230 THE JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY. 



it is not noticeable. The reason for this is obvious. The very curly 

 merino wools are not so easily deprived of the scales by rubbing as 

 the more straight, strong and resisting (tenacious) domestic wools, which 

 moreover possess no wool fat at the tips. The finer merino sheep are more 

 carefully fed and kept, which tends to full development and preservation 

 of the hair ; this is not the case with the domestic breeds. The hairs of 

 the latter are more separated (single) and free, and for this reason are apt 

 to rub against each other ; furthermore, the scales are usually flat, and 

 therefore fall ofi" more easily than the cylindrical or half-cylindrical and 

 thicker scales of the merino wool hairs and others. A stiff hair without a 

 medulla is more easily injured than a pliable, soft and elastic one. 



From all this the conclusion may be drawn that in the case of finer 

 wools the epiderm is but seldom if ever lacking, but coarse wools are 

 often without it. Then if merino and other fine wool fibers are found 

 without an epiderm it may be assumed that shoddy is present, whereas in 

 the case of coarse wools this absence of epiderm would have no signifi- 

 cance. 



According to Rhode,* Kortef and C. Cramer t badly closed stables, 

 neglect of the animal, poor diet, illness, influence of urine, snow, rain, 

 dust, packing wool while moist, too rapid and frequent of moisture and 

 cold, too warm or too alkaline washing of wool, washing with putrid 

 urine, etc., are causes which may, even before the wool is used for manu- 

 facturing purposes, change the structure of the wool, partly loosen the 

 epiderm, soften and split the ends, etc. Add to this the spinning, weav- 

 ing, separating, fulling, acidulating, washing, etc., it will appear all the 

 more evident that even good wools will at times show no epiderm. 



Also other supposedly characteristic features of shoddy, as for instance 

 thin places, irregularities in thickness can hardly be used for its recogni- 

 tion ; for such features are frequently found in real wools and the more 

 thorough examination of shoddy shows them not to be characteristic. 

 Most kinds of shoddy, mungo and alpaca examined by the author showed, 

 as regards the longitudinal structures, no difference from ordinary sheep's 

 wool. For that reason he does not confirm the assertion that a chemical 

 difference, that can be made use of, exists between the two wools. 



It has been stated that shoddy is affected sooner than wool by soda and 

 potash lye, that it swells up more quickly, and has been used as a clue to 

 detect the former. Van Hohnel has not found the existing difference to be 

 of any use. 



5. On the other hand, it is certain that the ends of shoddy threads are 

 different from those of the genuine wools. In the production of artificial 



* Beitrage zur Kenntniss des Vollhaares, p. 67. 



t Das deutsche Merinoscliaf seine Wolle, etc., p. 109, 155 flf. 



JProgramm, etc. (s. o.), p. 16. 



