OR, A TREATISE ON PILE. Dl 
Pile of aDog, - - - - 2 drachms 56 grains. 
Mane of a Horse, ey ant a I 8 
Wool of a Sheep, Se decbrpe tl oyee § Bp 
(See Dict. de Chem. of Klaproth, 1810, p. _ .) 
Modus Operandi.—A platina crucible, being carefully weighed, and the weight noted, 
place therein a given weight of pile; submit the crucible and its contents to heat until 
incineration of the pile takes place. Weigh the crucible with the residue, from which 
deduct the weight of the empty crucible, and the quotient is the weight of the cenders. 
But pile requires an intense heat for complete incineration. We burnt one grain of 
hair of the head of an American Indian by the heat of a spirit lamp, in a platina crucible, 
and the residue was 0.750 grains. But Prof. Boyer subjected this residue to complete 
incineration, leaving only 0.0077 grains. 
Or Fosstiizep Pire.—Hair never becomes fossilized in the proper sense of that term. 
Neither the pile found in the envelopes of mummies, nor that found on the Mammoth 
discovered near the bank of the river Lena, enveloped in ice, were fossilized. 
Or tue Hycroscoric Property or Pite.—Pile, like some other animal membranes, 
absorbs moisture from the atmosphere, causing it to elongate, and to contract again by 
evaporation; this is called its hygroscopic property.* 
Taking advantage of this property, an instrument has been invented which is called a 
hygroscope,t to show the different degrees of moisture in the air. But from a great 
variety of experiments that we have made, we have ascertained that pile frequently 
extended, even though in a small degree, gradually loses a portion of its elasticity ; where- 
fore it appears that it is not to be relied upon for the construction of hygroscopes.} 
When Capt. Bligh made his perilous voyage, in an open boat, over three thousand miles 
of the ocean, he and his companions used to dip their clothes in the sea and wear them 
damp, to allay the desire for drink. It is generally supposed that the moisture was 
absorbed through the pores of the skin. We would rather ascribe the quenching of the 
thirst to the ¢nhalation of the aqueous vapor, caused by the heat of the body, but think it 
possible that a very small portion may be absorbed by the hair. 
Or THe ANALYsIS or Pine.—Henlé remarks, that we are still in want of an analysis of 
hair, in which regard shall be paid to the three substances which compose the stalk. 
That, according to those we possess, hair is a combination of fat and horny substance ; 
the first belonging to the centre, and the last to the cortex and intermediate fibrous sub- 
stance.§ 
h 
* From ugros, moist. 
h 
t It is also called a hygrometer, from ugros, moist, and metreo, to measure. 
{ Since writing the above, we have observed in Daniel’s Introduction to Chemical Philosophy, a drawing and description 
of Sansom’s hygrometer, used in the Paris Observatory, and it is remarked that it cannot be depended on. 
2 Uenle is here speaking of a perfect hair, which has these three distinct portions. 
An 
ay) 
