, J^ 5 ] 



hand, loofen from the ikin feparately, and at remote 

 periods from each other, and, unlefs where they are 

 accidentally matted together, fo as to entangle the 

 loofe hairs among thofc that are faftj they fall ofF 

 individually one by one, and are fucceeded by other 

 individual hairs to fupply their place. And as this 

 procefs goes on through the greatefl part of the 

 year, the length of the coat of hair-he2iv'mg animals, 

 if left to themfelves, is not nearly fo different, at 

 diiferent feafons of the_ year, as that of wool-bearing 

 animals. 



2dly. A filament of wool has no determinate pro- 

 portional thicknefs in its different parts, but is variable 

 in all poffible proportions. Sometimes the root end 

 is thicker than the points; fometimes, and indeed 

 for the moft part, in this climate, the points are 

 thicker than the roots; fometimes, the middle is 

 thicker than either end; fometimes, it is quite the 

 reverfe; at fometimes, the variation of thicknefs is 

 great, and extremely perceptible; at other times, the 

 filament is of an equal thicknefs throughout all its 

 parts. Thefe variations, in regard to the thicknefs 

 of the different parts of a filament of wool, have 

 been proved, by experiment, to depend upon the 

 degree of heat or cold that has a£led upon the animal 

 at the time the filament was in its flate of growth j 

 that part of it which grew during the influence of a 

 continuation of warm weather, being always thicker 

 than that part of it which grew during cold weather; 



tbc 



