t. for the tail, whereas such a tiger would probably have been
from 3-1/2 to 4 ft., which would quite bring it up to the length
vouched for. The tail of a skeleton of a much smaller tiger in the
museum measures 3 ft. 3-1/2 in., which with skin and hair would
certainly have been 3-1/2 ft. Until sportsmen begin to measure bodies
and tails separately it will, I fear, be a difficult matter to fix
on any correct formula.--R. A. S. See Appendix _C_.]

VARIETIES OF THE TIGER.--It is universally acknowledged that there
is but one species of tiger. There are, however, several marked
varieties. The distinction between the Central Asian and the Indian
tiger is unmistakable. The coat of the Indian animal is of smooth,
short hair; that of the Northern one of a deep furry pelage, of a
much richer appearance.

There is an idea which is also to be found stated as a fact in some
works on natural history, that the Northern tiger is of a pale colour
with few stripes, which arises from Swinhoe having so described some
specimens from Northern China; but I have not found this to be
confirmed in those skins from Central Asia which I have seen. Shortly
before leaving London, in 1878, Mr. Charles Reuss, furrier, in Bond
Street, showed me a beautiful skin with deep soft hair, abundantly
striped on a rich burnt sienna ground, admirably relieved by the pure
white of the lower parts. That light-coloured specimens are found
is true, but I doubt whether they are more common than the others.
Of the varieties in India it is more difficult to speak. Most
sportsmen recognise two (some three)--the stout thick-set tiger of
hilly country, and the long-bodied lankier one of the grass jungles
in the plains. Such a division is in consonance with the ordinary
laws of nature, which we also see carried out in the thick-set
muscular forms of the human species in mountain tracts.

Some writers, however, go further, and attempt subdivisions more or
less doubtful. I knew the late Captain J. Forsyth most intimately
for years. We were in the same house for some time. I took an interest
in his writings, and helped to illustrate his last work, and I can
bear testimony to the general accuracy of his observations and the
value of his book on the Highlands of Central India; but in some
things he formed erroneous ideas, and his three divisions, based on
the habits of the tiger, is, I think, open to objection, as tending
to create an idea of at least two distinct varieties