HAIRS, FEATHERS, AND SCALES. 



9 



HAIES OF MOLE. 



The pith here again forms the greater portion of the hair, 

 the cells of which it is composed being placed in single 

 series, which, for the most part, 

 extend all across the body of 

 the hair, though they are some- 

 what irregular both in size 

 and shape. They are rather 

 flattened, and appear per- 

 fectly black (that is, opaque) 

 by transmitted light, their sur- 

 faces absorbing all the rays of 

 light. The small hairs of the 

 same animal, however, are very 

 different in form : they are 

 flattened, so as to appear twice 

 as broad in one aspect as in 

 another at right angles to it; 

 and, what is curious, the 



scales of the bark project into strongly-marked imbrica- 

 tions on one side, and are scarcely perceptible on the 

 other. Here, as in the larger hairs, there is a single row 

 of oval transverse cells, perfectly opaque. 



The hair of many of the 

 smaller Mammalia shows 

 considerable diversity of 

 form, according to the part 

 which we select for observ- 

 ation. Thus, if we take 

 a long hair out of this 

 Sable tippet, and examine 

 it near the base, we see 

 (a) that it is very slender, a| 

 transparent, and colour- 

 less, covered with strongly- 

 marked imbrications, which 

 are not obtuse teeth, but 



HAIB OF SABLE. 



