To any one interested in pedigree cats, breeding operations, if carried out successfully, may become fairly lucrative; but he who expects to attain success, either as breeder or exhibitor, must be prepared "to walk before he can run," devoting a reasonable amount of leisure time, and a moderate expenditure in the pursuit of his hobby.

It is no use to purchase second-rate cats. The most economical method of commencing breeding operations is to obtain two or three young queens - preferably self-coloured ones, - and mate these with the best sires attainable, the fee for which may be either one guinea or thirty shillings each. When the kittens are born, choose, say, a couple of the best, and dispose of the rest as soon as ever the pick of the litter have been selected. In due course, these must be shown, preferably at the larger shows.

A frequent change of blood enhances constitutional vigour, whereas in-and-in breeding weakens it.

The initial outlay for a couple of good queens will probably amount to ten guineas.

Unless the cattery is indoors, winter breeding should be avoided as much as possible, summer litters being distinctly preferable.

Care must be exercised to purchase stock from a strain of robust constitution, as so many Persians are delicate in this respect, rendering the kittens difficult to rear.

Before breeding from the queens, let them attain the age of nine months, or even a little more; whilst in the case of a stud cat, six months later is quite early enough, and even then the number of visits should be limited.

Never use old cats for stud purposes, as their progeny will be small and delicate.

Always select a sire that is strong in the points in which the queen is deficient - in fact, this constitutes one of the grand principles of selection.

A question that naturally arises is with reference to the number of times it is advisable to breed from the queen during the course of the year. The Author's answer is twice, as two litters per year allow complete reinstatement of the vigour of the constitution.

When a queen approaches desire for the male, she becomes restless: cries to attract attention and switches her tail, seeking freedom whenever possible. This period of cestrum varies from a few days to, it may be, a couple of weeks, and during this time she should be allowed to visit the stud cat, on, say, two occasions, preferably on succeeding days.