Arizona silver belt., 1894-09-08
COLD-STORAGE CATS.
Felines That 1.-Two Constantly in
 a Freezing Temperature
Through Their Perpetual Exposure to the Frieid Atmosphere the Animals Have Acquired Heavy Goats
 .f EnN

Have Acquired Heavy Coats
 af Fur.
 ln tlc cold-storage warehouses of Pittsburgh, says the Pittsburgh Dis patch, whom they were established, there were no rats or mice. The tenn perature in the cold rooms was too low Co admit the existence of these noe tUrnal animals. The keepers of these places soon found, however, that the rat was an animal of remarkable adap. tability. The ordinary rat of the United States came originally from Nor way In that country, naturalists say, the animal was much better prepared Go withstand the climate than it is in this country wcre it suddenly trans ported to cold climate. If any ordi- nary cellar rat were put in a cage, con. veycd by ship to Spitzbergcn, and re- leased on that icy island, it would freeze to death in a few hours. Yet there are rats in Spitzbergen, These rats are fat rasea,s, with long and very thick hair, and have adapted them selves to the temperature of the region.
 Ii is just such rats as those of the northern region that nave adapted themselves 10 the cGld-storage ware houses After some of these houses had been in operation for a few months She attendants fouud that rats were at work Ia the rooms where the tempera- turc was constantly kept below tho ircozing point In the warehouse of thc Pittsburgh Storage company, be- fore its burning last fal, two rat, we~l killed by tho employees. They were found tc hc clothed in wonder fully long and thick fur, even tlcir tapcrinF, snakclilSc tails being covered by a thick growth of hair E9ts of this variety whose coats have adapted themselves to the conditions under which they live, have domcsti- cated themselves ip all the storage warehouses in Pittsburgh
 The prevalence of rats in these places led 60 thC introduction of cats. Now it is well known that pussy is lover ot warmth and comfort She delights to lie close to the fire when the snow is drifting around the house. and to wash her face with her warm, soft paws Cats. however, have great adaptability to conditions The wild cat of Africa, now extinct mud living only in the form oi its domestis congo. ner, wns nursed by tho Egyptians as a timepiece, and so regulated her eyes that by glance at them the iuhabi- taut of Cairo was able to tell the time of day without the advent of Seth War nsr
 WhGn cats were introduced into st9rago houses and turned loose ia the cold rooms they pincd and died because ef the excessive cold It appears, in the course of investigation into this subject, that one eat was finally intro dnced into the rooms of the Penn3yi, yania Storage company which WIS able .o withstand the low temperature, She wns a eat of anusualIy thick fur and she thrived and grew fat in quarters where the temperature was below thirty degrees. By careful nursing 8 brood of seven kittens w8s developed ir this warehouse into sturdy thick lurred cats that love an Ieclandlc cline They have been distributed among the other cold-storlge houses of Pittsburgh, and have created 9 peculiar breed Of cats. adapted to the conditions under which they must exist to find their prey
 These cats are shOrsstaileG. chubby pussics, with hair as thick and full os ander-fut as the wild eats of the Cana dian woods One of the remarkable things about them is the development q their feelcrs." These long stiE hairs shat protrude from eats nose and eyebrows are, ;n the ordinary do- masuc feline, about three inches long. 4. the cats cultivated in the cold ware houses the -feelers' grow to Q length of five md six inches. This is probably because the light is dim in these places and all movements must bc Che result of the feeling sense. In these two re- spects. She growth of thick hair und the development of "seelcrs," the do. mcstic eat shows the operation of Oar wins wcll-lucwE law of the survival of She Attest in the development of their conditions adapted to the envi- ronment.
 The storage people say that If enc of ! these furry cats is taken into tho open air particularly during this hot spell tt will die ip a few hours IL cannot endure s high temperature, and an in troductiop to a stove would send it into dt