On the Life of a Domestic Cat 



375 



Above, and in the neighbourhood of these cliffs, there are 

 at the present day several cottages occupied by salmon- 

 fishers, and it seems to me highly probable that the pieces 

 of iron found at the mouth of the cave may have been part 

 of the boat gear of some of the actual or recent inhabitants. 

 If, however, the iron was mixed up with the debris inside 

 the cave, we must suppose that these bone-splitters w r ere 

 not limited to stone implements, and that the Kjokken- 

 modding habits were by no means confined to the so-called 

 stone epoch. The remarkably perfect state of preservation 

 of many of the bones is scarcely compatible with great 

 antiquity. We know that in America, New Zealand, &c, 

 Kjokken-moddings are being formed at the present day; and 

 that so near home as the Hebrides, pottery much ruder than 

 that found in the Warburton cave is in actual use. That 

 the so-called stone, bronze, and iron epochs were clearly 

 separated from each other is probably an archaeological 

 myth ; and we have yet to learn w T hen implements of the 

 two first kinds ceased to be generally used in this country. 



In conclusion, then, we are, I think, justified in supposing 

 that this cave was used as a human habitation, and that its 

 occupiers had similar habits to the formers of the Danish 

 Kjokkennioddings. On the other hand, we have no evidence 

 of great antiquity, nor, indeed, any indication of the probable 

 age at which it was occupied. 



IU. On the Life of a Domestic Cat. By William Brown. Efq., 

 F.R.C.S.E. 



The domestic cat is generally considered to be an ignoble 

 animal. By the title-page of " Punch," the dog has a 

 world-wide reputation ; and one volume after another has 

 been dedicated to his races, instincts, and virtues. But the 

 cat is viewed by authors as merely a household drudge, and 

 is associated in companionship with cheerless old age. It 

 is perhaps this general contempt, on the part of literary 

 men,, which has exposed the animal to the infliction of 

 cruelty, and to ill usage of all kinds. It is always at hand — 

 always convenient, as Irishmen say — the readiest living object 



