1284 General Notes. [ December, 
likely to prove the “ spirit” or “soul” of man, so much talked 
of, and so little explained, than any other mental quality.—E. D. C. 
MORE CONCERNING Cats’ FOOD.—It was said by some eminent 
man that no one could know any one subject perfectly without 
knowing a little of everything. I base my claim to this universal 
knowledge on cats. 
On our old place in the country we maintained a small standing 
army of cats, to keep down the rats, which had overrun the house 
and farm-buildings, and had defied fire-arms, poison and traps. 
These cats were not pets; they lived very greatly in the woods 
and fields and were just enough domesticated to give a fair chance 
of observing their ways. It was soon perceived that there was 
almost as much diversity of taste among them, in regard to food, 
as there is among human beings. They all ate meat and milk, and 
there, I think, the community of taste ended. 
ere were many generations before my own recollection serves 
me very clearly. The first one that stands out very clearly in my 
memory is “Old Trilobite” so-called, somewhat viciously, not 
from her extreme antiquity, but on account of a peculiar trill in 
her voice.~ Old Trilobite was a small, slender Maltese. She lived 
little in the house, save in the coldest part of the winter ; she was 
a mighty hunter, and the mother of a numerous and hardy prog- 
eny of almost every possible variety. : 
She would not touch butter, nor anything made with it, although 
it was the best of fresh butter, nor would she eat anything sweet. 
She was partial to sour milk. She was often absent for days on 
hunting excursions in the woods; on her return she refused every 
kind of butcher’s meat, but it was accidentally discovered that she 
would eat raw salt pork on such occasions; she also demanded 
bread, and would eat a quantity of it. I do not remember any 
other cat that ate salt pork, or indeed any salt meat or fish (unless 
it had been very much “ freshed,” which amounts to the same 
thing), and old Trilobite seemed only to eat it as a corrective to 
an exclusive game diet. : 
“Jack,” one of Trilobite’s kittens, resembled her in many re- 
spects as to habits, but did not accord with her dietary. She a 
cake. She was also very partial to cheese, which Trilobite wou 
not touch. Cats differ greatly as to their liking for cheese. 
are extravagantly fond of it; others will not touch it. oe 
Cats, in general, like green vegetables. Asparagus is a Se 
Corn, beans and peas: many cats will eat raw. Corn, Dr. ia- 
mock mentions, is often eaten by cats who do not care for 0 ar ; 
. Potatoes, generally, are refused. As an odd cae 
I remember that of one who would eat the peels 
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