52 
NATURE 
[NoveMBER 19, 1903 
time as the horse ’’—tend in any way to mend matters. 
Moreover, when we turn to the chapter on some foreign 
cats, by Mr. H. C. Brooke, we find it stated, although 
somewhat guardedly, that the Egyptian cat is the 
probable ancestor of our domesticated breeds. There 
does not, therefore, seem to be complete accord in this 
respect between the two authors, and we venture to 
suggest that, although the pedigree of the original 
British breed of cat cannot be fully traced, the term 
‘“ mystery’? is scarcely appropriate to the real facts 
of the case. In this connection mention may be made 
of Mr. Brooke’s error in referring (p. 297) to the 
European and Egyptian wild cats as ‘‘ varieties’? in- 
stead of ‘‘ species.’’ It is perfectly true that the mis- 
take, in analogous cases, is very frequently made by 
amateur zoologists, but it is nevertheless quite in- 
excusable. 
Passing over the chapters devoted to the housing 
and exhibition of cats, our attention may be directed 
t> what Miss Simpson has to say with regard to the 
various breeds kept in this country. The first group 
taken into consideration is that of the long-haired or 
Persian breeds, of which quite a number of different 
strains, chiefly or entirely distinguished by colour, are 
recognised by fanciers. The author is of opinion that 
no satisfactory distinction can be drawn between 
Angora and Persian cats, and in this she is doubtless 
right. No reference is, however, made to the opinion 
current among zoologists that the Persians very prob- 
ably trace their origin to the long-haired Pallas’s cat 
(Felis manul) of Central Asia, which, with the excep- 
tion of the tail and limbs, is a nearly uniformly 
coloured species. Neither is enough made of the fact 
that all imported Persians appear to be uniformly 
coloured, although a quotation from Mr. Harrison 
Weir to this effect is given. If this be really the case, 
there can be no doubt that all Persians with ‘‘ tabby ”’ 
and ‘‘ tortoise-shell’’ markings are due to a cross 
between the pure breed and European cats. Strong 
confirmation of this is afforded by a statement of the 
author to the effect that so-called orange Persians tend 
to lose their markings and become uniformly coloured. 
Under the heading of Manx cats the author alludes 
to the current belief that these are due to a cross 
between a cat and a rabbit! A whole chapter is de- 
voted to the beautiful Siamese cat, although no refer- 
ence is made to its possible origin from the bay cat 
(F. badia). To the author’s account of ordinary short- 
haired cats we need not refer, and the remaining space 
at our disposal must be devoted to foreign cats (other 
than those kept in this country). Mr. Brooke, in 
chapter xxvi., has been fortunate in securing some 
very interesting photographs, notably those of the 
Burmese and Abyssinian breeds, the latter of which is 
also represented in a coloured plate, together with an 
Indian cat. Most remarkable of all is, however, the 
photograph of hairless New Mexican cats, now said to 
be all but, if not quite, extinct. 
Although the book might have been improved if the 
proofs had been submitted to a zoologist, there can be 
little hesitation in pronouncing it a decided success, 
and indispensable to every student and breeder of cats. 
ROE: 
NO. 1777, VOL. 69] 
AMERICAN RAILWAYS. 
American Railways. By Edwin A. Pratt. Pp. viii+ 
309. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1903.) 
Price 3s. 6d. net. 
S it appears to be the fashion just now to look 
upon British railroad management as antiquated, 
and its methods effete, it is interesting to study a book 
dealing with American practice, as its adoption in 
this country is looked upon by some as the only salva- 
tion of British railways from a dividend earning point 
of view. 
The volume before us deals with the general question 
in a fair and open manner. Mr. Pratt evidently went 
to the States with the intention of seeing as much as 
possible, and comparing what he did see with home 
practice; he gives us in his book a very readable 
account of the result. 
The big waggon question is, of course, interesting, 
and we read that twenty-five years ago the average 
freight box waggon in the United States had a 
capacity ranging from 16,000 lb. to 24,000 lb. Then, 
in 1881, the 40,000 lb. waggon was introduced, this 
being followed in 1885 by the 60,000 Ib. waggon. 
After this, in 1898, a waggon, though no larger 
than its predecessors, was so constructed as to have a 
capacity of 80,000 |b., and to-day waggons are 
being extensively used with a capacity of 100,000 Ib. 
This continual increase in waggon capacity is well 
illustrated by means of tables. The dead weight is 
gradually being reduced, and in the case of pressed 
steel waggons the proportion of paying weight to the 
total weight of the car when loaded is 73 per cent., and 
it is interesting to know that waggons of this type are 
being gradually introduced into this country, the most 
satisfactory being those designed and made by th 
Leeds Forge Company. 
With the rapid increase in the weight of trains 
hauled came the heavier and more powerful loco- 
motive, and it is here where the American locomotive 
engineer has the advantage of his British brother, it 
being possible for the American engine to be both 
higher and wider than the British engine, thus 
materially increasing its capacity. 
We read that the majority of American officials 
with whom the author discussed the big waggon 
question did not care to commit themselves to any 
recommendation of the use of such large waggons in 
Great Britain. The nearest approach is the American 
type of enlarged freight waggon for the transport of 
ccal from the collieries to the sea, and these are now 
being successfully used by the North-Eastern Railway. 
An important conversation with a prominent official 
is reported on the general question of handling of 
traffic in the two countries. He said, ours is whole- 
sale business, yours is retail. We get bigger lots than 
you do, and we can handle them to better advantage; 
but in regard to general merchandise your arrange- 
ments are far better than ours, &c. It is evident, 
therefore, that the conditions are so very different that 
the mere adoption of American methods en bloc is not 
sufficient in itself. No doubt there are many practices 
which can be assimilated with advantage, and these 
can only be discovered and thought out by sending 
