of Edinburgh, Session 1885-86. 
667 
which ne\rer occur in the fleece of the alpaca goat. Other fibres, 
however, approach very closely to the appearance of true wool, hut 
with a greater variation in the regularity of the individual scales 
than is usual in the more cultivated sheep. Plate XXIV. fig. 1 8 is 
an illustration of one of these fibres, taken also from a Pacpathian 
fleece, which may he compared with the merino fibre given in Plate 
XXIV. fig. 4. Amongst these fibres we also notice the first indication 
of a surface formation, which is a very common variation from the 
typical form in the more cultivated wools. This consists in a ten- 
dency to form rings of scales, in which we have the single scale 
continuous round the whole circumference of the fibre, similar to 
those characteristic of Chinese wool given in Plate XXIV. fig. 5, 
except that the free margin of the scales are not so marked or the 
scales so solid and horny, v/hile the attachment of the epidermal 
scales to the cortical part is more continuous. Such a fibre is given 
in Plate XXIV. fig. 19, taken from a Pacpathian fleece. 
The third class of fibres (c) are those of true wool, and possess all 
its highest characteristics. They are always much shorter than the 
others, and form an undergrowth of fine fibres which fill in the 
spaces between the coarser hairs, and in many cases are as fine and 
delicate in structure, with as great a tendency to curl, as the most 
beautiful fibres taken from the fleeces of the most cultivated sheep. 
Plate XXIV. fig. 20 is taken from a fibre drawn from the fleece of 
an Afghan sheep ( Ovis cagia). The specimen of wool from this sheep 
was a most extraordinary mixture of the very coarsest hair and fibre 
with the very finest wool, so much so that it almost seemed impos- 
sible that such diverse fibres could grow at any rate on the same 
portion of the skin. Most of the coarse hairs resembled fig. 12 and 
fig. 15, were deeply coloured by dark black, brown, and yellow 
pigment, and possessed a hard horny structure. The fine fibres 
were perfectly colourless and transparent, and closely resembled the 
wool of the English Southdown or the Australian merino. Except 
that there Was a larger variation in the structure of the scales in 
many of the individual fibres than is usually noticed in the most 
cultivated wools, they could not be distinguished from them. When 
we come to look at the wool of the more cultivated races of sheep, 
such as the common domestic sheep (Ovis rusticus), we find much 
less variation in the individual fibres than is usual in the less culti- 
