, 1889-02-24

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and Mice.
Cats have generally been regarded as e-
pecially and only useful for the purpose OF
catching rats and mice. The cat has never
been supposed to be IN intelligent animal;
nothing like as intelligent as the dog.
But as a sportsman tho cat is eminently
successful How a four legged animal
can catch a winged bird, who hns nothing
to do 10 get away except to fly up
in tho mir, where the cat can't follow
it, Is remarkable. Nevertheless, pussy may
be seen almost any time in summer stealing
through the long grass, crouching, slowly
whisking her tail from side TO side, now
crawling forward, and Mt last pouncing on
the unsu9ecting bird before 1t has time to
get its wings going and rise in the air. Then
n cat Will watch the parent bird till 1t goes to
its nest, thus revealing its locality, when puss
viii mount the tree and cat up the young
birds When a bird is seen hopping about
over fences and shrubs, chirping all the time,
making n great fuss and evidently distressed,
the chances are that somewhere near n cat Is
watching to see where the bird goes But tho
bird at such times is usually too sharp for the
cat, and stays away from its home for fear of
betrnying its birdlingS
PROFESSOR ~FREDER1CKs PEra
Lately a man in England has trained cats
He is "A professional trainer of animals, such
rs the horse, tho dog, the goat or the pig.
He has n large number OF cats and has given
them considerable attention He is Professor
Fredericks, and is an exhibitor of his pets
He exercises them in the morning in the
hack garden Of his house, and feeds them on
cats meat, bread and milk. They nro not
easily trained, and are not reliable in n per
formnnce, being a good deal Ike children,
who will never 'show orr when expected.
They get obstinate every now and then, and
tho only xvux IN freat Thorn xvko,n fp fbfa Cou-
ditlon is TO let them rest Professor Freder-
icks never uses force in trimming them, and
never thinks of whipping them. Kittens
can't be trained. AT least all effort thus fnr
has failed, and substantial middle ngcd cats
are usually taken for the purpose. Tho
trouble with kittens is that they are too
playful In being trained they think tho
trainer WANTS 10 play and don't consider tho
matter at all serious. Every boy or girl
knows that lessons can't DO learned without
serious attention, but as tho kitten doesn't
realize this ho never can learn
AT Professor Frederick performance the
cats first climb a pole. One would suppose
that there would DO no need TO teach n cat to
climb a pole; that IL would be done naturally.
But it is not simply tho climbing, but tho
control OF the cats movements after IL gcts
out OF It's masters reach. 1t Is expected to go
to tho top of tho pole, but whether It reaches
that point depends entirely on its inclination.
Thcu n cat Is made To walk n tight rope.
Considering the elevated peaks Of roofs and
giddy cutters n cat viii traverse in a dark
night, one wouldn't suppose walking q tight
rope to DO a very difficult job for it, In this
case, as in climbing, tho training is in the
cat walking tho rope under special instruc-
tons
Ono Of Professor Frcdcricks' cats, called
Slopor, Is trained To walk u tight rope strcwn
with mice and canary birds. He lifts his feet
deity over the mice and the birds, and
makes tho return journey with u mouse on
his back.
1t is generally opposed that all cats are
fond Of mice and birds. This is not true.
Ono cat in eight doesn't care for either. A
curious incident occurred ut ono Of the pro-
fcssor's exhibitions recently. A cat who WINS
performing, yielding 10 a temptation quito
natural to cats, bent his head and caught a
Tnt in his mouth. a word to the wise is suf-
lcieut, and, the cat being wise, upon a word
from the professor dropped the rat. Tho
boxing cats are an attractive feature. They
stand ON their hind legs facing ono another,
ontwo chairs, and fight quito scientifically.
A HAVE NO AFFECTION.
Portuguese cats mako the best performers
In Lisbon they take a great interest in cats,
from their being the means OF keeping tho
streets clear Of mice, which would otherwise
readily get u foothold there All tho cats in
Lisbon have u lean appearance, from being
engaged in mice hunting. Black cats learn
easiest, and only ono cat in three can be
trained at all. Professor Frcdericks' first
move is TO teach the cat TO sit up and bog;
then they must creep through chairs and
crawl over the backs. After that they walk
across the stage ON champagne bottles.
The professor holds tho view OF many poo
pie that cats have no affection at all, though
they aro 50 fond of u single locality. They
do ut times show signs of affection, though
nothing like the dog or the horse. Still, a
cats affection is largely dependent on being.
fed regularly. To make n cat perform in n
private room is quite another thing from
making it perform before an audience. Still,
cats can be trained to Care little about an
audience and to get over stage fright; and,
like motors and actresses, they very easily get
used 10 applause, though it is not asserted
that the cats, when onco used TO it, pine for
it, and grumble about want Of appreciation
when they don't got il
But If n stranger crosses the boards when a
cat IS performing the animal will pause and
look round at him inquisitively, like Theo-
dore Thomas, If interrupted when leading his
orchesuh Professor Fredericks' influence
over animals is a natural gift He once be-
lunged to a circus company. One day the
lion tanner, when about to enter the lions
cage for a performance, scratched his face on
a nail, which drew blood knowing tho
tneNL bl hlpol On lions, he declined to enter
the cage and put the lions through their
PAGES The audience woro clamorous, and it
was necessary to provide some ono TO aI.I,se
them with tho lions.
Frcdericks, who had never tanned lions or
had anything TO do with them, entered tho
cage and went through with the performance.
He said afterward that he was only nervous
upon opening the door Of tho cage. Once
inside no knew he had control When asked
what he would have done had the lions at
tackled him, he replied, Nothing; l could
only stand still and DO eaten till somebody
outside had got the red hot irons ready
The professor, however, gave up having any
thing TO do with lions His wife naturally
worried about bis entering the cage. So he
turned his attention to cats and finds his
feline performances very profitable.
dslphia Call
Color blindness.
a short time ago tested the color Percep-