PEKIODICAL DECIDENCE OF V>U()L. 



19 



I 



come to : some considering it goes to form the tilameut, 

 and is consolidated into a transparent mass wiiile the 

 pile is growing- ; while others argue, that it is a pecu- 

 liar secretion which exudes through the skin, and by 

 mixing with the pile renders it soft and pliable, affect- 

 ing it in the way that oil does a piece of leather. In 

 the latter opinion I coincide. For my part, I view it 

 as a secretion, depending very much on good food and 

 steadiness of temperature, and, therefore, indicative of 

 a fine fleece only so far as the health of the animal is 

 concerned. In the human being the state of the skin 

 may often guide us, though blind-fold, to the quality of 

 the hair, so that the latter may be pronounced either 

 dry and coarse, or glossy, soft, and silky, as the skin 

 may prove either harsh and ungrateful, or plea- 

 sant, and, if 1 may be allowed the expression, alkaline 

 to the touch. Every thing having a tendency to affect 

 the health may always be considered as calculated to 

 diminish this secretion, and, consequently, to deterio- 

 rate the quality of the wool. 



The relative positions of the layers of the skin, the 

 mode in which the hairs rise from them, and the form 

 and situation of the sebaceous follicles, will be better 

 understood by referring to the following cross section 

 Fig 5. PI. v., in which the line marked 



a Represents the cuticle, 



b The mucous layer, 



c The true skin, 



d Sebaceous follicles, 



e Hairs rising from the true skin and inflections of the upper layers 

 and piercing, 



/ The thin film of tlie yoJk. 



(28.) Periodical decidence of Wool. — It is affirmed 

 that the onlv real difference between hair and wool is 



