of quite different types, 

 have gone to their rest. 



As regards the famous Birkdale strain, the 

 following account, kindly supplied to me by 

 Miss Southam, will be of interest : 



" There is no doubt that, until quite recently, 

 .our old friend the tabby has been deliberately 

 placed in the background, and regarded in the 

 show world with an indifference which has 

 proved an unmistakable stumbling block to the 

 improvement of this particular breed. 



" Nor is this very much to be wondered at, 

 when we take into consideration the hideous 

 combination of the drab, colourless browns, 

 dowdy greys, and indistinct markings which 

 had hitherto constituted the chief charms of 

 the typical tabby. Instead, it would appear 



A ROOM IN BKAYKOKT CATTERY. 

 (Photo : W. Lawrence, Dublin.) 



