California is a district by itself, which can never be in active touch with the east, and the future cat of California may probably be the Siamese, for the demand for them is growing everyday, and the climate favours them. California is too warm to coat the long-hairs, and the vermin are too promiscuous in most parts to make the rearing or caring for the long-hairs a pleasant occupation. Mrs. C. H. Hoag and Mrs. C. E. Martling have been two of the most energetic in promoting the cat as a fancy in California, and several shows have been held, but at present - in the language of the slang - "there is not much doing," except in Siamese ; so that in taking a look over the past from a high point and looking down, we cannot say that up to now we can point to many families or strains that have yet made their mark in America; that is, a mark that is very conspicuous, for there has not been time. But still there are signs of strains that will be matters of history, and there are families that may be called distinctive, because the descendants win under different judges with sufficient regularity to make this noticeable.

Some of these I have sketched in my other notes; but probably the most far-reaching of the families that win in all colours is the "Humbert" strain, which emanates from Mrs. Barker's "King Humbert," imported in 1895. Not only did this cat sire a lot of winners himself, but cats with the "Humbert" blood to the third and fourth generation, such as "Prince of Orange," etc., are still winning all over the country. Judging by present appearances, the "King of the Silvers "family, coupled with his sire "Bitterne Silver Chieftain," is forging to the front, and is marking out a path of its own as regards winnings in public. One cat - "The Blessed Damozel," bred by Mrs. Barker in England, and by " Champion Lord Southampton " ex "Peggy," by "Champion Silver Mist," is making a big reputation through her children, and the second generation is now beginning to win as did the first. This blood is very successful wherever found, and this is, no doubt, largely owing to the kittens by "King of the Silvers," though "The Passionate Pilgrim," who goes back through his sire to " Whychwood," is as good as anything Mrs. Barker has yet produced; and this is saying a good deal, for she has bred a great many winners in many colours, and the effect of cats imported or bred by her is seen at every show we go to, and the ramifications of blood lines spread over America would make a book in itself.

The very best cats from England will win here every time they are shown in good trim, and in picking cats for best in show the greater part of the prizes go to English cats, or to cats bred from English parents. The crossing of the natives with the English is very successful in some cases, and, no doubt, the changes of blood will in the future work to the good of the majority, for in size, shape, and coat many of the American cats are very good, but fail in type and quality.

The cat fever in its present form may be said to be so comparatively new as an industry that it has not been easy to give a comprehensive view of the whole. Some exhibitors have come up suddenly, and after seeming to have carried all before them have disappeared as suddenly as they came, while others have kept on right through, though these are few by comparison with the great possibilities. We are now passing through the early days of organisation, and the future is not always too clear; but, still, I have tried to give the most prominence to those who have braved the light of day and have supported the shows, and this, really, is the only practical test of where we any of us stand. If I were to enumerate all I have heard of, and the many people who are interested in, the cat in America, there is no doubt but that a good deal more space than I have at my command would be used two or three times over; and such is the size of the country that it is only possible to give a light sketch of the whole; and I do not expect that I shall, or anyone else could, begin to do justice to, or could in any way really gauge, the number of people interested in cats in America. In ten years' time I expect to see cities that now bring together perhaps 100 cats, then having shows containing hundreds; for in most places, even where shows have been held, we have hardly scratched the surface, and in perhaps only one out of 100 important and possible towns have we ever had a show.

The extent of the possibility of the future can only be slightly grasped by those who have touched the fancy, but those of us who have worked for many years at it see signs of growth now that may increase the fancy as a snowball will grow - the further you roll it the faster it grows in proportion. We are only just waking. The future alone can say whether we shall succeed; but we must face the fact that in America the cat fancy, as a whole, is an impossibility, and that cats as exhibition cats can only, as a rule - unless belonging to rich people - meet each other in competition if within reasonable distance of each other.