386 



UTILITARIAN ZOOLOGY 



— the uncertainty of temper displayed by nearly all the wild 

 members of the feline tribe when tamed being, of course, an 

 expression of the interference of individual with hereditary 

 experience. And, as contrasted with all the wild species of 

 the genus when tamed, the domestic cat is conspicuous in alone 

 manifesting any exalted development of affection towards the 

 human kind; for in many individual cases such affection, under 

 favouring circumstances, reaches a level fully comparable to that 

 which it attains in the dog." 



Passing notice may be given to the Mangoustis or Mungooses, 

 also known as Ichneumons, of which one, the Egyptian Mungoose 



3C ''■=^vip;^/T *;2?=5^;*?-'~5--- 



^- 



F ), 1 7j i J "^I n^ // /t s .^nstus) 



{Hcrpcsfcs ichneumon), has been domesticated in Egypt from time 

 immemorial, while the common Indian Mungoose {H. eriseiis, fie- 

 1273) is commonly kept as a pet in its native country, and appears 

 to be both intelligent and affectionate. The latter species is 

 known to the readers of Kipling as " Rikki-tikki ". 



Gnawing Mammals (Rodentia). — Human influence has re- 

 sulted in the production of a large number of varieties of Rabbits, 

 Rats, and Mice, some of which have been alternately tended 

 and neglected by almost every boy. Upon the Rabbit {Lepus 

 cuniailus) one of the most remarkable results of domestication 

 has been, in certain breeds, the great elongation of the ears, 

 and the drooping position they have assumed. There has also 

 been a large amount of variation in the colour and character of 

 the fur. 



The various domesticated breeds of Rat {^Rhis ratijis) and 



