<h3>MATING.</h3>
<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
<span class="i0">Yet nature is made better by no mean,<br/></span>
<span class="i0">But nature makes that mean: so, o'er that art,<br/></span>
<span class="i0">Which, you say, adds to nature, is an art<br/></span>
<span class="i0">That nature makes.<br/></span></div>
</div>
<p style="margin-left: 55%;"><i>Coriolanus, Act II. Scene I.</i></p>
<p>This requires much and careful consideration, and in this, as well as in
many other things, experience and theory join hands, while the knowledge
of the naturalist and fancier is of great and superlative value; yet,
with all combined, anything like certainty can never be assured,
although the possession of pedigree is added, and the different
properties of food, health, quality, and breed understood and taken into
account. Still, much may be gained by continued observation and close
study of the peculiar properties of colour, besides that of form. If,
for instance, a really, absolutely <i>blue</i> cat, without a shade of any
other colour, were obtainable, and likewise a pure, clear, canary
yellow, there is little doubt that at a distant period, a green would be
the ultimate goal of success. But the yellow tabby is not a yellow, nor
the blue a blue. There being, then, only a certain variety of colours in
cats, the tints to be gained are limited entirely to a certain set of
such colours, and the numerous shades and half-shades of these mixed,
broken, or not, into tints, markings light or dark, as desired. To all
colour arrangements, if I may so call them, by the mind, intellect, or
hand of man, there is a limit, beyond which none can go. It is thus far
and no further.</p>
<p>There is the black cat, and the white; and between these are intervening
shades, from very light, or white-gray, to darker, blue, dark blue,
blackish blue, gray and black. If a blue-black is used, the lighter
colours are of one tint; if a brown-black, they are another.<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_97" id="Page_97"></SPAN></span></p>
<p>Then in what are termed the sandies and browns, it commences with the
yellow-white tint scarcely visible apart from white to the uninitiated
eye; then darker and darker, until it culminates in deep brown, with the
intervening yellows, reds, chestnuts, mahoganys, and such colours, which
generally are striped with a darker colour of nearly their own shade,
until growing denser, it ends in brown-black.</p>
<p>The gray tabby has a ground colour of gray. In this there are the
various shades from little or no markings, leaving the colour a brown or
gray, or the gray gradually disappearing before the advance of the black
in broader and broader bands, until the first is excluded and black is
the result.</p>
<p>The tortoiseshell is a mixture of colours in patches, and is certainly
an exhibition of what may be done by careful selection, mating, and
crossing of an animal while under the control of man, in a state of
thorough domestication. What the almond tumbler is to the pigeon
fancier, so is the tortoiseshell cat to the cat fancier, or the bizarre
tulip to the florist. As regards colour, it is a triumph of art over
nature, by the means of skilful, careful mating, continued with
unwearying patience. We get the same combination of colour in the
guinea-pig, both male and female, and therefore this is in part a proof
that by proper mating, eventually a tortoiseshell male cat should soon
be by no means a rarity. There are rules, which, if strictly followed
under favourable conditions, ought to produce certain properties, such
properties that may be desired, either by foolish (which generally it
is) fashion, or the production of absolute beauty of form, markings in
colours, or other brilliant effects, and which the true fanciers
endeavour to obtain. It is to this latter I shall address my remarks,
rather than to the reproduction of the curious, the inelegant, or the
deformed, such as an undesirable number of toes, which are impediments
to utility.</p>
<p>In the first place, the fancier must thoroughly make up his mind as to
the variety of form, colour, association of<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_98" id="Page_98"></SPAN></span> colours or markings by
which he wishes to produce, if possible, perfection; and, having done
so, he must provide himself with such stock as, on being mated, are
likely to bring such progeny as will enable him in due time to attain
the end he has in view. This being gained, he must also prepare himself
for many disappointments, which are the more likely to accrue from the
reason that, in all probability, he starts without any knowledge of the
ancestry or pedigree of the animals with which he begins his operations.
Therefore, for this reason, he has to gain his knowledge of any aptitude
for divergence from the ordinary or the common they may exhibit, or
which his practical experience discovers, and thus, as it were, build up
a family with certain points and qualities before he can actually embark
in the real business of accurately matching and crossing so as to
produce the results which, by a will, undeviating perseverance, and
patience, he is hoping to gain eventually—the perfection he so long,
ardently, and anxiously seeks to acquire; but he must bear in mind that
that, on which he sets his mark, though high, must come within the
limits and compass of that which <i>is</i> attainable, for it is not the
slightest use to attempt that which is not within the charmed circle of
possibilities.</p>
<h3>TORTOISESHELLS.</h3>
<p>I place these first on the list because, being an old pigeon fancier and
somewhat of a florist, I deem these to be the breed wherein there is the
most art and skill required to produce properly all the varied mottled
beauty of bright colours that a cat of this breed should possess; and
those who have bred tortoiseshells well know how difficult a task it is.</p>
<p>In breeding for this splendid, gorgeous, and diversified arrangement of
colouring, a black, or even a blue, may be used with a yellow or red
tabby female, or a white male, supposing either or both were the
offspring of a tortoiseshell<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_99" id="Page_99"></SPAN></span> mother. The same males might be used with
advantage with a tortoiseshell female. This is on the theory of whole
colours, and patches or portions of whole colours, without bars or
markings when possible. In the same way some of the best almond tumbler
pigeons are bred from an almond cock mated to a yellow hen. The
difficulty here, until lately, has been to breed hens of the varied
mottling on almond colour, the hen almost invariably coming nearly, if
not quite yellow—so much so that forty to fifty years ago a yellow hen
was considered as a pair to an almond cock, in the same way as the red
tabby male is now regarded in respect to the tortoiseshell female; and
it was not until at Birmingham, many years ago, when acting as judge, I
refused to award prizes to them as such, that the effort was made, and a
successful one, to breed almond-coloured hens with the same plumage as
the cock—that is, the three colours. With cats the matter is entirely
different, it being the male at present that is the difficulty, if a
real difficulty it may be called.</p>
<p>Mr. Herbert Young, a most excellent cat fancier and authority on the
subject, is of opinion that if a tortoiseshell male cat could be found,
it would not prove fertile with a tortoiseshell female. But of this I am
very doubtful, because, if the red and the yellow tabby is so, which is
decidedly a weaker colour, I do not see how it can possess more vitality
than a cat marked with the <i>three</i> colours; in fact the latter ought, in
reality, to be more prolific, having black as one of the colours, which
is a strong colour, blue being only the weak substitute, or with white
<i>combined</i>. A whole black is one of the strongest colours and most
powerful of cats.</p>
<p>Reverting once again to the pigeon fancier by way of analogy, take, as
an instance, what is termed the silver-coloured pigeon, or the yellow.
These two, and duns, are, by loss of certain pigments, differently
coloured and constituted (like the tortoiseshell among cats) from other
varieties of pigeons of harder colours, such as blues, and blacks, or
even reds. For a long time silver turbit cock pigeons were so scarce
that, until I bred some myself, I had never seen<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_100" id="Page_100"></SPAN></span> such a thing; yet hens
were common enough, and got from silver and blues. In the nestling
before the feathers come, the young of these colours are without down,
and are thus thought to be, and doubtless are, a weakly breed; yet there
is no absolute diminution of strength, beyond that of colour, when
silver is matched to silver; but dun with dun, these last go lower in
the scale, losing the black tint, and not unfrequently the colour is
yellow; or, matched with black, breed true blacks. I am, therefore, of
opinion that a tortoiseshell male and female would, and should, produce
the best of tortoiseshells, both male and female.</p>
<p>It not unfrequently happens that from a tortoiseshell mother, in the
litter of kittens there are male blacks and clear whites, and I have
known of one case when a good blue and one where the mixed colours were
blue, light red, and light yellow were produced, while the sisters in
the litter were of the usual pure tortoiseshell markings. In such cases,
generally, the latter only are kept, unless it is the blue, the others
being too often destroyed. My own plan would be to breed from such black
or white males, and if not successful in the first attempt, to breed
again in the same way with the young obtained with such cross; and I
have but little doubt that, by so doing, the result so long sought after
would be achieved. At least, I deem it far more likely to be so than the
present plan of using the red tabby as the male, which are easily
produced, though very few are of high excellence in richness of ground
tints.</p>
<h3>TORTOISESHELL-AND-WHITE.</h3>
<p>If tortoiseshell-and-white are desired, then a black-and-white male may
be selected, being bred in the same way as those recommended for the
pure tortoiseshell, or one without white if the female has white; but on
<i>no account</i> should an ordinary tabby be tolerated, but a red tabby
female of deep colour, or having white, may be held in request, though
I<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_101" id="Page_101"></SPAN></span> would prefer patches of colour not in any way barred. The gray tabby
will throw barred, spotted, or banded kittens, mixed with tortoiseshell,
which is the very worst form of mottling, and is very difficult to
eradicate. A gray "ticking" will most likely appear between the dark
colour, as it does between the black bars of the tabby.</p>
<h3>BLACK.</h3>
<p>The best black, undoubtedly, are those bred from tortoiseshell mothers
or females. The black is generally more dense, and less liable to show
any signs of spots, bands, or bars, when the animal is in the sun or a
bright light; when this is so, it is fatal to a black as regards its
chance of a prize, or even notice, and it comes under the denomination
of a black tabby.</p>
<p>If a black and a white cat are mated, let the black be the male, blacks
having more stamina, the issue will probably be either white or black;
and also when you wish the black to be perpetuated, the black male must
be younger. In 1884, a black female cat was exhibited with five white
kittens. I have just seen a beautiful black Persian whose mother was a
clear white; this, and the foregoing example, prove either colour
represents the same for the purpose of breeding to colour.</p>
<p>For breeding black with white, take care that the white is the
gray-white, and not the yellow-white; the first generally has orange or
yellow eyes, and this is one of the required qualities in the black cat.
If a yellow-white with blue eyes, this type of eye would be detrimental,
and most likely the eyes of the offspring would have a green stain, or
possibly be of odd colours.</p>
<p>It should be borne in mind, that black kittens are seldom or ever so
rich in colour when newly born, as they afterwards become; therefore, if
without spots or bars, and of a deep self brown-black, they will in all
possibility be fine in<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_102" id="Page_102"></SPAN></span> colour when they gain their adult coat. This the
experienced fancier well knows, though the tyro often destroys that
which will ultimately prove of value, simply from ignorance. An instance
of the brown-black kitten is before me as I write, in a beautiful
Persian, which is now changing from the dull kitten self brown-black on
to a brilliant glossy, jetty beauty.</p>
<h3>BLUES.</h3>
<p>Blue in cats is one of the most extraordinary colours of any, for the
reason that it is the <i>mixture</i> of black which is no colour, and white
which is no colour, and this is the more curious because black mated
with white generally produces either one colour or the other, or breaks
black and white, or white and black. The blue being, as it were, a
weakened black, or a withdrawal by white of some, if not all, of the
brown or red, varying in tint according to the colour of the black from
which it was bred, dark-gray, or from weakness in the stamina of the
litter. In the human species an alliance of the Negro, or African race,
and the European, produces the mulatto, and some other shades of
coloured skin, though the hair generally retains the black hue; but
seldom or ever are the colours broken up as in animal life, the only
instance that has come to my knowledge, and I believe on record, being
that of the spotted Negro boy, exhibited at fairs in England by
Richardson, the famous showman; but in this case both the parents were
black, and natives of South Africa. The boy arrived in England in
September, 1809, and died February, 1813. His skin and hair were
everywhere parti-coloured, transparent brown and white; on the crown of
his head several triangles, one within the other, were formed by
alternations of the colour of the hair.</p>
<p>In other domestic animals blue colour is not uncommon. Blue-tinted dogs,
rabbits, horses of a blue-gray, or spotted with blue on a pink flesh
colour, as in the naked horse shown at the Crystal Palace some years
ago, also pigs; and<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_103" id="Page_103"></SPAN></span> all these have likewise broken colours of blue, or
black, and white. I do not remember having seen any blue cattle, nor any
blue guinea-pigs, but no doubt these latter will soon exist. When once
the colour or break from the black is acquired, it is then easy to go on
multiplying the different shades and varieties of tint and tone, from
the dark blue-black to the very light, almost white-gray. In some places
in Russia, I am told, blue cats are exceedingly common; I have seen
several shown under the names of Archangel, and others as Chartreuse and
Maltese cats. Persians are imported sometimes of this colour, both dark
and light. Next kin to it is the very light-gray tabby, with almost the
same hue, if not quite so light-gray markings. Two such mated have been
known to produce very light self grays, and of a lovely hue, a sort of
"morning gray"; these matched with black should breed blues. Old male
black, and young female white cats, have been known to produce kittens
this colour. There is a colony of farm cats at Rodmell, Sussex, from
which very fine blues are bred. Light silver tabby males, and white
females, are also apt to have one or so in a litter of kittens; but
these generally are not such good blues, the colour being a gray-white,
or nearly so, should the hair or coat be parted or divided, the skin
being light. The very dark, if from brown-black, are not so blue, but
come under the denomination of "smokies," or blue "smokies," with
scarcely a tint of blue in them; some "smokies" are white, or nearly so,
with dark tips to the hair; these more often occur among Persian than
English cats, though I once had a smoky tabby bred from a black and a
silver tabby. Importations of some of the former are often extremely
light, scarcely showing any markings. These, and such as these, are very
valuable where a self blue is desired. If these light colours are
females, a smoke-coloured male is an excellent cross, as it already
shows a weakened colour. For a very light, tender, delicate, light-gray
long-haired self, I should try a white male, and either a rich blue, or
a soft gray, extremely lightly-marked tabby.</p>
<p>As a rule, all broken whites, such as black and white,<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_104" id="Page_104"></SPAN></span> should be
avoided; because, as I explained at the commencement of these notes on
blues, the blue is black and white <i>amalgamated</i>, or the brown withdrawn
from the colouring, or, if not, with the colours breaking, or becoming
black and white. If whole coloured blues are in request, then
parti-colours, such as white and black, or black and white, are best
excluded. Blue and white are easily attainable by mating a blue male
with a white and black female.</p>
<p>The best and deepest coloured of the blue short-haired cats are from
Archangel. Those I have seen were very fine in colour, the pelage being
the same colour to the skin, which was also dark and of a uniform
lilac-tinted blue. Some come by chance. I knew of a blue English cat,
winner of several prizes, whose parents were a black and white male
mated with a "light-gray tabby" and white; but this was an exception to
the rule, for strongly-marked tabbies are not a good cross.</p>
<h3>BROWN TABBY.</h3>
<p>For the purpose of breeding rich brown black-striped tabbies, a male of
a rich dark rufous or red tabby should be selected, the bands being
regular and not too broad, the lighter or ground colour showing well
between the lines; if the black lines are very broad, it is then a
black, striped with brown, instead of a brown with black, which is
wrong. With this match a female of a good brown ground colour, marked
with dense, not broad, black bands, having clear, sharply defined edges.
Note also that the centre line of the back is a distinct line, with the
brown ground colour on which it is placed being in no way interspersed
with black, and at least as broad as the black line; by this cross
finely-marked kittens of a brilliant colour may be expected. But if the
progeny are not so bright as required, and the ground colour not glowing
enough, then, when the young arrive at maturity, mate with a dark-yellow
red tabby either male or female.<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_105" id="Page_105"></SPAN></span></p>
<p>Very beautiful brown tabbies are also to be found among the litters of
the female tortoiseshell, allied with a dark-brown tabby with narrow
black bars. It is a cross that may be tried with advantage for both
variety and richness of colour, among which it will not be found
difficult to find something worthy of notice.</p>
<h3>WHITE.</h3>
<p>Of English, or short-haired cats, the best white are those from a
tortoiseshell mother, and as often some of the best blacks. These whites
are generally of soft yellow, or sandy tint of white. Although they have
pink noses, as also are the cushions of their feet, they are not
Albinos, not having the peculiar pink or red eyes, nor are they
deficient in sight. I have seen and examined with much care some
hundreds of white cats, but have never yet seen one with pink eyes,
though it has been asserted that such exist, and there is no reason why
they should not. Still, I am inclined to think they do not, and the pale
blue eyes, or the red tinted blue, like those of the Siamese, take the
place of it in the feline race; neither have I ever seen a white horse
with pink eyes, but I find it mentioned in one of the daily papers that
among other presents to the Emperor of Russia, the Bokhara Embassy took
with them ten thoroughbred saddle-horses of different breeds, one of
them being a magnificent animal—a pure white stallion with <i>blue eyes</i>.</p>
<p>The cold gray-white is the opposite of the black, and this knowledge
should not be lost sight of in mating. It generally has yellow or light
orange eyes. This colour, in a male, may be crossed with the
yellow-white with advantage, when more strength of constitution is
required; but otherwise I deem the best matching is that of two
yellow-white, both with blue eyes, for soft hair, elegance, and beauty;
but even a black male and a white female produce whites, and sometimes
blacks, but the former are generally<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_106" id="Page_106"></SPAN></span> of a coarse description, and harsh
in coat by comparison. I think the blue-eyed white are a distinct breed
from the common ordinary white cat, nor do I remember any such being
bred from those with eyes of yellow colour.</p>
<h3>ABYSSINIAN.</h3>
<p>To breed these true, it is well to procure imported or pedigree stock,
for many cats are bred in England from ordinary tabbies, that so nearly
resemble Abyssinian in colour as scarcely to be distinguished from the
much-prized foreigners. The males are generally of a darker colour than
the females, and are mostly marked with dark-brown bands on the
forehead, a black band along the back which ends at the tip of the tail,
with which it is annulated. The ticking should be of the truest kind,
each hair being of three distinct colours, blue, yellow, or red, and
black at the points, the cushions of the feet black, and back of the
hind-legs. Choose a female, with either more red or yellow, the markings
being the same, and, with care in the selection, there will be some very
brilliant specimens. Eyes bright orange-yellow.</p>
<h3>ABYSSINIAN CROSSES.</h3>
<p>Curiously coloured as the Abyssinian cat is, and being a true breed, no
doubt of long far back ancestry, it is most useful in crossing with
other varieties, even with the Persian, Russian, Angora, or the
Archangel, the ticking hues being easy of transmission, and is then
capable of charming and delightful tints, with breadths of beautiful
mottled or grizzled colouring, if judiciously mated. The light tabby
Persian, matched with a female Abyssinian, would give unexpected
surprises, so with the dark blue Archangel; a well-ticked blue would not
only be a novelty, but an elegant colour hitherto unseen. A deep red
tabby might result in a whole colour, bright red, or a yellow tint. I
have seen a cat nearly black<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_107" id="Page_107"></SPAN></span> ticked with white, which had yellow eyes.
It was truly a splendid and very beautiful animal, of a most <i>recherch�</i>
colour. Matched with a silver-gray tabby, a silver-gray tick is
generally the sequence. A yellow-white will possibly prove excellent.
Try it!</p>
<h3>WHITE AND BLACK.</h3>
<p>For white and black choose evenly marked animals, in which white
predominates. I have seen three differently bred cats, white, with black
ears and tails, all else being white, and been informed of others. I
failed to notice the colour of the eyes which came under my own
observation, for which I am sorry, for much depends on the colour of the
eyes in selection; for though the parents are white and black, many gray
and white, tabby and white, even yellow and white will appear among the
kittens, gray being the original colour, and black the sport.</p>
<h3>BLACK AND WHITE.</h3>
<p>A deep brown, dense black ground, with a blaze up the face, white nose
and lips, should be chosen—white chest and white feet. Get a female as
nearly as possible so marked, and being a dense blue-black, both with
orange eyes, when satisfactorily marked, and sable and white kittens may
be expected.</p>
<h3>BLUE TABBY.</h3>
<p>A slate colour, or a blue male cat, mated with a strongly black-marked,
though narrow-banded blue or gray tabby, is the best for dark blue
tabbies, or a light-gray, evenly-marked female may be used. What a
lovely thing a white cat, marked with black stripes, would be! It may be
got.<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_108" id="Page_108"></SPAN></span></p>
<h3>SPOTTED TABBY.</h3>
<p>For spotted tabby the best brown are those got by mating a spotted red
tabby, the darker the better, and a brown and black spotted female.
These should be carefully selected, not only for their ground colour,
but also for the roundness, distinctness, blackness, and arrangements of
their spots.</p>
<p>For grays, blues, and light ash-coloured tabbies, the same care should
be exercised, the only difference being the choice of ground colours.</p>
<h3>FANCY COLOURS.</h3>
<p>By other odd and fanciful combinations, many beautiful mottles and
stripes may be secured, and strange, quaint, harmonious arrangements of
lines and spots produced according to "fancy's dictates;" but the
foregoing are the chief colours in request for exhibition purposes, and
most of the colour marking. In any other colour classes, the beauties,
whatever they may be, are chiefly the result of accident or sports,
selected for such beauty, or in other ways equally interesting.<br/><br/></p>
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