CLOTHING OF ANIMALS. 13 



region, they would have exliibited in tlie thinness of theii' 

 covering, unequivocal marks of the climate in which they 

 were reared. 



By means of this arrangement, in reference to the quan- 

 tity of clothing, individuals of the same species can main- 

 tain life, comfortably, in climates which differ considerably 

 in their average aimual temperature. By the same an-ange- 

 ments, the individuals residing in a particular district, are 

 able to provide against the varying temperature of the sea- 

 sons. The covering is diminished during summer and in- 

 creased in winter, as may be witnessed in many of our do- 

 mestic quadrupeds. 



Pi-evjous to winter, the hair is increased in qitantity and 

 length. This increase bears a constant ratio to the tempe- 

 rature ; so that when the temperature decreases with the 

 elevation, we find the cattle and horses, living on farms 

 near the level of the sea, covered with a shorter and thin- 

 ner fur than those which inhabit districts of a higher level. 

 Cattle and horses, housed during the winter, have shorter 

 and thinner hair than those which live constantly in the 

 open air. The hair is likcAvise shorter and thinner in a 

 mild, than during a severe winter. 



This winter covering, if continued during the summer, 

 would prove inconveniently warm. It is, thei'cfore, thrown 

 off by degrees as the summer advances ; so that the animals 

 which were shaggy during the cold months become sleek in 

 the hot season. 



This process of casting the hair takes place at different 

 seasons, according to the constitution of the animal with 

 respect to heat. The mole has, in general, finished this 

 operation before the end of May. The fleece of the sheep, 

 when suffered to fall, is seldom cast before the end of June. 

 In the northern islands of Scotland, where the shears are 

 jiever used, the inhabitants watch the time when the fleece 



