I think I may with truth assert that brown tabbies are more appreciated, and that better specimens are produced in the North than in the South of England. I have mentioned Mr. Heslop as having owned some splendid specimens, and at one time he used to exhibit quite a number at our Southern shows. Miss Eggett, of Manchester, has a grand tabby of the golden order named "Cleopatra." Mrs. Whittaker has some nice specimens, and Mrs. Mackenzie's "Cleo" was much admired at the Westminster show in 1900, when she took first in her class. Mrs. Ricketts has always been partial to the breed, and Mrs. Stead's "Timber" has done some winning. Miss Gray's "Lady Babbie" was one of the finest brown queens that used to visit "Persimmon," and another was Miss Meeson's "Jolie," whom I used greatly to admire. Miss Derby Hyde exhibits a wonderful copper-coloured brown tabby called "Maraquetta," who, if only possessed of a good head and shorter face, would be a splendid specimen. Mrs. Davies formerly owned "Susan," a cat now in the possession of Mrs. G. Wilson, very good in colour and markings, but failing in head and face.

Mr. Western, of Sandy, has a good male in "Wynstay Monarch." In the West of England Mrs. Hellings and Mrs. Gregory are admirers and breeders of brown tabbies.

Mrs. D'Arcy Hildyard's "Sulphurland." (Photo: Boxell & Co., Scarboro.)

Mrs. Gregory, of Bath, started breeding brown tabbies in 1899. Her female (a black) she mated to her stud cat "Azor," and, curiously enough, all the litters have consisted of brown tabbies, the kittens numbering sixteen in all. When, however, " Queen Caterpillar " was mated to Mrs. Gregory's blue Persian, her kittens were all black.

A picture of two pretty brown tabby kittens bred by Mrs. Gregory appears in this chapter. I am happy to say that Mrs. Gregory intends to continue breeding brown tabbies, and has kept a handsome specimen from one of her recent litters to perpetuate the strain. Mrs. Drury, of Graffham, is very faithful to the brownies, and in her lovely old-fashioned cottage near Petworth she is always surrounded by several of her pet pussies. She writes as follows : " When first I received a margarine basket, and out of it came a little brown fluffy kitten, I knew no more about Persian cats than the man in the moon - in fact, he probably knew more, as he is frequently the only witness to their nocturnal gambols. I had heard of such things as Persian cats, yet never remember having seen one. However, kind friends soon gave me a helping hand, and as time went on and my fluffy kitten became a fluffy cat, being passionately fond of animals, I soon found out the very fascinating ways of dear 'Miss Wiggs,' so named because the fur on her head in her kitten days would stand erect, and it is the only name she condescended to answer to.

She has been - and is so still, in spite of all her maternal cares and five years' experience - one of the healthiest pussies imaginable, and has never had one day's illness since she came into my possession, though I believe, in her babyhood, distemper nearly carried her off; and all her children have been equally healthy - in fact, I have never lost one of her kittens, which is, I imagine, almost a unique experience.

"'Miss Wiggs' came from a blue father and a silver mother, but has, with one exception, always had brown babies, even when mated to a silver. The varied beauties of blues, silvers, whites, and blacks have never taken such a hold upon me as compared with the fascination of the browns, and it is quite a wonder to me more fanciers do not breed them. Nothing looks handsomer, to my mind, than a rich brown, tabby male with tawny markings, like a young lion, and judging from my experience they amply repay any trouble taken by their loving ways and robust health. I have a son of 'Miss Wiggs 'and poor old 'Persimmon' now, who follows me like a little dog, even out in the road, and goes for a walk running by my side.

"Perhaps what would astonish a stranger most on coming to see me is the way my catty family lives in peace and contentment with the dogs, and very often I find two or three kittens in the dogs' basket very busily occupied cleaning my little bull-terrier. It is a point of honour amongst the happy family that they never touch each other's food, and very rarely is this broken, and not infrequently we see three, and perhaps four, cats sitting round the dog while he eats his dinner, waiting for any leavings, and the same with the dog. Persians have the reputation of being bad mousers.

'Miss Wiggs' makes quite the exception, and on one occasion caught and killed two mice at the same time; one she held in her paws and the other in her mouth. Young rats also she has many times brought in, to show what a useful little person she is, and her children follow in her footsteps.

"In a great measure I attribute my brownies' good health to the open-air life they lead. From early morning to when darkness approaches they have the run of a large garden, even on a wet day. They go in and out of the houses as they like; never sleep indoors, always in a very dry little outside cattery - in summer on benches, and in winter in nice boxes with straw.

"Perhaps, financially, blues or silvers may be greater successes, but brownies have been my first love and will always remain so. I am only sorry I cannot show what a lovely head and sweet face dear 'Miss Wiggs' has, but she absolutely declines to be photographed.

"In time I hope more fanciers may realise how rich in colour and markings a good brown tabby is, and then we may hope to see this beautiful breed brought more to the fore at all the leading shows.

"As 'Mis? Wiggs' has been the foundress of my cattery, perhaps a short description of her would not be amiss. She is a ticked tabby - that is to say, she has not the broad, dark stripes with tawny splashes ; her ground colour is a beautiful golden brown, and down the back and sides are pencilled stripes, more like the markings on a silver. Round her face, nose, and ears she has most lovely golden brown shades; eyes are green - they used to be amber; her head is very broad and well shaped; and her expression is very sweet.

"When mated to a silver, as she has been twice, the litters have been equally divided - two silvers and two brownies ; but both silvers and browns in that case had broad dark and light markings, in no way resembling the ticking of the mother. But when mated to poor old' Persimmon 'the kittens have been equally divided, always two resembling the maternal side exactly, and two following out' Persimmon's' beautiful splashes. When mated to a brown tabby all the kittens were brown. She has never thrown a black; but her daughter, whose father was 'Abdul Zaphir,' and who I also mated to 'Persimmon,' had two blacks and two very dark tabbies in her litter.'Wiggs' has in all her five litters had only two females. Her average is four or five kittens; she looks after them entirely herself, and has never been the worse for so doing ; but I do not allow her more than one family a year, and until the kittens can lap she is fed every two hours."

"Pioneer Bobs." Owned By Miss M. Washburn, Smith's Falls, Ont. (Photo: E. F. Briggs, Smith's Falls, Ont.)