WASHING AND GROOMING. 12/ 



the follicle and massed together so as to constitute the 

 tissue of which the hair is spun. And obviously as long 

 as the follicle and matrix remain normal the hair will be 

 reproduced if it has fallen out, even root and all, but let 

 them become disorganized so that they are no longer able 

 to work, and " nothing under the sun " can restore hair 

 in that spot. 



If in consequence of ill health the hair becomes dry and 

 rough with a tendency to break off or fall out, beyond re- 

 moving the cause all that is necessary is to keep it and 

 the skin as clean as possible, softened occasionally with 

 a little cocoa-butter or glycerine and water, and apply 

 friction with the fingers and brush ; which means render 

 the hair less brittle and conduce greatly to the restoration 

 of vigor and tone in the hair-bulbs. 



Bald spots do not often appear on dogs except in conse- 

 quence of parasitic diseases, which must, of course, be 

 cured before the hair can grow again. Perhaps the most 

 popular agent resorted to by fanciers to restore hair on 

 such spots — the skin being unbroken — is petroleum, 

 and it is doubtful if many of them know that its good 

 effect is attributable, not to its restorative powers but to 

 its destructive action on the parasites that induce the bald- 

 ness. Considering which action, its use, or still better 

 the use of its refined product benzine — because it pene- 

 trates deeper — is to be commended on all bald spots of 

 recent occurrence. 



If the hair has long been off and benzine has been used 

 faithfully without appreciable effect it will be advisable to 

 resort to the tincture of cantharides or the sulphate of 

 quinine, about the only serviceable medicinal agents that 

 have any decided action as hair stimulants. The former 

 being much the more powerful and a poison should be 

 chosen only when the spot is so located that the dog can- 



