Chap. I. THEIR VARIATION. 45 



Bengal ; he adds, " such a colouration is utterly unknown in 

 European cats, and the proper tabby markings (pale streaks on 

 a black ground, peculiarly and symmetrically disposed), so 

 common in English cats, are never seen in those of India." Dr. 

 D. Short has assured Mr. Blyth 88 that at Hansi hybrids between 

 the common cat and F. omata (or torquata) occur, " and that 

 many of the domestic cats of that part of India were undistin- 

 guishable from the wild F. omata" Azara states, but only on 

 the authority of the inhabitants, that in Paraguay the cat has 

 crossed with two native species. From these several cases we 

 see that in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America, the common cat, 

 which lives a freer life than most other domesticated animals, 

 has crossed with various wild species ; and that in some in- 

 stances the crossing has been sufficiently frequent to affect the 

 character of the breed. 



Whether domestic cats have descended from several distinct 

 species, or have only been modified by occasional crosses, their 

 fertility, as far as is known, is unimpaired. The large Angora 

 or Persian cat is the most distinct in structure and habits of all 

 the domestic breeds ; and is believed by Pallas, but on no dis- 

 tinct evidence, to be descended from the F. manul of middle 

 Asia ; but I am assured by Mr. Blyth that this cat breeds freely 

 with Indian cats, which, as we have already seen, have appa- 

 rently been much crossed with F. cliaus. In England half-bred 

 Angora cats are perfectly fertile with the common cat ; I do 

 not know whether the half-breeds are fertile one with another ; 

 but as they are common in some parts of Europe, any marked 

 degree of sterility could hardly fail to have been noticed. 



Within the same country we do not meet with distinct 

 races of the cat, as we do of dogs and of most other domestic 

 animals; though the cats of the same country present a con- 

 siderable amount of fluctuating variability. The explanation 

 obviously is that, from their nocturnal and rambling habits, 

 indiscriminate crossing cannot without much trouble be pre- 

 vented. Selection cannot be brought into play to produce 

 distinct breeds, or to keep those distinct which have been 

 imported from foreign lands. On the other hand, in islands and 



88 « Proc. Zoolog. Soc.,' 1863, p. 184. 



