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Show CUAI'. I. 44 DOMESTIC CATS. . . · 1 t . ts cross rea d1'l Y W. l' tb various wil·d mino-led: it lS C'm-tam t 1a ca . t . of the domestiC b tb t the charac er . species ' and it would • appear a s ueen thu s a.crected. Sir W. G ill breeds has, at least m some case ' h f Scotland there has Jardine has no doubt that,. " m· the no.r t o ccies (F. ' sylvestris), been occasional crossm· g tl our nat1vo sp Wl 1 1 been kept in our and that the result of those cross;~ laS cats very closely houses. I have seen, " he ,a dds' t mantty. at could scarcely b e . d t l one or wo u resembling tho wll ca ' anc Bl h s5 ·emarks on this passage, distingm.s hed fr om 1.t ." Mr . . ytth e soIu thern parts of ~ng l an d ; " but such cats arc never seen. m. at tho affimty of the still as compared 'th Indian tame c ' Wl any . . manifest · and duo I ' . . 1 t t F. svlvestrzs lS ' ordinary Bntls 1 ca 0 · . .:J t t' 0 when the tame cat t · tenmxture a a liD . suspect to frcquen m . . d tinued rare, while the . d d . to Bntam an con " I was first mtro uce m b d t than at present. n . c . more a un an G • 1 wild species was 1ar d tr·ustworthy authon ty t 1at J · 1 SG ras assure on ' Hungary, mtte es "' . . £ le domestic cat, and that a wild male cat crossed with ad emat. t d state In Algiers 1. d · a omes 1ca o · the hybrids long 1ve m d . h th wild cat (F. Lybica) of · t h s crosse w1t e the domestic ca a Af . l\'Ir E La;rard informs me, 7 In South nca, as . . . b that countr.y . · t . ·n gles f ree 1y 'th the wild F. ca.ff-ra ; e WI ':11 • the domestiC cat m errol . 't tame and partl- . . f h brids whiCh were qm c has seen a pa1r 0 Y h b ·ht them up · and Mr. Fry h l th lady w o roug ' . cularly attac ec to e . . f ·t'l In India the domestiC b tl hybnds are er I e. . has found t at lose h 1 Wl'th c0. M Bl th as crosse( 1' ur Indian species. cat, accordmg to r. Y ' . s F. chaus an excellent With respect to one of .these speciethat .he on~o killed, near observer, Sir vV. Elliot, u~forms .me 'd ntly hybrids from the Madras, a wild brood, whiCh ':'erel evhla~ a thick lynx-like tail · t · these young amma s domestiC ca , h . 'd of tllo forearm charac-l b . ba . on t e ms1 e and the broac rown .r. W Ell' t dds that he has often tcristic of F. chaus. Sn · h 1~ • a ms of domestic cats in d h. mark on t o 1orear observe t lS same \. d t' cats coloured nearly like India Mr. Blyth states that omes lC • " • b d in F. ch~us, but not resemuling that speciCs m shape, a oun 85 Asialic Soc. of Cal culm ; Cmator's Report, Aug. 1856. 'fhc pas~agc fro~ Sir W. J ardine is quoted from .thts Report. Mr. Blyth, who ho.s csp~cwlly. altcndcd to tho wild ~nd d?mcstw cats of India, has given m tlus Report a very iutcrcstm. g eli scussl·o n on thoir origin. ' 1862 s sa 'Falm!l. llungarlro Sup., ' . 12. II"I . I Hi~t 87 I sid. Geoffroy Sainl 1 au c, . Nat. Gen.,' tom. iii. P· 177. C HAP. 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 Enghsh 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. ornata (or torquata) occur, "and that many of tho domestic cats of that part of India were undistinguisbablo from tho wild F. ornata." Azara states, but only on tlw authority of the inhabitants, that in Paraguay the cat bas 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 instances the crossing has been sufficiently frequent to affect tho 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, js 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 distinct 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 apparently been much crossed with F. cltaus. 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 oat, as we do of dogs and of most other domestic animals ; though the cats of the same country present a considerable amount of fluctuating variability. The explanation obviously is that, from their nocturnal and rambling habits, indiscriminate crossing cannot without much trouble be prevented. Selection cannot be brought into play to produce distinct breeds, or to keep those distinct which have been imported from foreign lands. Ou tho other band, in islands and 88 'rwc. Zoolog. Soc.,' 1863, p. 184. |