The age-herald., 1901-12-29
NO COON CATS.
Cats So Designated Are Simply Half
 Persian and Half Common Cat.
Washington Post.

Washington Post
 The assistant curotor of mammals re- ceiyes more downright nonsense in a day, perhaps, than all the other curators of the National Museum put together Letters from all parts of the country concerning grotesque wonders and re- questing information on absurd questions pour into his office in such number that for some time past he has urged, in all seriousness, the publication by the gov ernment of a book or bulletin dealing with popular fallacies
 The worst of all these absurd beliefs is the "coon cat' idea. At least four-fifths of the people of the United States are ignorant of the fact that it is impos- sible to obtain hybrids, or cross breeds, other than by mating animals of differ ent varieties, but of the same genera.
 Thousands of people are in ignorance of the importation of Persian cats. Now, in crossing the Persian or Angora cat, with the common variety. an offspring Is from time to time produced, inheriting the long, silky hair of the Persian cat, but with color and markings strikingly like those of the raccoon, even to the alter nate black and gray rings about the tail. Ignorant people have seen these cats and have jumped at the conclusion that they are the result of a cross between the cat and raccoon, a thing clearly impossible in view of the fact that the latter animal belongs to the ursuidoe, or bear and not to the felidoe, or cat family; and while the country is steeped in ignorance of the Persian cat, the fame of the "coon cat'' has gone far and wide over the land.
 Every now and then an advertisement appears where some one is seeking "coon cat" and letters by the dozen reach the assistant curator from people anxious to know where they can pro- cure a coon cat Quite recently a wealthy merchant In Western city (not a town, but large city), kept an advertisement of this sort running for six weeks, until he finally secured a ''coon cat.' which he kept in his store for several days as a "genyouwine kewrosity'' for his customers to gaze upon and wonder at. Then he gave 1t to his daughter. who showed 1t to her friends and started "coon cat" craze.
 The assistant curator attended the last cat show held in Boston, and his feel ings may be imagined better than de- scribed, to witness one of these cats in large cage, bearing the following legend in flaming letters:
 Genuine Coon Cat Hybrid of Raccoon and Dom estic Cat. Only specimens in the United States, etc.
 This in Boston. the hub, the centre of learning and culture!
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 If North Carolina heads the list in the production of bogus Indian antiquities, then Maine ranks first in the production of varied and diversified cats. A land of spinsters 1t is also a rendezvous for cats, and the people of that state enjoy the distinction of having imported the first Persian cats fn roach thtc pfrt, The Maine cat farmers soon took ad- vantage of the coon cat fallacy to sup ply the demand, and advertisements for such animals are soon answered by en- terprising cat fanciers in Portland and Bangor. who warrant the specimen part coon and part cat" The Western mer- chant referred to in the foregoing paid $50 to a Maine cat man for what he in his ignorance took to be a monster.