HAIRS, FEATHERS, AND SCALES 28 



surface is clothed with long pointed scales, which are ex- 

 cessively thin, and lie close. The pith consists of large 

 flattened cells, arranged thus: one row passes up through 

 the centre, and other similar ones are set in a circle around 

 it, so that a longitudinal section would show three parallel 

 rows. These cells are translucent, and some of them are 

 either wholly or partially lined with a clear yellow pigment. 

 The smaller hairs from the same little animal are 

 scarcely distinguishable from those of the Cat, already 

 described, except that the imbrications are proportionally 

 larger. In all, the extremity is drawn out to a lengthened 

 fine point, and is occupied with clear yellow cells, except 



TIP OF SMALL HAIR OF MOUSE. 



the very tip, which is colorless, and imbricated with sinu- 

 ous whorls, each consisting of a single scale. 



But it is in the Bats that the imbricated character at- 

 tains its greatest development. On this slide is a number 

 of hairs from the fur of one of our English Bats, in which 

 it is far more conspicuous than in any example we have 

 yet seen. In the middle portion of each hair the scales lie 

 close, embracing their successors to the very edges, or 

 nearly; but the lower part, which is more slender, resem- 

 bles a multitude of trumpet-shaped flowers formed into 

 a chain, each being inserted into the throat of another. 

 The lip of the "flower" is generally oblique, and. here and 

 there we can perceive that each is formed of two half- 

 encircling scales; for one scale occasionally springs from 

 the level of its fellow, so as to make the imbrication 

 alternate. 



