OR, A TREATISE OX JMLK. |:\l 



Pile of a Dog, ----- 2 drachms 56 grains. 

 Mane of a Horse, - - - 3 12 



Wool of a Sheep, - - 1 32 



(See Diet, 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 cinders. 



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 w T as 0.750 grains. But Prof. Boyer subjected this residue .to complete 

 incineration, leaving only 0.0077 grains. 



OF FOSSILIZED PILE. Hair never becomes fossilized in the proper sense of that term. 

 Neither the pile found in the envelopes of mummies, nor tint found on the Mammoth 

 discovered near the bank of the river Lena, enveloped in ice, were fossilized. 



OF THE HYGROSCOPIC PROPERTY OF PILE. 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,f 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.J 



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 inhalation 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. 



OF THE ANALYSIS OF PILE. Henle 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. 



J 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. 

 j! Ilenle is here speaking of a perfect hair, which has these three distinct portions. 

 33 



