Chap. 94.] 
THE HAIR. ETC. 
81 
the elephant makes bucklers that are quite impenetrable, and 
yet to it is ascribed a degree of intelligence superior to that of 
any quadruped. The skin itself is entirely devoid of sen- 
sation, and more particularly that of the head ; wherever it 
is found alone, and unaccompanied with flesh, if wounded, it 
will not unite, as in the cheek and on the eyelid, for 
instance. 
CHAP. 94. THE HAIE AND THE COVEKING OF THE SKIN. 
Those animals which are viviparous, have hair ; those which 
are oviparous, have feathers, scales, or a shell, like the tor- 
toise ; or else a purple skin, like the serpent. The lower part 
of all feathers is hollow ; if cut, they will not grow again, but if 
pulled out, they will shoot afresh. Insects fly by the aid of a 
frail membrane ; the wings of the fish^^ called the swallow'' are 
moistened in the sea, while those of the bat which frequents 
our houses are dry ; the wings of this last animal have certain 
articulations as well. The hairs that issue from a thick skin 
are rough, while those on females are of a finer quality. Those 
found on the horse's mane are more abundant, which is the 
case also with the shoulders of the lion. The dasypus has 
hair in the inside of the mouth even and under the feet, two 
features which Trogus has also attributed to the hare ; from 
which the same author concludes that hairy men are the most 
prone to lust. The most hairy of all animals is the hare. 
Man is the only creature that has hair as the mark of puberty ; 
and a person who is devoid of this, whether male or female, 
is sure to be sterile. The hair of man is partly born with 
him, and in part produced after his birth. The last kind of hair 
will not grow upon eunuchs, though that which has been born 
, svith them does not fall oif ; which is the case also with 
women, in a great degree. Still however, there have been 
women known to be afflicted with falling ofl" of the hair, just 
as some are to be seen with a fine down on the face, after the 
cessation of the menstrual discharge. In some men the hair 
that mostly shoots forth after birth will not grow spontane- 
ously. The hair of quadrupeds comes off every year, and 
i 1^ As already mentioued, this is not the fact. 
^9 See B. ix. c. 43. 
VOL. III. e ' 
