Waterbury evening Democrat., 1904-05-21
BRITAIN'S BEAST or PREY.
1t Is the Wildcat and Is Still to Be
Found.

IL is tue Wudcat and Is 0tlll 10 Dc
Found.
A peculiar interest attaches to the
British wildcat, in fact a double inter-
est. 1t has grown rare of late years
in England, but has not yet by any
means become exterminated, and SO
1t still remains the only beast of prey
left on English soil that is dangerous
to man. No doubt It's ultimate fate
will be that of the wolf, and even now
1t is chiefly known only TO gamekeepers
and poachers. A little time ago the
race was common enough in the woods
throughout Scotland, and is still to be
found in Wales and Ireland. The
Irish variety is larger than the Brit
ish but the race seems to be spread
all over northern Europe, and 1t is
also found in northern Asia and Nepal.
Some years ago it was the cause of
great controversy. The question was
as to tile origin OF the ordinary cat.
Is 1t form of the wildcat altered by
domestfcation till its fittest qualities
survived, or is the ordinary eat dis
tinct creature? Now though the do
nestle cat is probably the commonest
quadruped in Europe there was time
when 1t was rare and valuable. shy
lock, indeed, speaks of the harmless,
necessary cat, not at all as ii 1t We're
such treasure as the monkey which
his daughter exchanged for the tur-
quolse ring; but we must so back to
an earlier date than Queen Elizabeth's
time Pennant. the naturalist talking
Of Howell, who ruled over southern
Wales for thirty years and died in 94S,
that an excellent prince did not think
it beneath him to ascertain the value
OF animals and fix the price at which
they should be bought and sold in his
dominions. So he decreed that kit
ling before it could see was to cost q
penny, but after 1t got its sight and TIL
lit caught it's first mouse twOpence.
Every cut that was sold was to be
warranted perfect in sense Of hearing
and seeing, its claws whole and good
monser. If it was deficient in any OF
these points the seller WAS to forfeit
to the buyer one third of it's value,
Prince Howels law went further than
this and had a clause protecting the
owner of the embarrassing both as
giving additional proof OF it's value
and as showing the simple ingenuity
OF those times.
Ii any stole or killed the cat that
guarded the princes 2ranary lie was
to forfeit Il milch-ewe, it's fleece and
lamb, OF as much wheat as would be
ascertained in the following way !:
The cat presumably dead was to be
held suspended by the tail, it's head
touching the ground, and the wheat
was then to be poured upon 1t till tue
tip Of the tail was covered.
1t Is clear from this that the domes-
tic cat at that time was very yaiua-
BILE creature and one may even see the
origin OF the legend Of Dick Whiting
ton travelling about with his singular
pet. It is clear, too, that this was not
the wild cat. That animal was plen-
tiful enough in Price Howel's doihin-
ions, and all over England was regard
ell as vermin, to be hltled as pest,
ana certainly not to be protected Is a
household treasure,
| There is charter of Richard lis
| time given hy the king to the abbot
Of Peterborough, authorizing the ab-
! bot to hunt the hare, the fox and the
wild cat, and there Is canon of Arch
bishop Carhoye, dated 1927, forhidding
/ any nun or abbess to use more costly
/ fur than the fleece of lamb or the
skin of cat. 1t would seem, there
fore. that the domestic cat and the
wild cat co-existed in England at q
time when the former was q valuable
animal.
Was Ii, however, descendant of the
wild catg The dog has been traced nix
to the jackal by removes, numerous IN
4 deed. while between the wild cat ano
| tho tame cat the essential differences
do not seem very great, Moreover
the house cat shows this peculiarly
that there Is scarcely any domestic an
imal that so soon relapses into wild
/ state Isondoners know theri4ondon cat
and will find it hard to credit the state
i ment. But tile gamekeepers and gar
deners could tell a different story. a
cat that hns caught and eaten a young
rabbit soon becomes confirmed
/ noacher. The nocturnal instincts Of
the creature survive. 1t will Spend
the night hunting and prowling. II
will disdain mouse ana rat and 80 fol
ground game or pheasant
i Sir William Iardine found cat thai
had klttened OH the ridge Of an uncut
corn field. On approaching her she
showed every disposition to defend
her progeny, and beside her lay two
young leverets, fresh caught and killed
1t seemed not difficult to believe that
the wildcat might mt the same time
/ have advanced toward and crossed the
i boundary which separated 1t from the
! tame animal, seeing that the domestic
! cat SO soon became wild. Another the
! DRY was, however, started by Ruppel
who. during his first travels in Nubia
west OF the hills near Ambukol. dis
covered n cat third smaller than the
wild one, and in all respects similar
to the house pet. 1t had, however, the
bushy instead of the tapering tail. but
had the short legs Of the tabby Rup
pel's theory was that this animal was
q descendant of the cat WOrShiDed bX
the Egyptians. and that to this eastern
superstition We owe the harmless
necessary occupant of our fireside.