CATS IN AMERICA. 



317 



of the country that it is only possible to give would not make many mistakes if the classes 



a light sketch of the whole ; and I do not were not too big for them. Of course, the 



expect that I shall, or anyone else could, fact must be recognised here, as elsewhere, 



begin to do justice to, or could in any way that a judge improves with experience, and 



really gauge, the number of people interested I hazard the opinion that the fewer cats he 



in cats in America. In ten years' time I owns the better he may judge, though I per- 



expect to see cities that now bring together sonally prefer for my own stock a judge who 



perhaps 100 cats, then 

 having shows contain- 

 ing hundreds ; for in 

 most places, even 

 where shows have been 

 held, we have hardly 

 scratched the surface, 

 and in perhaps only 

 one out of 100 import- 

 ant and possible towns 

 have we ever had a 

 show. The extent of 

 the possibility of the 

 future can only be 

 slightly grasped by 

 those who have 

 touched the fancy, 

 but those of us who 

 have worked for many 

 years at it see signs of 

 growth now that may 

 increase the fancy as 

 a snowball will grow 

 the further you roll 

 it the faster it grows 

 in proportion. We 

 are only just waking. 

 The future alone can say whether we shall 

 succeed ; but we must face the fact that in 

 America the cat fancy, as a whole, is an im- 

 possibility, and that cats as exhibition cats 

 can only, as a rule unless belonging to rich 

 people meet each other in competition if 

 within reasonable distance of each other. 



JUDGING IN AMERICA. 



In 1900, I arn not afraid to say, we had 

 not more than two judges capable of judg- 

 ing a small show correctly all the way 

 through. To-day we have a great many 



AN AMERICAN BEAUTY. 

 (Photo: A. Lloyd, Amsterdam, New York.) 



has at some time bred 

 the variety. I cannot 

 say that I have found 

 the judging of cats in 

 America a very diffi- 

 cult matter, up to 

 now, for classes have 

 been, as a rule, small, 

 and in most cases 

 the winners stood out 

 well ; and though, no 

 doubt, there have 

 been differences of 

 opinion upon what I 

 have done, I have not 

 had many qualms of 

 conscience over past 

 doings. The weakest 

 spot in the American 

 cat shows has been 

 the tendency of own- 

 ers to over-estimate the 

 value of their cats in 

 many cases, and the 

 disappointment of de- 

 feat comes sometimes 

 severely upon very 

 enthusiastic people ; but there is no hope for 

 a fancier who cannot surfer defeat and come 

 again for some more, so I think we need not 

 waste our tears upon these, for they were 

 never destined to succeed. Want of quality 

 is another weak spot we have to contend 

 with, and this often comes from the eye not 

 having been trained to the best. Size as a 

 factor of beauty is another fetish we have to 

 destroy with a rude hand, but our people are 

 apt pupils, and those who stay in the game are 

 very anxious to be on the right track, though 

 it will take some a few years longer to learn 



breeders who could do very fair work, and the give and take, to withdraw gracefully, 



