UK. A TREATISE ON PILE. 149 



fleece ; how is this to be obtained? Let him practice with the michrorneter thai we have 

 proposed, until he is able to ascertain the relative fineness of wool ; that will answer all 

 his purposes. Let him then practice with the trichometer, until he is able to determine 

 its ductility, elasticity* and tenacity, He will then be enabled to determine the four most 

 essential properties of fleece, and will never be at a loss to judge of its value, for himself. 

 It is to this platform of independence that we desire to elevate the American farmer and 

 manufacturer. 



OF THE STRENGTH OF PILE. That the strength of pile depends, in a great measure, 

 upon the vitality of the animal upon whose body it, grows, cannot, we think, admit of a 

 doubt. Having, by repeated experiments, ascertained the average strength of the hair ot 

 the head of oval-haired men, we compared that with the hair of persons of known vital 

 power, and also with the hair of others ascertained to be defective in vitality, and we found 

 that the strength of the hair corresponds with the vital power in a remarkable manner. 



For example, we took the hair of A - S - , who is about 28 years of age, 5J-| in 

 height, in health, but who has*ever been remarkable for a deficiency of vital powers; one 

 lock of filament, being tried with the trichometer, broke with a weight of 470 grains. 



One inch of the hair of the head of J - K. M - , who is 35 years of age, 6 feet high, 

 of a, good constitution, and in health, broke with 823 grains. 



One inch of the hair of the head of William M. Swain, Esq., who is 39 years of age, 

 5 ft. J/Q high, weighs 210 Ibs., and very remarkable for vital power, broke with 1573 

 grains. 



That the strength of the filament does not depend upon the size and weight of the 

 animal, unless they are accompanied with a corresponding vital power, would appear from 

 the following experiments : 



One inch of the hair of the head of the Quaker Giantess, Mrs. Elizabeth Hales, who is 

 nearly eight feet high, and weighs 337 pounds, broke with 200 grains less than Mr. 

 Swain, say 1373. And one inch of the hair of the head of her husband, Robert Hales, the 

 Quaker Giant, who is 29 years of age, weighs 508 pounds, and measures eight feet, broke 

 with 250 grains less than Mr. Swain, say 1323. 



That the strength of the integument does not depend entirely upon the diameter of the 

 filament, is also apparent from the examination of the hair of the head of Professor Silli- 

 man. One inch of his hair, taken when he was iJO years old, and in the full vigor of 

 manhood, broke with 1820 grains. But one inch taken in the year 1848, when he was in 

 the neighborhood of 70, broke with 1370. Besides which, the actual diameters of the hairs 

 upon which the above mentioned six experiments were made, did not correspond with their 

 strength, for the hair of A. S., is ^- T of an inch; that of J. K. M. T fg of an inch. Mr. 

 Swain's is g^ of an inch. Elizabeth Hales' is 5 ^ T of an inch. Robert Hales' is ^{^ of 

 an inch, and Prof. Silliman's is from - 2 -^ to ^f T of an inch. We have also compared the 



The elasticity is the test of softness of wool. 



