and the Mode of its Communication. 129 



ety), that garments of fur are much warmer in cold 

 weather when worn with the fur or hair outwards than 

 when it is turned inwards. Is not this a proof that we 

 are kept warm by our clothing, not so much by confin- 

 ing our heat as by keeping off those frigorific rays which 

 tend to cool us ? 



The fine fur of beasts, being a highly polished sub- 

 stance, is well calculated to reflect those rays which fall 

 on it ; and if the body were kept warm by the rays 

 which proceed from it being reflected back upon it, 

 there is reason to think that a fur garment would be 

 warmest when worn with the hair inwards ; but if it 

 be by reflecting and turning away the frigorific rays 

 from external (colder) bodies that we are kept warm by 

 our clothes in cold weather, we might naturally expect 

 that a pelisse would be warmest when worn with the 

 hair outwards, as I have found it to be in fact. 



The point here in question is by no means a matter 

 of small importance; for until the principles of the 

 warmth of clothing be understood, we shall not be able 

 to take our measures with certainty, and with the least 

 possible trouble and expense, for defending ourselves 

 against the inclemencies of the seasons, and making 

 ourselves comfortable in all climates. 



The fur of several delicate animals becomes white in 

 winter in cold countries, and that of the bears which 

 inhabit the polar regions is white in all seasons. These 

 last are exposed alternately, in the open air, to the most 

 intense cold and to the continual action of the sun's 

 direct rays during several months. If it should be true 

 that heat and cold are excited in the manner above de- 

 scribed, and that white is the colour most favourable to 

 the reflection of calorific and frigorific rays, it must be 



VOL. II. 9 



