82 FIRESIDE SCIENCE. 



firm, while its interior is occupied by a softer sub- 

 stance which is known as the " pulp ; " and it 

 is to the continued augmentation of this pulp in 

 the deepest part of the follicle, and to its conversion 

 into the peculiar substance of the hair when it has 

 been pushed upwards to its narrow neck, that the 

 growth of the hair is due. A hair does not begin 

 to grow from the true skin, but originates in the 

 epidermis, and is essentially like that covering, 

 being composed of aggregations of cells filled with 

 horny matter, and frequently much altered in form. 

 Hence it will be understood how difficult it is to 

 excite action in a part possessed of such low vital- 

 ity, and how poor the prospect must be of com- 

 pelling hair to grow by any stimulus externally 

 applied. Still, mixtures containing ammonia, vin- 

 egar, soap, and vesicating tinctures are sometimes 

 thought to prove beneficial. The fall of the hair 

 will usually cease from natural causes in a short 

 time, the germinal vessels taking on healthy action 

 spontaneously. The frequent washing of the head 

 in tepid or cold water, and friction with a brush or 

 coarse towel, are to be commended. 



