148 ME. R. I. POCOCK ON [Feb. 19, 



differs only "in color and some other trifling accidents" from the 

 Wild Cat (British Zoology, vol. i. p. 94, 1812), and Kerr describes 

 the stripes on the sides of the Wild Oat as being "perpendicular 

 or spiral" (Anim. Kingd. p. 152, 1792), thinking apparently that 

 the blotched " Tabby " was a domesticated form of the European 

 Wild Oat and that the shape and direction of the stripes were 

 subject to variation and of no particular moment. 



Even the writings of later authors leave them open to suspicion 

 on this point. Gray, for example, pointed out that a Domestic Oat 

 brought by Darwin from S. America was remarkable for its striking 

 likeness to the Oaffre Oat. But there is nothing surprising 

 in this if, as I suppose from the description, the Oat in question 

 was merely a slightly aberrant example of the Striped " Tabby" 

 breed. This Gray could hardly have failed to detect had he 

 been familiar with the Domestic Oats of London. Again, since 

 Blanford and Mivart both regarded Indian specimens of the 

 " Striped breed," known as F. torquata, as examples of a genuine 

 wild species, it may be inferred that they were both ignoi'ant of 

 the fact that Oats inseparable from that type, as figured by Ouvier, 

 might be seen any day in London, where and at the time when 

 their volumes, below (p. 159, footnote) cited, were being written. 

 Setting aside breeders and owners of " Fancy Oats," who could 

 hardly be expected to appreciate the significance of the differences 

 of pattern above described, although well aware of their- existence, 

 two scientific writers on Oats must be mentioned as clearly 

 apprehending the fact. One of these is Rope, whose paper, 

 published in 1881, has been already mentioned; the other is 

 that astute observer Blyth, who so long ago as 1845* pointed 

 out that the two types of pattern are found in the Domestic Oats 

 of Europe. In an additional note on the subject published 

 in 1856 t, he spoke of the true Tabby pattern as being possibly 

 a " modification (and a very remarkable one) of the markings of 

 the wild F. sylvestris of Europe." 



Rope apparently did not know of Blyth's papers. All the 

 more remarkable is it therefore that both authors describe this 

 Tabby as being marked with pale streaks on a dark ground ; and 

 this description was repeated by Hamilton in his notice of Rope's 

 paper. It is obvious, however, that no Oat can be scientifically 

 described as marked in this way. Hence it is possible that the mis- 

 leading terminology employed by Blyth, Rope, and Hamilton may 

 have suggested to the readers of their writings that the blotched 

 •"Tabby" markings belong to the same category as the piebald 

 or skewbald, usually asymmetrical coloration of black-and-white 

 or brown-and- white cats, dogs, horses, cattle, and other tamed or 

 domestic mammals infected with either melanism, albinism, or 

 erythrism, or with any two of these taints, or with the three 

 combined. This may partly account for the fact that the difiiculty 

 •of deriving the blotched Tabby pattern from that of F. ocreata or 



* Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, xiv. pt. i. pp. 342-343. 

 t Op. cit. XXV. p. 443. 



