Untitled - Kyina & Talisker Cats Breeders of Russian Blues in ...

happened. In that case we might surmisethat these " Siamese " in SouthernRussia were the result of the passage ofa catavat along the trade routes betweenEast and West. A single virile cat,hetrozygos for the Siamese factor, escapingfrom a merchant,s caravan and fend_ing for itself on the outskirts of a villagewould pass on the I'actor to its offspringand in time the homozygos Siamese catwould appear in all its striking strangenessoI'colour.The other line of thought is that whata chromosome has done once, anothersimilar chromosome can do again with asimilar result and that thc same murations,or very similar mutations, may l.ravcoccurred more than once in differentparts of the world. I hope I have correctlyrecorded Dr. Archer,s verv interestingdeductions.Hand-coloured PlatesIf Herr Pallas had been enterprising,or not otherwise engaged, and importedthese cats with the idea of breeding fromthcm, the cat rvc now call Siamese mightbe known as a Caspian or e ven a Russian IfJnfortunately the plates in this 140-year-old volume are hand-coloured andthc exact colouring ol the cat shownvaries in different volumes. In all the" points " are unmistakable, but in somethe cat is very much darker than wcshould expect with a Siamese. In theLondon Library copy, on the other hand,it is unmistakably light chestnut. Nodoubt the people responsible for thepiatcs in London in 1812, never havingseen a " Siamese " had difficulty inimagining just what it was like ! Thebook and plate will be shown, I hope, agthe " Cats Through the Ages ,, Exhibitronat the R.W.S. Gallery in July.Not the Pallas CatI shouid make it clear that this catdescribed by Pallas is not the same catas that called " Pallas's Cat," first describedby Pallas in 1776. A specimenof this beautiful cat was recently acquiredby the London Zoo but it hasunfortunately died. Pallas's Cat is rathersmaller than the average cat, has a thickLong coat, a short ringed tail, with blackmarkings on its chest and upper limbs.Its head is broad and high above theeyes. Much ol' the hair appears to be" ticked " running through grey, yeliowand white. For those who take an interestin the origins of their pets, it has beensuggested that Pallas's cat bears the samcrelation to the Angora or Persian as theCaflre Cat of Africa to the Shorthair.See sketches on the opposite page.BO'SUN !We regret that up to the tirne ofclosing for press with this issueno further news had been receivedfrorn the yacht .. Mary Hillier,ttand we are therefore unable toresulnc with the adventures of ourSailor Siarnese,This is roorth thinlcirtg about. A Sub-scription- t-o this Magazine makcs th€ ideal presentroungfor . c.treratlve or triend . . . . for a birthday or any othcraoccreion. ft'csift that lasts the whole year through..-Wc sha.ll be pleased to send OUR CATS to any partrrof thcocsrred,wortdtoud.eaclose your personal greetiDg or message to the recipient,_9_:1,_!opr.-ptior rate is. l7s, 6d.- (which includes post4ge)montnryfor rwelvcr_ss_ues. I(caders in America should rehit-ThreE Dollars (bvcneca o^r brrls) and- those on the continent curuoneyobtainUrderan Internationalthrousb their local pogt omce. The addrese lor subscriptionii"_.9!rn CATS Malazine. 4 Car-lt;; v".ii",i-Ciil;;;s.w.9.R;"d;-i;,-e;;;26