Jasper County Democrat, Volume 2, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 October 1899 — THE LYNX. [ARTICLE]

THE LYNX.

Ia Row Placed in the Cat Tribe by Naturalists. Until recently, the lynxes were placed: by naturalists in a genus by themselves, but now there is a pretty general agreement that they should go into the genus Felis, or cat tribe, which includes the highest of the carnivora, or flesh-eaters, such as the lion, tiger, leopard, and so on, including the house cat. The lynx is found in all the great divisions of the earth, excepting Australia. Our own country hag three species—the Canada lynx, the wildcat, or red or bay lynx of the eastern states; and the spotted lynx of the far south, reaching to Mexico. Europe, too, has three species—the common lynx of the north', the deer lynx of central Europe, and the leopard lynx of southern Europe, namely, Spain and Portugal. Mivart, the naturalist, who has given much attention to the subject, contends that our three American lynxes, and those of northern and central Europe, the whole five are only varieties of one and the same specie®, and he proposes for them all the one name, Fells borealis, the northern lynx. With one exception, all lynxes are animals of great courage. The deer lynx of central Europe is a little the largest of them all. It measures 40 inches from the base of its tail to thus tip of its nose. It was this fierce lit-; tie animal which entertained the Boroana in the nahnv daw of tbeir

amphitheater, in which i£ would be pitted against savage beasts much its superior in size. These animals feed on birds, rabbits and small creatures generally, though upon occasion they are terrible destroyers of sheep. Their agility and courage under the pressure of hungez would make them, if the chance were offered, more than a match for a deer. I regret that in this matter of courage our own bay lynx, or wildcat, cannot be complimented. At some points of character the wildcat is below par. It is the most cowardly of all its species. It prowls at night near farmhouses, and it will stoop to the roll ol a chicken thief. It will even capture and eat, seasoning and all, the common skunk rather strong meat, surely. There is a similar feline sputtering or caterwauling with the lynxes as with the common cat, though in this matter the wild can be much louder than the domestic. Indeed, the night cry of the wildcat in the forest is truly Tearful. I had a friend tiring in the Catskills, who once had to take a night journey alone for severs! miles in the woods. He was followed by a bay lynx. He told me that it 9 cries.made Ms flesh creep; and yet, though sometimes it was near enough for him to hear the crackling of the underbrush on which it trod, it did not once venture behind him on the open road in the moonlight. In truth, he did not see it once. Its cowardly nature kept it out of harm’s way. It is not known from what stock has come our domestic cat. As cats are found in the mummy' state in the tombs in Egypt, it Is certain that this animal has been domesticated not lees than 3,000 years, though not known so long as that in Europe. That it came from a wild feline is made probable by the fact that it so easily reverts tea wild state. In Cape May county, New Jersey, was a hybrid race of cats, called cooncats, whose fur certainly did indicate such a parentage. Some years ago, two kittens were brought to New Jersey from New Hampshire, which were regarded as great curiosities. An appeal was made to me to unravel the mystery, when, upon right, I pro*; nounced them hybrids with the bn lynx. Their ears even were and had a trace of the tuft; thd fur was peculiar, and the tail was short, and they could not be kept in at night, though they werequite gentle through the day.—Prof. Samuel Lockwood, in N. Y. Ledger.