270 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
of a tame Cat,* a circumstance which is the more remarkable 
as there is little doubt that the two forms can interbreed freely. 
Some popular fallacies regarding Cats are summarily disposed 
of by Mr. Mivart, and some curious facts mentioned. For in- 
stance, it is commonly believed that in the Isle of Man the Cats 
have no tails. It would be more correct to say that some Cats 
there have no tails, and in this breed the hind legs are relatively 
long. Mr. Jenner Weir saw one which had the fore legs so short 
as to be useless in walking, and the animal sat up like a 
Kangaroo. In the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons is 
a skeleton of a Cat which was born without any fore-limbs, and 
yet could jump so well as to be able to leap upon atable. All 
the bones of the fore-limbs are entirely wanting, except the 
shoulder-blades. But there are plenty of Cats with tails in the 
Isle of Man. Mr. Bartlett has measured many in the island, and 
found them of all lengths up to ten inches. 
Another popular story is that in China there is a breed of 
Cats with pendant ears, but this turns out to be not the fact. 
Pére David, who has travelled so much in China, repeatedly 
sought to find such an animal, but was never able to see any, or 
even to learn that they existed. 
Although the differences between the various breeds of the 
domestic Cat are very slight compared with those between 
different races of dogs, still very distinct varieties exist, but their 
distinctions repose chiefly on the colour and length or quality of 
the fur, and not on differences of form such as those we find 
existing between the greyhound and the pug, the spaniel and the 
mastiff. 
On the different species of the genus Felis, Professor Mivart 
has a very interesting chapter (pp. 390—439), illustrated with 
portraits of many of them, and skulls of several fossil forms. 
Fifty different species are recognised, their distinguishing 
characteristics pointed out, and their geographical distribution 
briefly sketched. This is a very useful caapter, and will be 
perused with advantage by all who desire to possess some know- 
ledge of such an important group of Mammals as the Cats, but 
who may not care to enter upon the details of anatomy and 
physiology with which the work is chiefly occupied. 
* * See ‘ Zoologist,’ 1878, p. 83574, and 1876, pp. 4867 and 5038. 
