10 
points of their structure are concerned, and none even in 
their habits, excepting such as are caused by the different 
circumstances under which they live. The one preys on 
antelope, while the other lives on rats and mice; but they 
hunt for them and catch them in one and the same manner. 
They are the two extremes of the Felida , or cat family, 
regarded in point of size. 
The domesticated house cat probably originated in Egypt 
not less than thirty to thirty-five centuries ago, and most 
likely is descended from Felis caligata, a wild species still 
found in that country. 
The true cats—composing the genus Felis —are externally 
distinguished from the other members of the family, or the 
lynxes, by their slender form and by a much longer tail than 
is ever possessed by any of the latter genus. 
About fifty species of cats are now known, found in all re¬ 
gions except in the West Indies, Australia, and Madagascar. 
The Lion (JFelis led) ranges all through Africa, from the 
Cape of Good Hope to the Mediterranean, and through a 
great part of southern Asia, but there, at least, in rapidly 
lessening numbers. 
THE AFRICAN LION. 
