The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-10-09 00:00:00

THE CRYSTAL PALACE CAT SHOW.

The Times of Wednesday has the following article on the
Cat Show at the Crystal Palace :

In this age of shows, when everything that flies, or
walks, or swims is for ever being exhibited to our more
or less enraptured gaze, it is right that this particular
show should hold its own. We have shows of horses,
cattle, sheep, dogs, even of goats and donkeys, of
poultry and pigeons; of bees, their hives, and the
produce thereof; flower shows, fruit shows, shows of
vegetables and roots, both good and bad to eat; shows
of all manner of beautiful and useful arts, including
the art of dressing hair and of making an omelet.
Why not, then, a show of cats?
This, which opened yesterday, is the seventh show
that has been held under the roof of the Crystal Palace.
Seven years ago there were but 62 cats found to brave
the verdict of the judges. This year there are no less
than 323 cages numbered in the catalogue, many of
them holding more than one occupant. Among these
cages, or rather among their occupants, are distributed
no leas than 137 prizes, varying in value from one
guinea to half-a-crown, and in one particular class, in
addition to the money prize, a silver cup is offered
as the meed of the fairest. For every entry a sum
of 3s. 6d. is charged, save in oertain classes where
the fee is one or two shillings, notably in the class con-
fined to working men, to whom some of the ladies and
gentlemen of the Committee, headed by Lady Dorothy
Neville, offer special prizes as an inducement to the
care and kind treatment of the animal; in this class
the fee is 2s. Every care is taken of the candidates
during the three days of the show. Their cages are
quite large enough for comfort, and in many cases
are embellished and made gay by the fond care of
the owner. Food and drink are supplied at discretion
—not the discretion of the cats, but of the manager.
As before, the cage of each successful animal is marked
by a little blue flag—a capital plan, as the visitor is
thereby enabled to make his way to the various points of
interest without any useless tarrying before unworthy
cages. indeed, to the ignorant and possibly prejudiced
eye, so strong a similarity is there between one cat and
another, save where the colour differs—and as tbese
animals are all ranged in classes, we get a long array
of tabbies, tortoise-shells, blacks, whites, and grays,
with apparently no distinguishing mark, save the
little blue flag—that the visitor does need some little
help to his judgment. Messrs. Harrison Weir and
Jenner Weir are again the judges, and find, no doubt,
in Dr. Gordon Stebles an able assistant in a task we
should imagine of no ordivary difficulty.
It is hardly possible that there can be any species of
cat, of which, at least, we know, unrepresented in this
show. The common domestic cat, beloved of old
ladies, and, though to a different end, of schoolboys,
is here to be seen in all his her, or its glory. Black
cats' looking somewhat fiendish, and white cats,
looking decidedly dirty ; tabbies, surely
.the hand-
somest, and tortoise-shell—we beg pardon of the
connoisseur—perhaps the ugliest ot all. Teen there
are red cats, and some what we should be inclined
to call yellow cats, and one fearful looking creature,
black, relieved with patches of brilliant orange.
Cats of abnormal colour, form, or species, including
a Manx cat born with no fore-legs, a cat with
five claws on each foot, some very fine animals of
a pretty soft silver-gray hue, and an Indian wild
cat—a very leopard in miniature, and, to judge from
its looks, about as safe to make a pet of. Like a good
many other things whose value is measured by their
curiosity, these " abnormal " cats are mostly by no
means fair to look upon, but an exception must be
made in favour of " Mymie," a Siamese cat belonging
to Mr. Walter, and a winner of more than one prize.
This breed is, we believe, very highly valued in its own
country, and its purity very strictly maintained; but,
were not its birth and parentage so fairly set down in
the catalogue, we should confess to some few doubts.
Mymie bears in some of her points a wonderful
similarity to a pug. There are some charming little
groups of kittens, gazing at which it is impossible
not to *feel a momentary pang of regret that
they should ever grow any larger, for, next perhaps
to a fox cub, the kitten is the prettiest and most
graceful of all young animals. But, of qll the 50
classes into which the 323 cats here assembled have
been divided, indisputably the handsomest, apart
from any considerations of monetary value, is Class
33, for tabby cats of no sex. It is in this class that a
silver cup is offered for the best over and above the
usual prize of 21, and both cup and money go to Master
Shuckard for his cat "Tommy Dodd," an animal of
mature years, and, no doubt, great excellence, but cer-
tainly inferior to size to many of his fellows, notably
one in the very next cage. The donor of the cup is Mr.
E. Baxter, who also shows his own tabby cat "Lion "
who won the first prize here in 1873, and since then has.
won no -less thanltaneteen first, besides special, prizes.
It is evidently modesty alone that prevents Mr. Baxter
adding his own cup to the list. Lastly we come to the
eats owned by working men. Among these the prize
Is awarded according to weight only, this being, and
not unreasonably, considered the best criterion of the
care and kind treatment of the owner. Mrs. Gregory 1
takes the prize this year with her oat "Tom," who

draws 141 b. in the scales—a weight which, we think,
has been passed on more than one previous occasion.
Here our brief notice must end. We cannot pre-
tend to have done justice to the individual mePits of so
many and such distinguished animals.

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y GUSH FRET CARVING.

PttACKitTS, BOOKRESTS,

'SF DING EASELS. 11.CV,} I', SI Ll\ DS

010GRAFH1 C FRAME

MADE IN

4 WALNUT, OR MAHOGANY

On the premises.
A NY DESIGN CUT TO ORDER.

WiS u ARVED GOODS

A litre assortment just arrived. ur Urtlaily clear).
f &yeti Carte Frames, 6d. cub ; tto, to bold two. is.
each ; large Brackets, is. ; ComEr I,r,.icketb, is. 3d. ;
Match Boxes, 6d.

ARCHER cLARKE,

71, HIGH ,STREET, SgOb'IiBRIDGE.

JOHN MIDDLETON,

i-Topis= CiIIIIJP., &e.,
RESPECTFULLY informs the Gentry and
Inhabitants of Stourbridge, that he has made ar-
rangements with Mr, T. PENNEY, to CLIP and SINGE
HORSES at his Veterinary Forge, Market-street, Stour-
brid ge.
.I.M. returns sincere thanks to his patrons for past
favours, and trusts by assiduity and attention to business
ki merit a continuance of the same.
Any application made at Mr. T. Penney's, will meet
with prompt attention.