150 TKICIIOLOGIA MAMMALIUM: 



diameters of the hair of the head with the strength of it, in a few cases of diseases, of 

 which the following are the results, viz : 



1. Last stage of Coxalgia, 15 months, female, diameter ]-^, broke with 920 grains. 



2. Scrofula, (caries,) " " " ^fa " " 770 " 



3. Phthisis, male, ^ " " 1,220 " 



4. Advanced Phthisis, (cavernis,) " " | Y " " 820 " 



5. Chronic Pleurisy, (extensive effusion,) male, " ^-| T " " 1,270 " 



6. African Fever, white, " ^-y " " 820 " 

 Nor does the strength of fleece depend entirely upon the diameter of the filament, for 



1. A filament of full blood Saxony, from Saxony, whose diam. was ? -J T of an inch, broke with 



54 grains. 



2. " " " " of U. States, " " T7 L T 74 " 



3. " " \ " " " " " " _I_t _ " 164 " 



4. " " \ " " " T T 144 " 



fi " " A " " " " " " 1 " 99/1 " 



- T 2" u U 



6. " " Southdown, " " " T ^ 7 " 184 " 



From all which we deem ourselves warranted in inferring, that the strength of pile 

 depends, in a great measure, upon the vital power of the animal upon whom it grows, from 

 which we deduce the following corollary, viz: that the breeder of Sheep, who would 

 require strong fleece, must, by attention to their food, cleanliness, and preservation from 

 inclemencies of weather, endeavor to preserve, and, if possible, increase their VITAL POWER. 

 A feeble Sheep cannot produce a strong wool ; it is contrary to principle as well as our 

 experiments, and must not be anticipated. 



Combe, on the duration of human life, from tables of mortality in Edinburg, shows that 

 what he calls the gentry (by which he means the cla^s between the nobility and the arti- 

 sans) have a mesne average age of 43^ years; while artisans, laborers and servants, have 

 an average age of only 27s years; and we think that the reason of this disparity is 1o IK- 

 traced, mainly, to premature loss of vital power by the reckless among the second class 

 which loss would doxibtless, by careful experiments, be discovered in their hair. The 

 American Sheep breeder should have none but gentry in his flock. 



OF THE FINENESS OF FLEECE. We entertain the opinion, that even the fineness of 

 fleece may be increased by continued care and attention; good, wholesome food, in suffi 

 cient quantity preservation from the inclemencies, and particularly from the sudden 

 changes, of the weather and cleanliness ; these are the means by which the integuments 

 may be improved in fineness, as well as in other useful qualities; while starvation and 

 exposure to cold, sudden changes, dampness and filth will, in time, show its effects in a 

 contrary direction. 



In turning over the leaves of our book, which contains "locks of the hair of the heads 

 of distinguished individuals," every one is struck with the fineness, the softness, and 

 the lustre of a large majority of the specimens, when contrasted with our collection ol 

 hair of the inmates of the alms-houses and hospitals, i. e., of the unintelligent and reckless, 

 who have been in the habit of living uncomfortably Fiom our examination of the pile 



