LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 00004336030 Class Book COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT i I THE HAIE: GROWTH, CAEE, DISEASES AND TREATMENT. BY C. HENEI LEONARD, M. A., M. D., Professor of Medical and Surgical Diseases of Women, and Clinical Gynaecology, in the Michigan College of Medicine ; Member of the American Medical Association ; of the Wayne County Medical Society, etc., etc. . We loved that time the best Before the hair was turning gray. Illustrated bg %\\t Jmtbreb anfr Sixteen (Bngrabings. DETROIT: C. HENRI LEONARD, MEDICAL BOOK PUBLISHER, 1880. <■ V v COPYRIGHTED, 1879. All rights reserved. Electrotyped and Printed by the Detroit Free Press Company. PREFACE. The present work has engaged the attention of the Author for the past six years. It is intended simply as an introduction to a second and larger and more scientific work that the Author hopes, in the near future, to have time to prepare. The purpose of the larger work is to show the possibility of the classification of animals from the differences in the microscopical structure of their hair-shafts. He has examined the hairs from a very large number of the different animals of the globe, speci- mens of which he now has in his possession, and believes such a classifi- cation possible. This treatise is of as much value to the laity as the profession, hence he has avoided, as far as possible, purely technical terms, and has also translated each prescription into its English equivalents. Numerous authorities have been consulted, and their text and illus- trations have, in many instances, been altered to suit the views of the Author, and so used, or else have been copied entire. While it is impossible to here mention all the names, yet the Author feels himself under special obligations to the following works and authors : Anthon, Aristotle, Beal, Bennett, The Bible, Bogtje, Bulkley, Cottle, Darwin, Dunglison, Encyclopaedia Metropolitana, Flint, Jr., Fox, Fry, Godfrey, Gosse, Gray, Gross, Haeckel, Herodotus, Homer, Horace, Kirke, Kitto & Bond, Kollice^r, Kuss, Larry, Layard, Livingstone, Lubbock, Martial, Nayler, Neill & Smith, Neumann, Ovid, Pifpard, Kawlinson, Baynald, St. John, The Talmud, Tanner, Verrill, Virgil, Wells, Wilson, Withof and The Zend Avesta. In most instances the authority quoted will be found named in the text. Detroit, 52 Lafayette Ave., January, 1880. TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAGE. The Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology of the Hair and Follicles 9 CHAPTER II. Anatomy and Physiology of the Hair-Root 21 CHAPTER III. Anatomy and Physiology of the Shaft External to the Follicle 27 CHAPTER IV. The Hair-Shaft, Continued 87 CHAPTER Y. The Hair-Shaft, Concluded 47 CHAPTER VI. The Color of the Hair 61 CHAPTER VII. Hair in Singular Places 71 CHAPTER VIII. Hygienic Treatment of the Hair 82 CHAPTER IX. Polytrichia (excessive hair-growth) 95 CHAPTER X. Canities (turning gray of the hair) 109 CHAPTER XL Trichonosis Decolor (discoloring of the hair) 128 CHAPTER XII. Alopecia, Vulgaris, Circumscripta, Senilis (baldness) 132 CHAPTER XIII. Coloring or Dyeing the Hair 158 .TABLE OF CONTENTS. 5 CHAPTER XIV. PAGE. Pityriasis (dandruff) -, ™ CHAPTER XV. Seborrhea Capillitii -^ 6 CHAPTER XVI. ASTEATODES AND ALLOSTEATODES jgg CHAPTER XVII. Eczema (milk crust) lg6 CHAPTER XVIII. Sycosis Menti, Acne and Rupia Syphilitica 194 CHAPTER XIX. Vegetable Parasitic Diseases 202 CHAPTER XX. Tinea Tonsurans (ringworm of the scalp) 209 CHAPTER XXL Tinea Favosa (honeycomb ringworm) 217 CHAPTER XXII.'. Tinea Decalvans (patchy baldness) 223 CHAPTER XXIII. Tinea Sycosis (barber's itch) 228 CHAPTER XXIV. General Chapter upon Animal Parasites 236 CHAPTER XXV. The Dermatozoa (animal parasites) 242 CHAPTER XXVI. Different Modes of Dressing the Hair 261 CHAPTER XXVII. The Hair of the Ancient Assyrians, Egyptians and Incas. . 287 ™ _ CHAPTER XXVIII. iHE BEABD og7 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. FIG. PAGE. 1. Diagrammatic formation of a Hair Follicle 14 2. Diagrammatic formation of a Hair Bulb 15 3. Diagrammatic formation of the Hair 16 4. Hair Follicle, Hair and Glands 18 5. Cells of the inner Root-sheath 21 6. Cross-section of a Hair 22 7. The Hair Bulb and Follicle 23 8. The Shedding of the Hair 25 9. Hair and Needle Contrasted 27' 10. Hair-shaft, showing Medulla 28 11. Different Hairs Contrasted 29 12. Cells of the Fibrous portion of the Hair 30 13. Cells of the Epidermal portion of the Hair 33 14. Cellular Imbrication of the Hair-shaft 33 15. A Hair seen under the Microscope 34 16. Different Hairs Contrasted 35 17. Hair of the Dermesf.es lardarius 35 18. Cross-section of the Hair-^ haft 37 19. Cross-section of the Beard-shaft 38 20. Hair in a Whale's Mouth 71 21. Rhinoceros : . . . 72 22. Head of the Nose Ape 75 23. Diagrammatic showing the three Germ Skin-layers 78 24. Portrait of Edwin Smith 98 25. Cornu Humanum 180 26. Penicillium Glaucum, magnified 202 27. Trichophyton Tonsurans 210 28. The Same just attacking a Hair 211 29. Achorion Schonleinii 217 30. The Same attacking a Hair 217 31. Microsporon Audouini attacking a Hair 224 32. Microsporon Mentagraphytes attacking a Hair 229 33. The Same in an earlier stage 231 34. Proboscis of Body-louse, highly magnified 240 35. Pediculus Capitis, Head-louse 242 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. FIG. PAGE. S6. Pediculus Pubis, Crab-louse 244 37. Pediculus Corporis, Body-louse 245 38. Steatozoon Folliculorum 250 39. Sarcoptes Hominis, Itch Insect — Female 251 40. Sarcoptes Hominis, Itch Insect— Male 252 41. Burrow of Itch Insect 253 42. Six-legged Sarcoptes Hominis 254 43. Pulex Felis, Cat Flea 256 44. Larva of the Pulex Felis 257 45. Roman and Greek Hair Pins ... 265 46. Manner of Doing up the Hair 266 47. A Lady of the Royal Family of ancient Rome 266 48. Head of Apollo Belvidere 267 49. Head of Diana 267 50. Head of Jupiter's Lion 267 61. Head of Jupiter 267 52. The Coan Robe 268 53. Head of Hercules 269 54. Head of a Congo Lady 269 55. Head of Cupid 270 56. Head of Octavia 270 57. Head of Messalina 270 58. Head of Julia Sabina 271 59. Head of Plautilla 271 60. Head of Pluto 272 61. Head of Neptune 272 62. Head of Apollo 272 63. Later Head of Mercury ' 273 64. Earlier Head of Mercury 273 65. Head of Hercules 273 66. Head of Hercules' Bull 273 67. Head of Juno 273 68. Head of Victoria 274 69. Head of one of Niobe's Daughters 274 70. Head of Venus 274 71. Head of a Fijian : 280 72. Head of a Fijian 280 73. Head of a Fijian 281 74. Head of a Fijian 281 75. Head of a Londa Lady 281 76. Head of a Bashinje Chief 282 77. Head of a Papuan 283 78. Head of a Cafuso Woman 284 79. Head of a Solomon Islander 284 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. FIG. PAGE. 80. Head of a North Australian 285 81. Head of Ada Cavendish 286 82. Head of an Assyrian King 287 83. Head of an Assyrian Queen 287 84. Sennacherib on his Throne 288 85. Egyptian Wig for Male 290 86. Egyptian Wig for Male 290 87. Egyptian Wig for Male , 290 88. Egyptian Wig for Male 290 89. Egyptian Wig for Female 291 90. Front View of an Egyptian Wig 291 91. Back View of an Egyptian Wig 291 92. Royal Egyptian Head-dress 292 93. Beard of an Egyptian King 292 94. Beard of an Egyptian Deity 292 95. Beard of a Private Egyptian 292 96. Mummy Case of Egyptian of Rank 292 97. An Ancient Egyptian Girl 293 98. Egyptian Lady of Rank 294 99. Egyptian Lady 294 100. Egyptian Lady 294 101. Head of Egyptian Lady of Rank 294 102. Head of Egyptian Lady of Rank 294 103. Head of Egyptian Lady of Rank 294 104. Full Dress of Egyptian Lady of Rank 295 105. Cross-section of a Beard Hair, magnified 297 106. Portrait of Ignatz Hiiber 299- 107. Portrait of a Solomon Islander 300 108. Portrait of a Sandwich Islander 300 109. Portrait of a North Australian 301 110. Portrait of Jupiter and the Lion 302 111. Portrait of Madam Josephine Clofullia 302 112. Medallion of St. Paul : 30a 113. Egyptian Beards 306 114. Portrait of a Papuan 306 115. Portrait of a Syrio-Egyptian 307 116. Portrait of Hippocrates 310 HAIR: ITS GROWTH, CARE, DISEASES AND TREATMENT. CHAPTER I. THE CHEMISTRY, ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HAIR AND FOLLICLES. Hair, though seemingly a small and unimportant subject, when but a single shaft is considered, is, withal, one that much can be said about. As a commercial commodity, hair is of vast importance. Thousands of people, from the wealthy wig-seller, whose cus- tomers are of royal birth, down to the poor peasant girl who grows her locks but to be shorn — for the girls of Brittany and the lower Pyrenees repair annually to their fairs in droves, each in turn surrendering her rich long hair, hanging down to her waist, to the buyer's shears — make a fair amount of their living from traffic in this material. Fashionable Paris alone, and London as much more, consumes annually over one hun- dred thousand pounds of human hair in the manufacture of her chignons and wigs, an amount that would load down, from its- bulk and weight, twenty of our largest freight cars. Just think of this for a moment; two cities alone consuming annually two freight-train loads of human hair! What must be the amount 10 hair: its growth, care, when we take into consideration that used by the cities and towns the world over ? As the weight per head averages from one-half to three-quarters of a pound, it is quite easy to see how many individuals sacrifice their cranial coverings upon this altar of mammon annually. Convents usually furnish a large amount of fine, luxuriant hair for the French, Spanish and Italian markets, and it is known to the trade as " church hair." Black hair comes usually from Spain or Italy; golden hair from Germany, and yellow from Holland. In England the red hair comes from the Danish descendants of the northern counties; the black, or bluish-black from the Celtic descend- ants of Wales; the brown, with a shade of the flaxen, from the Saxon element in the south. The quantity of long black hair from a French head averages about five ounces; the hair from an Italian about six ounces; from a German, about ten ounces. The prices paid for hair average usually from five dollars per head, down to twenty cents, all depending, of course, upon the quality and color of the material. Some unusually fine heads bring double or triple this price, and some heads of rare quali- ties are fairly weighed against gold. Golden hair is one of the most valuable colors in the English market, bringing as high as two dollars per ounce, if of fine quality. A fine article of white hair sometimes sells as high as five dollars an ounce. The dealers detect the qual- ity of the hair by the touch and smell. Indeed, some nation- alities have an odor to their hair peculiarly their own, as notably that of the Chinese, whose hair has a musky smell; certain diseases will develop an ammoniacal odor to the hair as well as the perspiration; the odor of violets has also been distinctly noted in one or two cases: the sense of touch enables DISEASES AND TREATMENT. 11 them to judge of its smoothness, evenness and fineness: the sense of smell enables them also to judge whether its color has been tampered with by dyes or bleaching agents, and how it has been packed for market; sometimes, also, whether it was from a living body or from one in the charnel house. As a rule, the hair-growers are a degraded raoe of people, filthy in their habits, living in low mud huts, and wearing but excuses for clothes. Closely fitting caps are worn by them, to protect the hair from injury, and also to avoid the necessity of pinning it up or frequently combing it, as either of these proce- dures would endanger its breakage, or the straining of the roots of the hair, and so get, by these means, an uneven or imperfect growth. Their riches consist not in their flocks, but rather in the hirsute growth that they themselves may produce. THE CHEMISTRY OF THE HAIR, By chemical examination we find the hair to be composed of the same elements (and in nearly the same proportions) as are found in the horns and hoofs of animals, the baleen or bone from the mouth of the great sea monster, the whale, the nails and feathers of fowls and birds, the nails of our own fingers and toes, and even the outer or epidermal layer of our skin. The resemblance of these several bodies in their chemical com- position is as similar as their physiological formation. Besides the animal matter which they all contain in common, we find this to be the result of the analysis of each: Halr - tSffig. %"-* Horn. ^hale- Carbon 50.65 49.90 50.28 51.03 51.86 Hydrogen 6.36 6.40 6.76 6.80 6.87 Nitrogen 17.14 17.10 17.21 16.24 15.70 Oxygen 20.85 21.60 25.01 22.51 21.97 Sulphur 5.00 5.00 0.74 3.42 3.60 It will be noticed that there is but little more variation 12 CHEMISTRY OF THE HAIE. between the chemical analyses of the different substances given than there is between the two different analyses of the hair itself. This variation is in part due to the fact that no two heads of hair are exactly alike in their chemical composition; they vary much with the color of the hair too. Thus, for intsance: Brovm hair gives us the largest proportion of carbon, while sulphur, oxygen and hydrogen are found in a smaller ratio. In black hair we find a larger amount, comparatively, of oxy- gen and sulphur, but a smaller amount of carbon and hydrogen. Fair hair is the richest in oxygen and sulphur, but has less carbon and hydrogen than hair of any other color. In red hair is found a reddish oil, a small quantity of iron, but a large quantity of sulphur. White hair, besides the sulphate of alumina, yields the phos- phate of magnesia, a whitish oil, and, in the aged, a large amount of the phosphate of lime. The beard gives us more carbon and hydrogen than the head hair, but less oxygen and sulphur; the quantity of nitrogen is, however, about the same. Upon the variation of the amount of these different chemical constituents present in hair of a given color, depend the dif- ferent shades of color caused by the use of the same dye, as spoken of in the chapter devoted to the consideration of hair- dyes and bleaching agents. The peculiar offensive odor noticed on burning hair is due to the decomposition of its nitrogenous or animal substance, called keratin, thus setting the previously combined sulphur free. This substance, which goes to make up the bulk of the hair, is soluble in alkalies, with the formation of ammonia, and strong sulphuric acid; but insoluble in boiling acetic acid, which dissolves the nails, horn and epidermis, and hence distinguishes ANATOMY AXD PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HAIR. 13 hair from these very similar products. Liquor potass* also dissolves it quite readily. When hair is reduced to ashes, by burning, the ash is found to yield calcic sulphates and phosphates, ferric and manganesic oxides, and ferric silicates; the ash from white hair yields sul- phate of alumina and lime, and phosphate of magnesia. ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. Hairs are an appendage of the skin, the same as are the nails; both are but modifications of the epidermal or surface-layer of the integument. In this respect also resembling the claws and feathers of birds and fowls, the claws, hoofs and horns of ani- mals, the scales of fishes, and the tough, overlapping mail of the alligator and crocodile. Hairs are found everywhere, as a rule, upon the human body, excepting upon the palms of the hands and fingers, and the soles of the feet and toes; though none are found on the upper eyelids, on the pulp of the lips, the dorsal surface of the tips of the fingers and toes, inner surface of prepuce, on the glans penis, mucous surface of the labia, mucous surfaces generally, and the globe of the eye. To this last, however, I know of a noted exception among the animals, that of a calf born with a hair-tuft springing directly from the front of the eyeball. Hair is found also on or within many of the internal organs, and notably so in pathological formations, or tumors, of the ovary. In the normal state these hair-growths are microscopi- cal, being only cilia in most instances. Upon the inside of some of the ovarian cysts, though, I have seen it in large tufts, or handfuls, growing luxuriantly from the cyst-wall. Hairs vary in length, size and color in different individuals, and also according to the place whereon they are found in the same individual. Thus, on the back of the fingers they are 14 ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HAIR. very short, and shorter still on other portions of the body, where the microscope is necessary to reveal them, as they barely reach out of the skin-follicle containing them. On the head they become of great length, in some instances, as I shall give further on, trailing on the ground. The beard and eye- lashes are remarkable for their comparatively great size; the former, in some individuals, grows also to be of great length, as for instance that of the authentically recorded case of the Burgomeister Hans Steiningen, whose beard was so long that he trod upon it one day, when ascending the stairs to the coun- cil chamber, and so stumbled and fell down and was killed. Hairs are cellular in structure, being made up of an aggrega- tion of cells, that are variously shaped and altered from their primary spherical condition. Hair begins its growth by the formation of a follicle, through a downward budding-like process, from the corpus or rete mucosum, the middle layer of the skin, thus: In Fig. 1, E rep- resents the epithelial or outer layer of the Fi s- *■ skin, the scarf-skin, in other words; H. M. the middle layer or rete mucosum; C corium, or true skin. The hair follicle is formed early in intra-uterine life. As early as the third month of foetal existence the involution of the skin commences, and with it the papilla and the com- mencing hair-bulb are seen. When further advanced in the formation, the follicle will assume the appearance, on microscopical examination, of that seen in Fig. 2. This represents a cross-section of the follicle at the 16th week of FORMATION OF THE HAIR PAPILLA. 17 an inch on perpendicular section. Each papilla is made up of undeveloped, nucleated connective-tissue cells commingled with a few free fibres. It is from these microscopic organs that the hairs of our bodies derive their nourishment and ele- ments of growth. The formative cells are continually being pushed upwards from the soft bulbs of the hair, taking with them the coloring granules; they then arrange themselves about the centre of the shaft forming its pith, and part of the fibrous portion. Then, from the combined action of the hair bulb and the hair follicle, new aggregations of cells are made, which, as they are elevated to the surface of the skin, are contracted and flattened to the shape that we find them in the shaft without the follicle. The growth of hair, then, being but the gradual pushing upwards (out of the follicle) of previously-formed cells by the new ones that are being formed continually below them. This explains why the hair will grow after it is plucked out " by its roots." So long as the papilla, with the follicle, is in a healthy condi- tion, so long will a new hair be ready to spring up from the same follicle. Thus in the case of eye-lashes, they are renewed in 150 days. To return now to a further description of the follicle. Each one is from -J^ to \ of an inch in depth. As they are formed by an induplicature of the skin, their lining membranes partake, of necessity, of similar connective tissues and epithelial ele- ments. From minute and careful microscopical investigation, it has been found that there are three distinct (from their cellular arrangement) membranes, going to form each follicle, after the indenture in the corium has been made by the down- wardly budding rete mucosum (Fig. 3.) The outer membrane, Fig. 4, 6, is made up of fusiform, connective-tissue cells, arranged longitudinally, with elongated nuclei, and is from the g-oVo to 2 18 FORMATION OF THE HAIR FOLLICLE. the xoVo" °f an mcn m thickness. It is freely supplied with capillary blood vessels, and nerve fibres have been discovered in it. The middle membrane is nearly triple the thickness of the outer layer, and is made up of fusi- form connective-tissue fibres, arranged trans- versely. It is not seen all the way up the folli- cle, but ends, usually, at the place of entrance of the ducts, 1 0, of the sebaceous glands (sim- ple, 11, and compound, 9), which accompany each follicle. In this layer there is also found free capillary circulation, with a ten- dency of the vessels to cross the membrane transversely. The in- ner membrane lining the follicular depres- sion, and which sur- rounds the hair, repre- sented by Fig. 4, en- tirely, though it is not Fi £- 4 - represented in the cut, is structureless; it is the limiting or hyaline membrane, THE SEBACEOUS GLANDS. 19 as it is sometimes called. It is not readily acted on by acids and alkalies, hence differs very materially from the other follicular membranes. Between it and the middle layer is a lymphatic plexus, and, in the case of tactile hairs of animals, notably those of the feline class, there is a highly developed vascular plexus. Running downward from this hyaline mem- brane, continuing in the same direction as the follicle, as in the case of the longer and larger hairs, there is a stalk-like projection seen passing through, and below, the true skin-layer into a subcutaneous connective-tissue layer, there uniting and inosculating with its fellows. The hair follicles, in the majority of instances, do not descend perpendicularly into the skin, but take an oblique course. This gives a "set " to the direction which the hair-shafts take when out of the body, and which will be treated of further on. THE SEBACEOUS GLANDS. Each hair follicle has one or more sebaceous glands emptying into it near its outlet; these glands may be either simple, Fig. 4, 11, page 18, or compound, 9, of same figure. From these glands are poured out the oily material that goes to lubricate the follicle, hair and scalp. The "dandruff" seen upon the scalp is a production of the dried material from these glands, commingled with the dust and filaments of the clothing that find lodgment in the hair, together with the exfoliation of the scarf-skin of the scalp. Besides these sebaceous glands there are sweat glands also opening into the follicle. THE MUSCLES OF THE EOLLICLE. Referring again to Fig. 4, page 18, there will be noticed, on the right-hand side of the plate, two bands of muscular tissue, 1 and 8, running diagonally upward from the lower portion of 20 THE MUSCLES OF THE HAIR FOLLICLE. the follicle. These are called erectores pili, the erector mus- cles of the hair. By the contraction of these muscles the hair is elevated, with its follicle, and protruded from the skin, giv- ing the condition of affairs known as " goose pimples " or " goose skin " {cutis anserma.) Through the same physiologi- cal action upon the hairs and follicles of the scalp, one's hair is made " to stand on end," as is popularly said. During the contraction of these muscles the contents of the follicle and the sebaceous glands are also squeezed out more abundantly than when the follicle is in its usual distended, or quiescent, state. It is these muscles that also give the tactile movements to the " whiskers " of the feline, canine and leonine species, only they are more developed in them than in man. CHAPTER II. THE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HAIR— {Continued.) Investing THE ROOT-SHEATHS. the roots of the hair are two layers of cells, or membranes, called the outer and inner root-sheaths. The external sheath, 4, Fig. 4, is continuous with the bulb of the hair, and resembles, closely, the rete mucosum (Figs. 1 and 3), from which it is formed. It is made up of numerous rounded and nucleated cells, which vary from the 40 1 00 of an inch to the -g-J-^ of an inch in diameter. Those situated nearer to the surface of the hair cylinder are somewhat flattened. This sheath is three or four times thicker than the inner root-sheath. The internal root-sheath is more transparent than its fellow, the outer, and seems to be made up of two layers of flattened cells; the layer, 1, Fig. 5, lying adjacent to the hair cylinder, is of non- nucleated, elongated, trans- parent cells, varying from the -j-Lq- to the ^ of an inch in length, and is known as Henle's layer. The outermost layer, 2, is known as Huxley's, and is made up of nucleated polyhedral cells, with axes parallel Fig. 5. 22 THE HAIR BULB OR ROOT. to the shaft of the hair. These are also transparent, and are not so compressed as those forming Henle's layer, and their longi- tudinal axis is shorter. At 3, same figure, is shown, in contrast, some of the cells from the external root-sheath. At the bottom of the follicle there is only one layer of the nucleated cells forming this sheath, and, similarly to the outer root-sheath, it ends near the entrance of the ducts of the sebaceous glands. A transverse section of a hair and its follicle, at the middle of the follicle, would show all the different layers and membranes we have gone over in the following order (Fig. 6) : 1 is a portion of the hair; 2, the epithelial layer of the hair shaft; 3 and 4, the inner and outer layers of the internal root-sheath; 5 and 6, the thick, outer root-sheath with its two different layers of cells, the outer lying transversely to the long axis of the follicle; 7, 8, 9, the hya- line membrane, with its inner, middle and outer layer of cells; 10, the pith or medulla of the hair, which is to be described on a following page. THE HAIR BULB OR ROOT. That portion of the hair below the surface of the skin is called its root. It presents a bulbous enlargement at this point, and hence is frequently termed the bulb. This is the part that furnishes the sustenance to the existing hair shaft without the follicle. It is larger, whiter and softer than the portion^ without the skin, and has a hollowed-out base, which rests upon the papilla springing from the bottom of the follicle, and is connected with it by the interlacement of the cells form- ing the papilla and the bulb proper of the hair. An examination of the structures of the root of the hair is THE HAIR BULB OR ROOT. 23 Fig. 7. best made by chromic acid preparations; this hardens the cel- lular structures so they can be easily manipulated. In the bulb proper, throughout its en- tire mass, with the exception of a thin cortical covering, we find the same round, nucleated cells seen in the external sheath layer? and shown at 3, Fig. 5. They are also seen in Fig. 7, at 6 and 8. Sometimes these cells are pigmented, especially in the upper shaft portion; they go to make up the fibrous part of the hair, 10, and the medullary portion, 8, as they are further developed. They first become, with their nuclei, elongated for the cortical portion, 5, and this process continues till they are still further narrowed and lengthened, and their nuclei become but thread-lines or are lost entirely. The cells overlap each other closely, and somewhat regularly, and in a healthy hair- cylinder it is impossible to separate them without chemical reagents, of which sulphuric acid is the best. This layer will be further treated of when we come to speak of the shaft of the hair, for, in the attenuated and hardened state of the cells, it is continued on to the tip of the hair without the follicle. The length of these cells, in their mature state, ranges from the ■g-^-Q- to the -g-J-g- of an inch, and their width from the -g-gVo to tne go^o of an inch. Between the plates of this layer are found granules of pigment matter — for.this is the layer that gives the color to the hair — and also a few narrow air chambers. The axillary and medullary portion of the hair (8 and 11 of Fig. 8) is the most recent formation from the papilla, and you 24 EXIT FROM THE FOLLICLE. notice it is intimately connected with it. In young hairs this por- tion of the hair is not found, all the material going to form the fibrous and epidermal portion. The cells that go to make this up are the same as those found in the newly-formed portions of the fibrous part just described; the same as are also found in the papilla. As the hair is pushed gradually upwards, by the newly-forming cells below, they shrink up, become less regular in form, lose their nuclei, and leave vacant spaces between their walls for quite a large supply of residual air. The portion marked 5 in Fig. 7, is the outside or epidermal layer of the hair. Its origin, 4, is also in more or less spherical, nucleated cells, in common with the root-sheaths, which, as they are pushed further and further from the follicle, become flattened, lose their nuclei, and finally lie in imbricating layers, covering the entire circumference of the hair shaft. They are thin and transparent, when fully matured, and require the use of caustic soda solutions, or sulphuric acid, to separate them from their fellows, and show their form and structure. Their size varies from the lo 1 0O to the -gfo of an inch in diameter. Of the remaining portions of Fig. 7, 1 represents the hyaline membrane, or outer follicular layer; 2, the external root-sheath; 3, the internal root-sheath ; 7, the papilla. EXIT FROM THE FOLLICLE. At the first formation of the hair-cylinder it does not issue point first from its follicle, but it is bent over upon itself, so that a loop is formed ; this loop gradually pushes its way through the follicular opening, and then, from its elasticity, the shaft straightens itself out. Indeed, it is the law of almost all growths, that the point does not issue direct from the parent- cell or follicle, but is bent downwards till the exit-making loop is formed. This you witness in the fullest degree in the growth SHEDDING AND EEGEOWTH OF HAIR. 25 of plants from their seeds. Sometimes, for various reasons, prominent among which is the sealing of the follicle with seba- ceous matter, or its being covered over by the scales of the scarf-skin, or the outer walls adhering together, the hair cannot make its exit at all; in this case it keeps on its growth — for the papilla, as long as blood is sent to it in proper condition, never ceases its work — and doubles more and more upon itself until the follicle is fully distended. This produces intolerable itch- ing, and hence attention is directed to the seat of the malady. The imprisoned hairs are readily set at liberty by the use of strong alkaline washes (strong soap-suds is as good as anything), and frictions with coarse towels. The condition can also be recognized by the sight, the coiled hairs showing themselves as little black spirals beneath the skin. Occasionally the hairs will be found to be one-half an inch, or more, in length when released. Sometimes a whole limb may be thus affected. Aristotle (384 to 322 B. C.) has described the condition quite fully, although it is quite a rare malady. SHEDDING AND REGROWTH OF HAIR. g In the former chapter we spoke of the shedding of the foetal hair. This process, with the regen- eration of the hair, was first noticed by the German physiologist Kolliker. A diagram will perhaps aid us in more completely understanding this physiological process, see Fig. 8. In this, 1 represents the eyelash of a child that was of intra-uterine growth, and is now about to be ^~ 8 thrown off; 2 is the bulbous portion of the old hair severed by the constricting follicle, 3, from its papilla, 5; the new hair, 4, is just beginning to be formed, and is gradually 26 SHEDDING AND REGR0WTH OF HAIR. pushing the old one out of the follicle; 6 is a sebaceous gland, with its short duct emptying into the hair-follicle. The natural loss of hair, either through disease or the age of the hair itself, is through this same way, when the papilla is left uninjured. As a first step to this process there seems to be a fatty degen- eration of the cells at the summit of the papilla, induced either by improper blood-supply or through some slight injury, as pulling the hair. Since it is the tendency of the follicle' to keep contracted, of course, if the cellular elements are dimin- ished for a time, a constriction must necessarily take place; when once started, the nourishment of the hair is so materially lessened by the severing of the connection of the root-sheaths, which the constriction causes, that the hair must become ultimately separated from all nourishment, and hence sup- planted by one of more vigorous and healthy growth. The shedding of the hair-coats of our domestic animals, and the moulting of our fowls and birds, is from a similar physio- logical cause. The hair shaft has lived its life, the cell forma- tion is not sufficient to keep so long a hair in a live, or growing, condition, so the old hair is thrown out of the follicle by the' new growth forming below. CHAPTER III. THE ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE SHAFT EXTER- NAL TO THE FOLLICLE. We have come now to the consideration of the hair-cylinder as it exists without the follicle. Usually there is but one shaft having exit from the same follicle, yet two or more are some- times seen. Each hair is properly divided into three anatomical portions : 1st, the bulb, which has already been described; 2d, the shaft, external to the follicle; 3d, the tip or point. The tip of the hair can be dismissed in a few words. Hairs, when healthy, have an acutely-shaped point. It is, like the sting of the bee, a typical point; indeed, Nature, when she makes a point, makes one that will bear the closest scrutiny. You put a hair under the microscope, and it there remains the same regularly and finely pointed object it resembles to the naked eye ; not so, though, the pointed objects that man may make. You examine the finest cambric needle, and it is a rough, notched and blunt object. Fig. 9 gives a very good compara- tive illustration of the two objects, seen under the micro- scope ; H representing the hair point, and iYthe point of the needle. When the hair becomes diseased, then the point splits up into several layers, and if the split ends are not clipped off, as they should be, the cleft extends farther and farther up the shaft, until the 28 THE SHAFT OF THE HAIR. greater portion of it is ruined; as the ragged ends are continu- ally snarling, and are being broken off by friction in combing, or by the clothing worn, or by the pillow. THE SHAFT OF THE HAIR. The shaft of the hair, as seen without the follicle, is also divided in three portions : 1st. The medulla, or pith, represented diagrammatically by 1, Fig. 10. 2d. The fibrous portion, 2, 2, Fig. 10. 3d. The epithelial portion, 3, of the same figure. The Medulla or Pith. — This portion of the shaft is quite distinctly cellular, Fi 10 resembling the same portion found within the follicle, and occupies the center of the hair-cylinder. It grows gradually less marked until near the point, when it is entirely lost sight of. It is wanting in the fine, or downy hairs, and in some of the finer hairs of the head. It is from ^ to -J- of the diameter of the shaft, and is composed of small nucleated cells, from y-g-jhnr t0 Woo °f an i ncn m diameter; they are best brought out by soaking, for several days, in a two per cent caustic potash solution. It is seen most prominently in the thick, coarse hairs, as the eye-lashes, beard, and in the head hairs of the aged. The finest natural specimen that I have ever seen, showing the medulla as distinctly marked as in Fig. 10, was from the head of an Egyptian mummy, which, through the kindness of Bel a Hubbard, Esq., of Detroit, I was permitted to unwrap; and from which I obtained many specimens of the beard, head hair and eyebrows. I shall speak more fully elsewhere of my examination of the THE SHAFT OF THE HAIR. 29 Fig. 11. hairs from our friend who trod the streets of Thebes three thousand years ago. In animals this medullary portion is very much more marked, and in fact is quite characteristic. The rabbit, rat, skunk and mink have each a cellular arrangement of the medulla, of the hair-shaft, peculiar to themselves; and it is quite easy, with the aid of the microscope, to distinguish one from the other. In the fallow deer, 1, Fig. 11, the whole shaft of the hair, excepting the thin outer layer or cortex, is entirely cellular. 2 represents the larger hair from a rat, while 3 shows the cellular arrangement seen in the hair from a white rabbit. Very simi- lar in arrangement of its cells as here seen, 3, Fig. 11, is the hair of the ordinary squirrel; the main difference is that in the squirrel these cells are opaque. So constant is the characteristic difference in the medullary cellular arrangement seen in hairs from different animals, that it is quite easy, in most instances, to name the species from which it was taken. The frauds of fur dealers may, by the means of the microscope, be thus detected, as these cellular markings are tel]-tales that they cannot by any manner of means disguise, without destroying the texture of the hair itself. This portion of the hair is the more recently formed portion of the hair-cylinder; and between the cells themselves there is considerable residual air, thus tending to give a white color to the shaft. In gray hairs it becomes more marked, as a natural process of physical degeneration; the cells themselves having become filled with air, and the fluid, natural to them in youth, becoming*; more or less absorbed. 30 THE SHAFT OF THE HAIE. Fig. 12. The Fibrous Portion—This portion of the shaft which lies just beneath the epithelial or outer coating, and surrounds the medullary portion on all sides, 2, 2, Fig. 10, goes to make up the bulk of each cylinder. The cells forming this portion are elongated, contain long nuclei, and are grouped together in fusiform bundles. Their length is 7 ^ to ^ of an inch; their breadth ^ to ^ of an inch. A few air cells are also found in this coating in the lighter colored hairs, hut in the black their place is fully taken by the increased number of pigment granules. These cells are best brought out by treating the section to be examined with a drop of strong sulphuric acid (sometimes it is necessary they should macerate in the acid half an hour, before showing them nicely) then pressing the covering-glass firmly down upon them, so as to separate the cells as much as possible. This portion of the hair is the chief source of its strength, for ha.r has a great deal of strength, when it is taken in the aggregate. A single hair will support, if healthy, four ounces. The supporting power, though, varies with the size of the hair- cylinder as found in different individuals, and also with its color and with the age of the individual, and the state of the health of the individual from which it is taken. Thus, a hair, light brown m color, and from a person aged eighty, would support but one and one-quarter ounces without breaking. A blonde hair filament from a child ten years of age, broke under a train of two and one-quarter ounces ; another blonde filament from a young lady, twenty-five years of age, broke on two and one-half ounces; a dark brown hair from the head of a lady aged seventeen years, broke at the same weight; a dark brown hair from a person aged thirty-eight, a red one from another THE SHAFT OF THE HA.IK. 31 aged twenty-four, and one from a lady twenty-five years, broke on three ounces; a light brown one from a healthy girl, aged six years, broke on a strain of three and one-half ounces; a dark brown one from a young lady, twenty-four years of age, held four ounces suspended; another hair of the same color and one from a lady of same age, held suspended over four and one-quarter ounces without breaking. From this it will be readily seen that the assertions we are about to make admit of mathematical proof, and that hair, in the aggregate, has a great deal of strength. A single head of hair of average growth and luxuriousness, in any audience of two hundred people, will hold supported that entire audience, and yet have a large quantity of supporting power to spare. Putting it still in a little different light, the hairs from the heads of the citizens of Detroit (present population, 130,000), if taken collectively, represent a breaking strain of quite 2,000,000 of tons; a load that would take about 5,000 of our locomotive engines to transport. Still making a larger illustration, the hairs from the heads of the present inhabitants of the globe, could hold supported in space, against the gravity of the earth, the planet Yesta, and yet have 7,000,000,000,000 of tons of strength to spare; an amount of reserved strength that if represented in miles would take the earth, moving at the rate of 1,600,000 miles per day, 1,458 years to traverse. Surely then, hair, in Samson, was a fitting emblem for his strength, and when Delilah shore him of his locks no wonder he lost his strength also. The elasticity of the hair also resides in this same portion of the cylinder. The long, spindle-shaped cells that go to form it, allow a still greater elongation of themselves, only to spring back again, from their resiliency, to somewhat near their former length. This extensibility equals, on the average, nearly 32 THE SHAFT OF THE HAIR. one-third the normal length of the hair. Thus, if a hair 36 inches in length be carefully stretched to its full capacity, it would then measure 48 inches. After the weight was removed it would gradually retract, but would never regain its prior dimensions. This property of the hair is not constant, as it varies with the size of the hair, its color and the person from whom taken, as this table of the results of experiments will show: Color. Age. Measured. Stretched to Contracted to Dark brown 25 36 46 40 Dark brown ." 24 31 36 34 Light brown 80 7 9 7^ Red 24 12 16 Light brown 6 13 17 Dark brown 17 27J^ 34 Dark brown 38 11% U)4 The coloring matter of the hair is found in this fibrous por- tion, as before announced. The cells are pigmented, either light or dark, according to the prevailing tint of the hair; pig- ment granules are also found between the cellular layers. The pigmentation is not evenly distributed, either within or without the cells, but seems to be somewhat linear in its arrangement, although it is not deposited in continuous lines. In some animals, as for instance the rat, the cells are (irregularly) alter- nately colored and uncolored; the result of this is that it gives a sort of a gray look to the hair, which we call " mouse color." One or two instances of human hair being somewhat similarly colored are on record; we give them in full in the chapter upon the Color of the Hair. This brings us now to the consideration of the third or outer covering of the hair. The Epidermal Coat. — This is an imbricating cellular layer ; that is, the flat, quadrilateral oid cells, see Fig. 13, forming it THE SHAFT OF THE HAIR. 33 Fig. 13. overlap each other, just as the tiles or shingles do each other on our houses, or the scales upon a fish's body. The scales are hard, dry, thin and transparent, and need the use of strong sulphuric acid or caustic potash to bring them out. They contain no nucleus or nucleolus, and are about the 10 1 00 of an inch in width, their length being some five or six times that. They are analogous to the outer covering, or scarf-skin, of the hand, or any portion of the human body. The scales were originally spheroidal cells, but by process of age, and from the moulding influence of the root follicle, their contents have become absorbed and they have gradually become flattened until they have acquired their present con- dition and arrangement. They are all placed somewhat regu- larly about the cylinder of the hair-shaft, and all with their free edges toward the point of the hair. This gives a some- what serried look to the edges of the hair, when seen through a microscope, as is represented in Fig. 14; 1 shows the shaft itself ; 2, the edge of it as it is more highly magnified. The imbri- cations will not be so plainly marked ex- cept in specimens that have been subjected to the action of reagents. The more usual appearance of the hair, as seen under the microscope, is that seen in Fig. 15. This is from a child, and is magnified three hundred and seventy diameters. In children, however, the imbrications are not shown as distinctly as in the hairs from adults. This peculiarity of arrangement of the scales can be detected by the touch; thus drawing the hair briskly through the fingers, from the tip to the root, it Fig. 14. 34 THE SHAFT OF THE HAIR. will then seem to be rough and uneven. Often when quite firm pressure is used a humming sound may be produced by this manoeuvre. You can by this means always tell which is the root-end and which the tip-end of the hair, as the overlapping layers lie from the roots. Now if you turn the hair, end for end, and draw it from the root to the tip, it will be felt to be smooth and even. Advantage has been taken of this fact by hair dealers and dressers, in arranging their stock. Where the hair has become disarranged, that s, a part with the roots one way and the remainder with the tips in the same direction, the whole is thrown upon a smooth, hard surface, and rolled briskly back and forth with the palm of the hand, or pulp of the fingers, when those with the roots in the same direction will begin to " back out " from the mass, and can then be easily sorted out and arranged in a proper man- ner. Were this caution not taken (to have the points all one way) the hair would never lie evenly and smoothly upon the head. This same " rolling " process, in a minor degree, takes place at each twist of the head on the pillow, and hence explains why our ladies' hairs are less snarled and tangled than they would otherwise be after a night's repose. This principle is also taken advantage of in the case of hairs (wool) from sheep and goats. The manfacture of felting is pos- sible only upon this natural condition of serration and imbrica- THE SHAFT OF THE HAIR. 35 Fig. 16. tion of the cortical layer of cells about the shaft of the hair, since they allow a sort of " interlocking," when under pressure, to take place, and so form that thick, firm article known as "felt cloth." Wools differ in the fineness of these serrations, and upon this their commercial value is graded. In Leicester wool the serrations are 1,850 to the inch; in South-down, 2,080; in Merino, 2,040; in fine Saxon, 2,720. The finer the serrations, as a rule, the closer and finer is the cloth woven from it. The shrinking of woolen goods by washing, etc., is owing to a closer interlacement of the wool fibres, through the friction of the wash-board and agency of the hot water. In some animals we have this outer covering greatly developed. In the India bat, for instance, see Fig. 16, 1, they stand out trumpet-shaped, resembling lilac blossoms threaded one within the other, as children are wont to string them together for necklaces. Fig. 2, of the same plate, shows the imbrications as still more prominently developed; they whorl about the shaft as so many spikes; this is from the cater- pillar. In swans' down used in winter trimming of ladies' and children's cloaks, the imbrications, see 3, same plate, resemble shallow cups, trans- fixed by a long central shaft, or honeysuckles strung together by threading one within the other. Another very singularly marked hair is from the Dermestes lardarius in its larval state. This insect is found frequently in our museums and cabinets, feeding upon fur, skins and other animal substances. There Fig. 17. 36 THE SHAFT OF THE HAIR. are four or five spines in each whorl about the cylindrical shaft, the top of which is surmounted by a whorl of six large pendant filaments, Fig. 17. This coating of the hair is exceedingly thin, being but the 3 0*0 of an inch in thickness upon the external shaft. Lower down, in the follicle, it is considerably thicker and softer, and is in two layers at the lower portion of the root. Notwithstanding that this layer is so very thin, were it pos- sible to remove it from all the hairs from the heads of the people of Detroit, and pile each layer one upon the other, we would have a higher than Ossa on Pelion, for the mass of imbricating hair scales would measure over twenty miles in height. Or, taking it from the head-hairs of the citizens of Chicago, and placing the layers edgewise, you will have a foot-walk over one hundred miles in length. CHAPTER IV. THE HAIR-SHAFT— {Continued.) On transverse section the shaft is seen to have an irregularly- ovoid or cylindrical shape, though this varies exceedingly with the individual from whom it was taken, and the part from whence plucked. Nationality has much to do with the shape. The Aryan races have an oval outline, whereas the Semitic have a more or less angular contour to the hair. In Europeans, and the light-haired races generally, it is quite a regular oval, as in the cut here given, Fig. 18. 1 represents the medulla; 2, the fibrous portion; 3, the epithelial portion ; 4, a more cylindrical hair, one character- istic of black-haired races, like the Chinese or East Indian, and is not marked by a pith. In the North American Indian it is cylindrical, and in the Malay and Japanese nearly so. In the African it is what may be termed elliptical, or eccentrically elliptical, and sometimes it is even kidney-shaped. In the Bushmen it is ribbon-like; the race being what you might denominate a flat-haired one, as their hair is four or five times as broad as it is thick. The hair of the Negro has no central canal or medulla, and the coloring matter is pretty generally scattered all through its substance. The Negro's hair will " felt," whereas the Europe- an's will not. Fig. 18. 38 WHY HAIR CURLS. The ancient Egyptians had almost cylindrical hair, as my specimens show, and hence there would be but little tendency to curling of their hirsute covering ; indeed, all their pictures on their monuments represent them as people of straight hair. They were a dark-haired race also. In the ancient Assyrian sculptures we see the Assyrio-Ninevi- tish race with a profusion of curls, hence their hair must have approached the Anglo-European type, ovoid on transverse section. The hirsute specimens I have examined from the heads of the Peruvian Incas, given me by that industrious collector, Prof. Steere, of Michigan University, show a decided tendency to the cylindrical outline. Further on I shall devote a special chapter to the consideration of these three varieties of hair. WHY HAIR CURLS. On this ovoid condition of the hair, depends, in a great degree, its curling or non-curling qualities. The beard is decidedly elliptical, and we all know how much more curly it is than the shafts of our head coverings. Fig. 19, is a very highly magnified section of beard-hair, and shows the central pith very distinctly. The rea- Flg " 19 ' son of its curling prop- erties is this: You will remember in a former chapter I spoke of the elasticity of the fibrous layer, that layer made WHY HAIR CURLS. 39 up of long, nucleated, extensile and retractile cells; the one that makes up the chief bulk of the hair and surrounds the medulla or pith. In the straight-haired races the fibres of this middle layer are deposed regularly and evenly about the central pith, and hence a perfect cylinder is the result. As this fibrous portion is the seat of elasticity and strength, it follows that the tension must be equal on all sides of a shaft of this shape, and hence there is no twisting of the hair upon its central axis; in other words, no curling results. The small downy hairs of the body belong to this class. In hairs of ovoid form, as in the wavy and curly-haired races, the fibrous portion being unevenly distributed about the axis, it follows that tension is unevenly distributed, and hence a coiling or curling ensues. In the elliptical or kidney-shaped hairs, as belong to the negro families, this coiling tendency is greatly increased, for the distribution of the fibrous portion is more unevenly dis- tributed about the medulla than in the oval-haired races. Hair being hydroscopic, it is from this fact liable to have its curling properties influenced by the state of the atmosphere. Our young belles complain of this quality very bitterly, when, after an hour's exposure in a crowded ball-room, their " frizzes " and crisp " curls " become lank shreds of their former selves. The aqueous vapor thrown off from the lungs and bodies (through transpiration) of the dancers has been absorbed by the dry and crispy hairs, and hence their beauty of form quickly vanishes away. The fibre-cells of the hair-cylinder which have been stretched, and then dried, into an abnormal position by the hot curling-iron, becoming moistened, soften down and finally assume their normal condition, which results in an untwisting of the crimps and frizzes. Until something can be invented 40 WHY HAIR CURLS. that will absorb the exhaled and transpired material from our bodies — for the lungs and skin are the main sewers — just so long will society be imposed upon by this " undoing " quality of fashionably-dressed heads of hair. This hydroscopic quality has been taken advantage of in the manufacture of certain scientific instruments. Thus, in certain of the so-called aneroid barometers, the working force is but the extension and contraction of hair under the influence of moisture, and the measured amount of this extension or con- traction is read upon the dial plate in the translated terms of either fair or foul weather. In hot, dry climates the hair of a straight-haired European assumes the locks of the ancient Jove. A good instance of this is given by Mr. St. John, in his " Travels in the Valley of the Nile." He says: " The effect of the climate of Egypt upon the hair is remarkable. Why, our beard, which in Europe [all Europeans have an ovoid hair, and hence it is curlingly inclined from this anatomical peculiarity] was soft and silky and almost straight, began immediately on my arrival in Alexan- dria to curl, grow crisp and strong, and before I reached Es-souan resembled horse hair to the touch, and was also disposed in ringlets about the chin. This is, no doubt, to be accounted for by the extreme dryness of the air. * * * On my return to Malta my curls had all disappeared." Mr. St. John accounted for the curly-headed condition of the Negro in this wise: "The extreme dryness of the air, which, operating through several thousand years, has in the interior changed the hair of the Negro into a kind of coarse wool." Undoubtedly Mr. St. John is partially right, for it is the tendency of all ovoidal hair to curl, and especially so in a dry climate, or under anti-hydroscopic conditions. As to the hair of the Negro being " coarse wool," one of our most competent THE SIZE OF THE HAIE. 41 observers avers that the individual hairs of this race are finer than in the European. THE SIZE OP THE HAIR. The diameter of a hair-shaft varies with the nationality, color, age and sex of the individual, as well as the locality from which the specimen is taken. The beard is notoriously coarse and harsh; so also the pelvic and axillary hairs, the eyebrows and eyelashes. In the aged the hairs of the head are coarser than in youth, and in youth coarser than in babyhood. In the New Zealander they are coarser than in the South American Indian, whilst the Indian's are coarser than the European's. In the first they average -g-J^ of an inch in diam- eter, the extremes being, of fifty hairs examined, ^-J^- and -g-J-g- of an inch; in the second, from the -g-J-g- to the ^-J-g- of an inch in diameter, the extremes being, of one hundred and fifty-five hairs examined, lo t 0o and ¥ ^ of an inch; in the third, the European, their diameters averaged from the -^-J-g- to the T ^- s - of. an inch, the extremes being, of two thousand hairs examined, 15 1 00 and yj-g- of an inch; probably ^g-g- of an inch is the gen- eral average diameter. Small though a single shaft may be, that is, it will take four hundred of them laid side by side to measure one linear inch, yet when you come to take them in the aggregate, the surface they would cover is really immense. For instance, taking our Detroit illustration again: If the hairs from the present pop- ulation were laid dde by side, we would have a foot-walk, averaging about twelve inches in width, over six hundred miles in length. Or, from the citizens of Philadelphia, a hirsute walk, six feet in width, could be laid upon every street of their city throughout the street's entire length. Or, from the cities 42 THE SIZE OF THE HAIR. of New York and Brooklyn combined, a hirsute walk one foot wide that would much more than reach from the north pole to the south pole, were it possible to lay it on the earth's axis. Or if taken from the inhabitants of the whole earth, the twelve-inch hirsute walk would belt the globe 280 times at the equator, or could furnish thirty, each a foot in width, to reach the moon. In fine, to briefly formulate these facts, it is safe to say that any city can pave its streets with human hair, to the width of six feet, throughout the entire length of the same. I have just said that sex had much to do with the size of the hair; the hair of men, although common opinion be to the contrary, is finer than that of women, the difference being in favor of the former by some l5 1 00 of an inch, when contrasting the coarsest hairs of the male (European) with the coarsest of the female of same nationality. A like increase of the size of the hair-shaft, on the part of the female, is noticed when com- paring the finest hairs from the two sexes. These figures are the average, as deduced from the careful examination of the hairs from thirty-six individuals, eighteen being male and eighteen being female, and with a total number of one thou- sand and sixteen hairs examined from the males, and nine hun- dred and forty from the females. The measurements were carefully made by one of the greatest of English physicians, Dr. Erasmus Wilson, one whose recent work, in great things, although the object has a diminutive name, has made his name prominent among all nations; I allude now to his removal from the banks of the Nile, at Alexandria, Egypt, Cleopatra's Needle, and its setting up upon the banks of his home river, the Thames. On the same head, even, there will be a great difference in the size of the hair-shafts. Thus, from a table given by Wilson, HAIE IN ITS SOCIAL BEARINGS. 43 we deduce the following results, from the examination of upwards of fifty hairs from each of six individuals: (1) (2) (3) W (5) (6) Number of hairs. 67 79 81 97 64 57 , 445 Finest. Coarsest. lg 1 00 of an inch, yto of an inch, i u i « Average. TTo oi TTo l 400 ■1 4 4~0~0~ 2T0" 1 3 9 1 an inch. a 12 50 230 1 a l " a 150 30 TTo TTo 1 a 1 ■ Ci Too ~2T~o l » _1_ " 5 50 210 a a a Total 1 « 1 « a 100 8 "2~4¥ Color has much to do with the size of the hair-shafts; not, perhaps, as prima causa, but as an incidental accompaniment. The dark-colored hair belongs to the coarser variety. The size of the shaft as regards the color, is graded in this way: Flaxen hair is the finest, averaging from the ^-g- to -^-q of an inch; the second on the list is chestnut hair, measuring -g-J-g- to -g-J^- of an inch in diameter; the third is red hair, measuring the j^j- to ^J-Q of an inch; the fourth is dark brown hair, measuring the -^- to the -g^- of an inch; the fifth, light brown, measuring the yj^ to the -^jt °^ an mcn 5 sixth, black, measur- ing the 4^0 to the yjy of an inch. Taking the average of all these we find that ^Jy °^ an mcn * s tne average diameter; taking this with the average given in the above table, we get y|y of an inch as the average size of the hair-shaft of the adult scalp; hence, in round numbers ^Jy of an inch should be taken as the average diameter of the head-hair of the civilized races. HAIR IN ITS SOCIAL BEARINGS. From a closer examination of the first table it will be seen that the ratio existing between the coarsest and the finest hairs 44 NUMBER OF HAIRS TO THE SQUARE INCH. is as one to five, in the general average, and that it holds pretty- constantly the same in the individual cases; that is, that the coarsest hairs will be five times the diameter of the finest. Now, in the less civilized nations there is not near so wide a range, neither is there in the hair from children, for in them the size of the hair cylinders is pretty nearly the same. Thus in the South American Indian's, the ratio is as one to three. In the New Zealander's (a more limited number of examina- tions, however, yet there were fifty hairs carefully measured), the ratio is as one to two. Would it be stretching the point too much to affirm, then, that the progress of civilization and culture can be marked, to a certain degree, by the amount of variability in the size of the hair-shafts of the head ? It would seem not, from the figures and ratios just given. NUMBER OP HAIRS TO THE SQUARE INCH. Intimately connected with the size of the hair is its thickness of growth, or the number of filaments that are to be found upon a square inch of surface. The coarser (darker-colored) it is, the thinner it will be, and vice versa. As our flaxen hair is the finest, it follows then that the own- ers thereof are the richer in their comate possessions. Thus, it is nothing uncommon for them to brush out and untangle seventy miles of golden locks when making their morning toilet, whilst some luxuriate in the richness of ninety, and even one hundred miles of these aureate possessions. The only wonder is that the delicate threads are not more kinked and knotted after a night at the ball. The scalp bears more, in the same superficial measurement, than auy other portion of the body, and even hereon they vary much in number, according to the portion from which taken: thus, on the crown they are the most plenty; on the back of NUMBER OF HAIRS TO THE SQUARE INCH. 45 the head next in quantity, and on the forehead still more scattering. On the chin there are some one hundred and sixty to the square inch; on the pelvis, one hundred and forty; on the forearm one hundred; on the back of the hand eighty; on the thigh, anterior surface, forty-five. The number of the hairs upon the head also vary with the color grown by the individual. Thus, of the black, we have five hundred and ninety-eight to each square inch; of the chestnut, six hundred and forty-eight; of the flaxen, seven hundred and twenty-eight. This is in about the same ratio as the variability of size in these same colors. It would also follow as a corollary (as the hair is coarser) that the female has fewer than the male, in the same amount of cranial surface. As there are some one hundred and twenty superficial square inches of the average sized scalp, it would follow that a black- haired individual has some (in round numbers) seventy-two thousand hairs covering his head; the chestnut-haired person, some seventy-eight thousand; the flaxen-haired some eighty- eight thousand. Another author, however, has made the esti- mate much larger, as he has recognized the fact, in his compu- tations, that many of the follicles give exit to two or more hairs, and so puts the number of hairs in an average sized head, and of average luxuriousness of growth, at 120,000. From my observations this would seem the more correct esti- mate. The significance of the saying " Even the very hairs of your heads are numbered," can now be more fully appreciated. Whilst our " blondes," then, are so rich in their wealth of golden tresses, their darker-haired sisters are compelled to be satisfied with fifty, forty, yes, and some red-haired sisters, with but thirty-six miles of this covering that St. Paul says is " a glory to her." While the first has the more from which to tie true love-knots, nature has allowed the darker-haired ones to tie 46 NUMBER OF HAIRS TO THE SQUARE INCH. theirs the stronger, a more than compensating result ensuing; for, as I shall show further on, the darker-haired may have three husbands to the golden-haired's two. Although 120,000, the average number of liairs of an average head (but not of an average man, I am sorry to say, for such often have no cause for comate boasting) may seem a large number to put upon so small a surface as the scalp, yet it is absolutely nothing when compared with the amount found upon animals or insects. For instance, on a single square inch of surface of the coarse-wooled English breeds of sheep, there are from 5,000 to 6,000 filaments, and on the Merino-blooded, there are some 50,000, instead of the average 1,000 as found upon our heads; and upon the feet (pulvilli) of the common house- fly, I have counted them repeatedly and found them to be at the rate of over 80,000,000 to same amount of surface; an amount which if in miles and multiplied by one hundred and twenty (the number of square inches in our scalps), would equal a distance that would take a railroad car, going at the rate of a mile a minute night and day, over eighteen thousand years to traverse; a time represented by more than three times the interval that separates the birth-time of Adam from this the nineteenth century. CHAPTER V. THE H AIR-SHAFT— ( Concluded. ) "Fair tresses man's imperial race ensnare, And beauty draws us with a single hair."— Pope. THE HAIR CURRENTS. On examination you will notice that hairs do not all point in the same direction, but they seem to assume geometric curves about the body. This is because the follicles them- selves are placed at varying angles in the skin; they do not, as a rule, pierce it perpendicularly, but at some oblique angle, and point in different directions. To this anatomical peculiarity is due the possibility of arranging the hair artistically, as well as the possibility of its easy sweeps and curves about the body, when left in its dishev- eled state. There are several centers for this capillary radia- tion, not only on the cranial surface, but on the limbs, as well as trunk. When these centers of the scalp are, from some freak of nature, misplaced, we have the rebellious u frizzle tops," that admit of no special influence of the boudoir comb or brush, but seem always free to assert their criss-cross-lying independence. Many a poor mother has half worried her life out trying to train her Johnny's rebellious locks into better ways, believing it was Johnny's own perverseness of manners that induced such dilapidated-looking head-gear, when it really was none of Johnny's fault at all, but simply a freak of nature in misplac- ing the radiating centers of his hirsute covering. 48 THE HAIR CURRENTS. So, too, many a belle, in and out of her teens, has " banged " these same rebelliously acting locks of hers, to the distraction of her better temper, oftentimes, no doubt, and yet with no more lasting impression upon the refractory hairs than Johnny's mother made upon his. On the crown there is usually but a single center, and from this point the hairs radiate downwards on all sides, in gentle sweeps, until the whole scalp has been'covered. If there should be a radiating center placed low down, towards the forehead, then we get our rebellious " cow-licks," as they are generally called; if two radiating centers on the crown, then the " frizzle tops" just described. Still, with perseverance on the part of the mother and child, this natural cosmetic deformity may be, in a great measure, overcome; for a hair bulb that, at first, per- sistently turned its shaft to the right, may be educated to turn it to the left; thereby restoring harmony among these more weakly members of our bodies. On the forehead the curves radiate from the median line to the right and left, with a curving sweep downwards over the temples, forming the outer half of the eyebrows, and, in men, the upper, or aural, portion of the whiskers. On the cheeks the currents are downwards, curving round on the lower jaw to the chin. On the upper lip the moustaches are formed by two outward sweeps from the median line. On the body there is a main center at each arm-pit; from these points a cur- rent sweeps forwards over the chest, to the median line, where it descends to the umbilicus. Another current, from the same centers, in an easy double curve, covers the abdomen, thence is continued down the thighs to the knees, where it seems to split and surround the leg at this point. From the arm-pit, as a center again, a third current sweeps round to the back, whilst another encircles the arm at the shoulder, running therefrom THE HAIR CURRENTS. 49 down to the hand, where it has an outward deflexion. On the front of the forearm is a downward and bilateral current, that meets with divers others, and the combined currents cover this member completely, so far as its hirsute growth is concerned. On the thigh, besides the downward and inward current just referred to, there is another one that sets in at the middle of the outer portion, and continues down it, and the leg, then turns somewhat diagonally across the instep to the first toe-cleft. On the back of the leg there is an upward current, a sort of a resultant from the union of the two outward flowing currents, that covers the remaining portion of the limb with its hirsute apparel. There is, in fine, in the direction of these hair currents, as they surround -the body, much to remind one of the oceanic currents, as seen enveloping the continents on a Mercator's pro- jection; the main currents of the one correspond, figuratively, with those of the other; whilst the minor currents of the body will represent those seen on the map in the gulfs, seas and bays. Much of this same regularity of hirsute covering is seen in animals; and in all there is a unity of design that is little thought of by the careless or hurried observer. In all the fine hairs follow the course of the medullary arteries of the long bones. In swift-footed animals the direction of the sweep of the currents is from the wind when in flight. This same principle is also seen in the arrangement of the feathers on our birds and fowls, and the scales on our fishes; the evident design being to facilitate locomotion by offering as little fric- tional resistance to the surrounding medium as possible. In burrowing animals this same backward-flowing of the hirsute currents is noticed, except in the species noted for digging very small, and closely-fitting burrows; never making them large enough to allow themselves to turn about in them, 50 THE HAIR CURRENTS. so as to be able to come out head first. These animals have the power of changing the currents of hair-growth, from the usual course of before backwards, to from behind, forwards ; this being taken advantage of when in its burrow, allows it an easy egress from its narrow, single-entranced habitation. Moles, shrews and the platypi have this peculiarity; the stem of the hair being filamentous, but the terminal portions broader, it is easy for them to make the change in the direction of their hair currents. Sometimes in fowls a somewhat similar arrangement will be seen (though the deformity remains permanent) in the contrari- wise arrangement of its feathers. My father once possessed a hen whose feathers all ran the wrong way; those on the legs ran up towards the body, those on the body and neck up towards the head. This gave her a perpetual "out of sorts" look; and when the patient biddy would essay an aerial sail, she was doomed to continual disappointment; for the result was always that which befell " Darius Green " with his flying machine. A few varieties of our domestic pigeons have a rough neck- gear all the time; whilst others have the power of assuming one as the occasion may demand, just as Tabby erects the hair on her back and tail when Fido approaches too near her. These all are but rudimentary examples of the phenomenon seen in the burrowing animals just spoken of. In man we also get a hint of it in the erection of the hairs of the head, when frightened, and also in the " goose skin " condition spoken of on page 20, which is developed on expo- sure to cold, and sometimes to fright. Virgil has spoken of it in this wise: Obstiipui, steteruntque comae. I stood aghast! and my hair rose on end. THE LENGTH OF HAIR. 51 But the oldest reference to this condition of the hair and flesh is found in the book of Job (1520 B. C.) chap, iv, verse 15, where Eliphaz, the Temanite, describing his sensations when a spirit passed by, says: ^"tea rtCSFjP "ftapfli ~?~: •?2~>* ~ !r >*u Then a spirit passed before my face; The hair of my body stood up. THE LENGTH OF HAIR. Among members of the same races there is a great variation of the length of the hair. Between the sexes there is also a great difference noticed in the length of the cranial hirsute, covering, that of the female being usually much the longer. There are three important physiological reasons why a woman's hair is longer than her husband's. The first is, that since nature has withdrawn from her the hair-growth of the face, and in a major degree that of the body, a larger supply of hirsute-forming material is left for the scalp. The second is, that the hair having a larger diameter of shaft, it is stronger, and hence less liable to break; also the formative power of the papillae is increased. The third reason is that she is usually less engaged in mental labors, or business worry, and so there results more constant and even supply of blood to the scalp. That her head is less constantly covered, and even when covered, ventilation of the scalp and hair is so much better, might also be adduced as another reason for finding longer hair in the female. Darwin gives still another reason, that of " sexual selection:" that is, man admires now a fine head of hair in the opposite sex; it is fair to suppose this preference has always existed; hence, as the result of centuries of such selection, the hair must have been developed in a greater degree in the female in each succeeding generation. The political significance of long hair, in a nation that, as a 52 THE LENGTH OF HAIR. whole, wear the hair short, as worn by the male, is that of hostility to both church and state; in Austria, so well has this feature been understood, that it is made a political offense to be so attired. It signifies, in such persons, an outreism — a rebellion against general customs, tastes and thought. Between different nations there is a great difference in the length of their cranial coverings; those of cylindrically-shaped shafts have the longest hairs, as notably the Chinese, Malay, and some of the Indian races. The more irregular the shape of the shaft, as a rule, the shorter is the cranial covering, as notably the Negro races. In the Malays, hair seven feet in length is occasionally seen; whilst it is not so very uncommon to see it trail on the ground when walking. The longest hair that I have seen in the female is that belonging to Mrs. Dr. Prittie, of Detroit. She is now twenty- eight years of age, and her hair measures some fifty-eight inches in length; it is very dark colored. I have measured the diameter of the shaft and find it to be -gfa of an inch. Luxuriant hair- growths have been characteristic of her father's family, espe- cially among the male members. Latterly the excessive growth she carries has begun to make quite a serious drain upon her system, though in former years no ill effects were noticed. Dr. Wilson says that a lady writes to him that she is five feet eight inches in height, and that, when standing, many of her hairs trail three or four inches upon the floor. She is twenty-eight years of age, hair wavy (hence of the ovoid shaft) and it gives positive pain to have one pulled from the follicle. A lady in Massachusetts is reported to have refused $1,000 for her head of hair, which is quite thick and heavy, and measures five feet and eleven inches in length. THE LENGTH OF HAIR. 53 The Empress of Austria is said to have a head of thick, golden hair reaching down to her feet, when standing erect. White speaks of an Italian lady whose hair trailed on the floor when she walked; in Greece it is occasionally seen of equal length. In 1814, in Fleet street, London, a girl was exhibited having a head of flaxen hair five feet and nine inches in length. Then there was Lady Godiva, of Coventry, celebrated in verse by Tennyson, who rode through the streets of her town with no covering but her hair, in order to save the yeomanry from unjust oppression. You all know the fate of Peeping Tom on that occasion. The lady was the wife of Leofric, Earl of Mercia, and her hair, of beautiful flaxen, is said to have reached below her knees. Then there is the legend of St. Agnes (A. D. 304) who, condemned to the stake, used her hair, when stripped of her clothing, to protect her person from exposure. In 1786 a woman gave exhibitions in London, of the length and strength of her hair. She would stoop down and encircle a large anvil, weighing some two hundred pounds, with her locks, and then easily raise it from the ground. The ancient Briton females had hair that grew to immense length also; indeed, to this day it is quite common, in alluding to such a covering upon a fair-skinned English lady, to liken her to the old type of beauty common in Britain's early history. It is evident, also, that Mary Magdalene, who washed our Saviour's feet with her tears, and then " wiped them with the hairs of her head," must have had hair of luxuriant and lengthy growth. Then there is the Juliet who flung her tresses to her lover over the terrace wall, when he came too late at night to find entrance at the castle's gate, so as to aid him in scaling the otherwise impassable barrier. All these are more or less famil- iar examples of the exceptional luxuriance of hair growth. 54 THE LENGTH OF HAIR. The average length, in women of the Anglo-Saxon race, is from eighteen to twenty-four inches; though thirty-six inch hair is not at all uncommon for the darker hues, and is even quite frequently seen in light-colored heads of hair. In men, of course, there is no "average length," as it is usually kept closely cut; it is probable, reasoning upon the physiological fact that they grow beards and whiskers, and that more hair is found generally over the body, that there is less hair- forming pabulum circulating in the tissues of the scalp, and hence its growth would be less excessive than that seen in women, if allowed to remain uncut; though a Prussian officer, during the earlier part of the century, boasted of a bead of hair that, when undone, would reach the ground. Godfrey, who has devoted considerable attention to this sub- ject, gives this classification: 1st. The long, soft hairs, as those of the scalp, vary from one foot to three feet in length, and from fa to fa of a line in diam- eter; the average length would then be about two feet. His diameter is too coarse. 2d. The short, stiff and thick hairs, from J to \ of an inch in length, as the eye-brows and the like, vary from the y 1 ^ to the -^3 of a line in diameter. 3d. The short, fine hairs, as the " down " that coats the body, vary from one to six lines in length, and from the T J-g- to the Y^-g- of a line in diameter. Taking now, as a basis of mathematical computation, the average number of hairs, and the average length as previously given, we find that every female, reaching the age of sixteen or eighteen years of age, has from forty to eighty miles of comate covering, and that every male has an average of from eight to ten miles. Making our average again, we find that, taking the run of population, young and old, urale and female RAPIDITY OF HAIR GROWTH. 55 together, that from twenty to twenty-two miles per head can be safely assumed. On this basis, were it possible to place end to end the hirsute covering of the heads of Detroit's citizens, we would have a hair-line long enough to more than reach thirteen times to the moon, or one that would belt the earth some one hundred and twenty times at its equator. If the computation be made for the citizens of New York city and Brooklyn, it will be found that the line will stretch out to so vast a distance that it would take a railroad car, traveling at the rate of one mile each minute of time, and constantly running night and day, the time of two generations of men to traverse. Or, take the hairs from the heads of the people of the United States, and place them end to end, and you could stretch a line from the earth to the sun, the sun to the planet Jupiter, and from Jupiter back to the earth again, and yet have 110,000,000 miles to spare — enough to cable the earth to the moon more than four hundred and sixty-two times. Or, the hairs from the heads of the present inhabitants of the globe would, if placed end to end, stretch out a line such a vast distance into space that if a cannon were fired from one end of the line when Adam was created, the sound thereof, although traveling at the rate of 1,120 feet each second of time, both night and day, would not yet have near reached its journey's end; many generations would yet pass away before its mission could be accomplished. RAPIDITY OF HAIR GROWTH. The rapidity with which hair grows is subject to great varia- tions, even among individuals of the same race; it is influ- enced greatly by the health of the individual, his occupation, 56 WEIGHT OF HAIR. and his age. In the young and middle-aged the growth is the most rapid; and the same condition is seen in those living an active, out-door life in preference to an indoor or sedative one. The growth of the beard is undoubtedly accelerated by fre- quent shaving; and, in a minor degree, the cutting of the head- hair is also conducive to its more rapid growth. A thorough stimulation of the scalp, by rapid brushing each morning and evening, is also conducive to the longevity of the hair, and consequently to its more lengthy growth. Other hygienic influences are equally influential. From several careful computations made by Withof, it is found that when a man of average health, and hirsute tendency, has reached his eightieth year, he has, if he has been pretty closely shaven, or has kept his beard pretty closely trimmed, cut off some thirty feet of this hirsute material; its average growth being some six and one-half inches annually. The growth of the head-hair is of about equal rapidity, six inches being its average growth per year, if kept pretty closely trimmed. Of course when allowed to remain long its growth in length is retarded, since much or most of the formative pabulum is exhausted in sustaining the life of the hair already without the follicle. Between the ages of seventeen and twenty-four years it is at its maximum of yearly growth; it grows faster, too, in summer- time than in winter; faster by day than by night, and faster in the warm climates than in the cold. As a rule, the longest hirsute growth is seen in the torrid zone; and of course, for physiological reasons, it is hair of the largest diameter. WEIGHT OF HAIR. The weight of hair stands, usually, in direct ratio to its fine- ness; that is, the finer the hair the heavier it will weigh. The USES OF THE HAIR. 57 French, as a rule, have coarse, dark hair, and the usual weight cut from their heads, for manufacturing purposes, is about five ounces. The Italian hair-growers usually furnish six ounces, whilst the flaxen-haired Teutonic girls furnish fleeces that weigh ten or twelve ounces. These are the average weights; many fine specimens will weigh considerably more than this, so much so that some authorities have given from eleven to twelve ounces as the usual weight; this, I think, is too high an esti- mate; very few American heads, anyway, would yield such a crop. The heaviest weight of hair on record is that found in the Bible accredited to Absalom. The records say that he " polled " or cut his hair, yearly, and the growth was so luxuriant that each "polling " weighed some six and one-sixth pounds avoir- dupois. " And when he polled his head, for it was at every year's end that he polled it (because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it), he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight." — 2 Sam'l, xiv, 26. (1024 B. C.) As the old saying is, " it is but a step from the sublime to the ridiculous;" with this as a plea I offer the following, as showing to what base uses we may be put. A barber living on Grub street, announced himself by a sign illustrating Absa- lom hanging by his hair in an oak; beneath it was this doggerel: "O! Absalom, my son, my son, If thou had'st worn a periwig thou would'st not been undone."' USES OF THE HAIR. The ancient Egyptians made it emblematical by making it the badge of youth. The young princes used to wear a certain 58 USES OF THE HAIR. styled lock back of their ears, which finally got to be the emblem of juvenescence itself. (Harpocrates.) Besides as a means for protecting the head from extremes of heat and cold, or sadden changes of temperature, it is also anti-frictional in its action. The portions of the body which are subject to constant irritation from extraneous bodies, as notably the wrists, where the cuffs are continually sliding back and forth over them, will be found to have the hairs worn closely off, they having furnished, in no little degree, protection to the sensitive skin beneath. In animals we see the uses much more plainly marked; those of the northern climes having the protection of a thick coating of fur. The northern wild boar is thus protected, besides hav- ing the bristles common to the genus in the south. The ancient elephant, and the rhinoceros, of the north, were similarly pro- tected. Yet in the south, the representatives of these same species bear but coarse bristles, and many have no hair at all. The bottoms of the feet of camels and dromedaries are also protected by hair from the irritation of the hot sands of the desert. Ruminants of the larger species, who practice pro- longed grazing, have their coats of hair well oiled, so as to protect themselves against storms of sleet, snow and rain, as well as to keep their bodies warm. So excessive is this secre- tion in some of the antelopes that it has led to the giving of them specific names from this fact alone. All this class of animals (ruminants) shed their hair annually; our sheep would if not already relieved by shearing. Our horses shed their coats also; but their tails and manes are exceptions to this rule, being retained indefinitely. Hair is also made use of in surgery for stitching up wounds, and for the drainage of wounds, sinuses or deep abscesses. This last is done bv inserting a tuft of hair down to the INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF THE HAIR. 59 bottom of the abscess, or drawing one through the sinus; it furnishes a means for capillary attraction, and so the easy discharge of pus. Our masons could not plaster our houses, were it not for the hair to help hold it together. Our shoemakers would be equally at a loss if the hog's hair bristles were taken from them. Hair also furnishes us with over one-half of all our clothing: this is seen in all of our woolen goods, felting, mohair and camel's hair goods; our silk is also very nearly akin to hair, it being the filamentous covering that the silkworm has spun for self-entombment. INDESTRUCTIBILITY OF HAIR AND ITS POST-MORTEM GROWTH. Hair is one of the least destructible parts of our body. In the grave it is the last of all the tissues to yield to decay. From the ancient catacombs it is taken in a state of excellent preservation. The cranial coverings that once bedecked the citizens of ancient Thebes, have survived the mouldering influ- ences of the tomb, unaided by embalming, some four thousand years. Hair is as lasting as the Karnack pyramids and the Sphinx itself; aye, more lasting, for these are now crumbling through their weight of years, when some of the wigs of human hair, exposed to the mould and moisture of their entombed apart- ments for these thousands of years, are even less attacked with decay than the funereal monuments themselves. Flesh and bones pass away before the disintegration of hair commences. Many even suppose that it derives elements of growth from the decaying elements about it, but this is not to be credited. Its growth after death is more a horrid fiction than anything else. It is entirely at variance with scientific and physiological facts and principles. I am well aware that many instances are quoted, by those that delight in the marvelous, of such growths. 60 POST-MORTEM GROWTH OF THE HAIR. But hair-growth is just as much a living physiological process as the beating of the heart; both depend upon circulating blood for their food, and when this is denied them, both cease to live. Even the heart receives no life from the blood it propels throughout the system, except it first force it into the arteries that feed its muscular substance; it draws no nourishment from the mass of blood that surges through its ventricles every twenty-four hours; it would cease to beat instantly if left to this alone for its life. So, too, the hair; concentrate all the blood in the system at its roots, and it will get no nourishment unless the blood first traverses the minute capillaries that go to feed its papillae, which furnish life and substance to the cells ceaselessly at work therein, building up the hair-shaft cell on cell. I admit an apparent growth of hair after death; but there is a vast difference between this growth and a genuine one. The apparent growth is made from just the opposite conditions that would favor an actual one; for the "apparent" is seen only on the shrinking up of the skin tissues, squeezing the blood and nourishment out of them, thus allowing, through the contraction of the skin, a more projected appearance of the hair-cylinder, which, to an unpracticed eye, would simulate real elongation. I have had anatomical specimens in my possession for months, and only this " apparent " growth, through shrinkage of tissue, of either eyebrows, hair or beard could be detected. I have seen, though, what I took to be a slight whitening of the locks, in an aged specimen, due probably to atmospheric influences entirely. But as to the absolute growth of hair after death, I believe it to be the wildest vagary. CHAPTER VI. THE COLOR OF THE HAIR. " Faith, his hair is of a good and excellent color." — Shakspeare. In a former chapter, page 30, I spoke of the fibrous portion of the shaft as being the seat of its coloration, to which page I refer you for an account of the manner of the distribution of the coloring pigment-cells and granules. Mr. H. C. Sorby has succeeded in extracting the coloring matter of human hair, and found that there are three coloring pigments, yellow, red and black, and that all the shades are produced by the mixture of these three primary colors. In the pure golden, yellow hair there is only the yellow pig- ment; in red hair the red pigment is mixed with more or less yellow, producing the various shades of red and orange; in dark hair the black is always mixed with yellow and red, but the latter are overpowered by the black; and it seems that even the blackest hair, such as that of the Negro, contains as much red pigment as the very reddest hair. He concludes from this, that if in the Negro the black pigment had not been developed, the hair of all Negroes would be as fiery a red as the reddest hair of an Englishman. He found that dilute sulphuric acid proved to be the best solvent. CLASSIFICATION OF RACES BY THE HAIR. Scientifically, hair has received these two general divisions: Ulotrichi, or the races with crisp, woolly hair, and of dark color. In this division are placed the Negroes, Bushmen, etc. The other main division is the Leiotrichi, or races of smooth hair, as the Anglo-Saxon, Germanic and kindred races. 62 CLASSIFICATION OF RACES BY THE HAIR. These two divisions have also been subdivided into the fol- lowing five minor classes: 1. Australoid, being the races found principally in Australia. 2. Negroid, best represented by the African Negro tribes. 3. Mongoloid, represented by the Chinese races. 4. Xanthrochroid, to which belong the Sclavonic, Teutonic and Scandinavian races. 5. Melanochroid, represented by the Iberians and the black Celtic races. The Aitstraloid group, as reported by Huxley, are men of dark complexions, ranging to chocolate, with smooth, soft and wavy hair, neither crisp nor lank, nor yet straight. Their skull is long; that is, its breadth is but -^ of its length; the stature varies considerably. The best representatives of this group are the natives of Australia. Wavy, silken hair, dark complexion and eyes, are then, with a long skull, their promi- nent characteristics. The .Negroid group is made up of men with long skulls, differing considerably from the Australoid in their general shape; with black e^es and hair, the hair being crisp and woolly, and the skin varying in dark shades to black. The Mongoloid group are men of a yellowish to olive tint, that have black eyes, and long, straight, black hair. The skulls of this group differ from those of the two just described, in that they are frequently of the broad type, although there is a range of great variation. The Xanthrochroid group embraces the blonde races with which we are all so familiar, and which is represented by heads ranging from the broad-skulled German to the long-skulled Scandinavian. The skin is fair and delicate, and the hair of a yellowish hue, the eyes being blue. In stature they are usually tall, though they may vary in this considerably. CLASSIFICATION OF RACES BY THE HAIR. 63 The Melanochroid group embraces, chiefly, the Spanish, French and Portuguese races. They have broad skulls, dark eyes and olive complexions, and long, black, wavy hair. The American Indians would constitute a type by them- selves, were you to take the general shape of the head alone into consideration; but, hirsutically, they fall properly under the Mongoloid type, as their hair is black, long, lank and straight. The high cheek bones, thus making a broad face, and copper- colored skin, are entirely unlike the other groups, hence would make a new and distinct group of them if classified from these features. It may be well in this connection to refer to the classification of the races of men as usually given by our anthropologists: First Ave have the Caucasian race, known by its fair skin; hair of varied color, but fine, long and curling, and beard abundant. Second, the Mongolian race, with sallow or olive-colored skin; hair long and straight and of dark color, whilst the beard is scanty, or there is none at all. Third, the Ethiopian race, with dark skin and hair crisp and curly, with little or no beard. Fourth, the Malay race, with reddish-brown skin, and hair black, coarse and lank. Fifth, the American race, with copper- colored skin; hair black, long and lank, and little or no beard. Sixth, the Papuan race, with purplish-hued skin; hair wiry, coarse and frizzled, and with little or no beard. From this it can be fairly formulated that the light-skinned races only have long curly hair, and grow a beard. And if a line were to be drawn to roughly separate the light from the dark races, in the old world, you would only have to extend a line from the north of Ireland through to the Himalaya 64 THE TEMPERAMENTS. Mountains, and those north of that line would represent the light-colored races, whilst on the south of this would be the dark-haired races. This same line would also pretty generally separate the light-haired and bearded races from the dark- haired and beardless races. Some have been wont to infer from this that climate has had everything to do with this differ- ence of color, but this is not so; for when you get to the most northern latitudes, as in the east of the upper part of Norway, in Lapland, you meet with the dark-skinned Laplanders. The same dark-hued race is also met with in Greenland. THE TEMPERAMENTS. Aristotle (B. C. 384-322) referring to the different tempera- ments met with in the two races, of light and dark hair, remarked: "The people of the North are generally manly, and have strong hair; whereas those of the West are more timid, and have more flexible hair." Also that "weak hair betokens fear, whilst strong hair denotes courage," in which view he will be upholden by any careful observer of to-day. Claudius Galenus, or Galen, as he is commonly called, who was born at Pergamus, a city of Asia Minor, A. D. 132, divided mankind into four general temperaments, and which were transcribed by Paulus iEgineta (who lived in the seventh cen- tury of our era) and have so come down to us. These temper- aments are as follows, as quite freely rendered from the origi- nal Greek : I. "People of hot and moist temperament have soft, fleshy and quite hairy bodies; their hair is straight and yellowish, but does not soon fall out. They cannot endure vigils; are prompt to action and anger, though easily appeased." It will be noticed that this corresponds to our later division of tempera- ments known as "Sanguine." HYGIENE AND SOCIOLOGY OF HAIR COLORATION. 65 II. "Those of a cold and moist temperament have narrow chests, hairless bodies, soft, white skins, feeble muscles, ill- formed joints and invisible veins. Their hair is light-colored, especially in youth, and they do not become bald [early?]. The more morbid the temperament, the lighter the hair." This, it will be noticed, corresponds with our "Phlegmatic" temperament of to-day. III. " The hot and dry are very shaggy; the hair of the head being very black, thick, strong and curly; it grows rapidly, though they early become bald. Their veins and arteries are large and the pulse strong; the body is firm, muscular and lean, and the skin is hard and dark. Their excretions are small, and they require but little sleep. They are active, passionate and implacable." This might be properly termed the modern " Choleric " temperament, to which our generals, and the like, might be referred. IV. "Those with the cold and dry temperament have a white skin, a slender body, fine muscles, though somewhat fat. Their joints are small, and they have but little hair, and this is tawny." In our times this class should have black hair instead of "tawny," and would be known as the "Nervous" tempera- ment. HYGIENE AND SOCIOLOGY OF HAIR COLORATION. Hymeneally there is an item of great interest connected with hair coloration, for we find that a greater proportion of light- haired women live and die unmarried, and without offspring, than the dark-haired. Statistics seem to show that our "beau- tiful blondes," as they are familiarly called, although much is talked about them, stand in the actual matrimonial market three chances of failure to complete a life-contract, to two chances of failure on the part of their darker-haired sisters. Just what sort of a philosophy induces the sterner sex to talk so much to 66 HYGIENE AND SOCIOLOGY OF HAIR COLORATION. and of blondes, and yet, when it comes to the actual business phase of life, should propose to the brunettes, is entirely beyond my comprehension. Dr. Beddoe, who has recognized this peculiarity, has seen fit to call this sort of flirtation " conjugal selection." The result of this "conjugal selection" is, that fair-haired ladies are getting rarer than they were in years gone by. Mrs. Somerville also noticed this some years ago, and remarked upon it in her "Physical Geography.'* 1 Now, whether the cause of all this can be reduced to Darwin's theo- rem — the survival of the fittest — I cannot say; though true it is that light-haired people usually have weaker constitutions than the darker-haired. Yet, in the light of the facts in the case, so far as now known, I think I am justified in warning our flaxen and golden-haired ladies of the inevitable doom that must await their species in the future. In a careful examination kept of seven hundred and thirty- seven women, applying at the Royal Infirmary, thirty-two per cent of the fair-haired were single; whilst but twenty-two per cent of the dark-brown haired, and only eighteen per cent of the black-haired remained unmarried. Taking the seven hun- dred and thirty-seven, and dividing them into two general classes, the light and the dark-haired, we find that out of three hundred and sixty-seven fair-haired women, thirty-two per cent were single, whilst out of the three hundred and sixty-nine dark-haired women, but twenty-one and five-tenths per cent were similarly conditioned. It is a notorious fact of history, also, that the blondes are disappearing from the Caucasian race. In Caesar's time the Britons, Celts, Saxons, Gauls and Germans, were blue-eyed and had either red or flaxen (yellow) hair. At the present time the Celts have become a dark-haired race, and among the Anglo-Saxons a darker type of hair and much darker eyes is HYGIENE AND SOCIOLOGY OF HAIR COLORATION. 67 the rule. From statistics kept of 1,410 individuals it was found that 30 were red haired, 108 fair haired, 338 light brown haired, 807 dark brown haired, and 67 were black haired; thus showing conclusively the predominance of dark hair among a race (the English) that sprang from a light-haired one. I find also some quite interesting statistics in the hygienic department of sociology ; for from carefully kept records I deduce the following: 1. Black-haired people are most prone to consumption; the brown-haired the least so. Another author has added cancer and cataract to the evils in the black-haired list. 2. To the brown-haired individuals is ascribed acute rheuma- tism, heart disease and eczema (popularly known as "salt rheum.") 3. To the red-haired individuals belong more especially pleu- risy, pneumonia, ague and neuralgias. 4. Individuals with blonde, or light-colored hair, are most subject to some one of the skin diseases. In matter of disjiositions we find that, as a rule, those having blonde or auburn hair, are tender-hearted, hence are apt to be imposed upon by those who plead poverty or physical distress. They are usually representatives of delicacy and refinement, and are classed among those of lymphatic temperament. Red-haired people are firm in their convictions, and are great lovers of their mother country, people and church; notably so are the Scotch. Their morals are of the sturdy, Puritanic type. Such people are classed as of sanguine temperament. When the hair is coarse and harsh, brutality and sensuousness marks the character of the possessor. Black-haired individuals are positive, powerful characters, and hence are either very good or else are very bad; there seems to be no mid-way ground with them. The coarser and 68 THE HAIR OF THE PRESIDENTS. straighter the hair, the more noticeable is the characteristic of revenge, if the passions have not been educated to be held in check by moral suasion and the force of the will. You see this disposition markedly in the Indian and Malay. They represent the bilious temperament. The midway tint between the dark and the light, as the brown-haired individuals, have combined in themselves the strength, in a great measure, of the black-haired, and the exquisite sensibilities of the light-haired. From this class come our philanthropists (but not our generals, as a rule), our paint- ers, musicians and authors; those that unite the tender feeling and sympathy of the woman with the stronger will-force of the man. Hence our Homer, Virgil, Raphael, Titian, Handel, Mozart, Tasso, Chaucer, Burns, Keats, Longfellow, Lowell, Whittier, and a host of others. The darker-haired races are usually people of the torrid portions of the temperate zones, and the torrid zone itself; whilst the lighter-haired races belong to the cooler countries of the temperate portions of the continents. Taking the world, all in all, it is peopled mostly by the dark-haired races. THE HAIR OF THE PRESIDENTS. There is preserved in Washington, in the Patent Office, among other curiosities, specimens of hair of each Presidential head down to Franklin Pierce's time. The locks are kept in a neat frame, covered with glass, and properly labeled. The hair of Washington is nearly a pure white, fine and smooth in its appearance. That of John Adams is nearly the same in color, though per- haps a little coarser. The hair of Jefferson is of a different character, being a mixture of white and auburn, or a sanely brown, and rather THE HAIR OF THE PRESIDENTS. 69 coarse. In his youth Mr. Jefferson's hair was remarkable for its bright color. The hair of Madison is coarse and of a mixed white and dark. The hair of Monroe is a handsome dark auburn, smooth and free from any mixture. He is the only ex-President, excepting Pierce, whose hair has undergone no change in color. The hair of John Quincy Adams is somewhat peculiar, being coarse and of a yellowish gray in color. The hair of General Jackson is almost a perfect white, but coarse in its character, as might be supposed by those who have examined the portraits of the old hero. The hair of Van Buren is white and smooth in appearance. The hair of General Harrison is a line white, with a slight mixture of black. The hair of John Tyler is a mixture of white and brown. The hair of James K. Polk is almost a pure white. The hair of General Taylor is white, with a slight mixture of brown. The hair of Millard Fillmore is, on the other hand, brown with a slight mixture of white. The hair of Franklin Pierce is a dark brown, of which he had a plentiful crop. It is somewhat remarkable, however, that since Pierce's time no one has thought of preserving the hair of his successors. There are vacancies in the case; and there is no hair either of Buchanan, Lincoln, Johnson or Grant for the inspection of futurity. Grant's hair is, however, of a dark brown, and his whiskers were inclined to be sandy at the aural portion. Lincoln's hair and beard were quite black, though they had become considerably grayed before his death. 70 SINGULARLY COLORED HAIR. Hayes' hair was, in his youth, a brown with a slight reddish tinge. It is now quite tinged with gray. His beard is also quite gray. PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF THE SAVIOUR. St. Clement, of Alexandria, in writing of the Saviour, thus says: "Jesus had no beauty of face; his person offered no physical attractions; he only possessed beauty of soul, which is the true beauty." St. Irenseus, a disciple of St. Polycarp, who was a disciple of St. John, wrote that his master had often heard the beloved disciple say that the hair of Jesus had already turned white when he began his mission. All pictures of him represent him with long, curling locks, that are charac- teristic of auburn-hued hair, and with a long, curling beard. Such hair belongs rightly to the temperament of one whose life would be marked by a keeping of the moral and religious precepts and doctrines which the Saviour taught and practiced. SINGULARLY COLORED HAIR. In the chapter upon " Trichonosis Decolor " this subject has been quite fully considered, as sometimes it is a symptom of a disordered or diseased system. Several cases are there recorded of banded, green, blue and white and woolly hair, to which the reader is now referred. The Cape mole has a very singularly constructed hair, in that it is iridescent, the only instance I know of of such a con- dition of the hair in either man or animals. So marked is this iridescency that it has furnished it with its generic name, chry- sochlorls. Humming birds also have this quality present in the feathers upon their neck and breasts, and so do a few of the Polynesian birds. In the lower orders of animal life, as the fishes, crustaceous iridescent-coatings are common. CHAPTER VII. HAIR m SINGULAR PLACES. In animals we sometimes get a singular placement of the hair-follicles, as notably that of the instance, recorded on page 13, of the tuft of hair springing from the front of a calf's eye- ball. Then, in the foetal whale, we find a growth upon the upper lip that some of our aspiring young men, whose moustaches resemble markedly Paul's definition of faith — " the substance of things hoped for, but the evidence of things not seen " — might be pardoned for coveting. Yet, when that foetal, j^ moustached, aquatic mammal reaches adult life, the hair evidently seems to have, as the boys say, "struck in;" for you find it then only in the animal's mouth, hanging down from around the upper jaw, and filling its im- mense gullet; it thus acts as a strainer to catch and entangle the small crustaceous fish (about the size of an ordinary house-fly) on which the monster feeds. In the whale's upper jaw recesses are cut, so that, when the mouth is closed, Fig. 20. 72 HAIR IN SINGULAR PLACES. the hair is folded away into these pockets out of harm's way. See Fig. 20, A being the upper jaw, or crown bone, and B, the lower jaw. The cut shows the baleen strips as they are when the mouth is open for feeding purposes. These hairs spring from the sides of the strip of baleen, or whale-bone, as our ladies would term it, for it is this sub- stance which they use to stiffen the lining of their dresses and corsets, and is not bone at all, although so-called. It is simply a mass of agglutinated hair, glued into thin laminae by the drying of the peculiar viscid secretion furnished by the mouth of the Greenland whale. There are 289 of these hair- formed blades upon the right side of the jaw, and 286 on the left. At the center of the jaw, in front, the blades are placed f of an inch apart; but backward, towards the throat, the space is diminished to J of an inch. The free hair fringing these blades varies from an inch, to twenty inches in length, being longest at the point of each blade, and shortest at the roof of the mouth ; the purpose of which is to make a perfect seive of the baleen strips by closing up the interspaces between them. The old and acute observer, Aristotle, was cognizant of this mechanism, and said, as quoted in the Latin edition of his works, Mysticetus etiam pilas in ore intus habet vice den- tium suis setis similes. " The whale has hairs, just like a pig's, in his mouth, in place of teeth." In the Rhinoceros we find that the head and tail are the only por- tions of the body favored Avith hirsutic growth; on the latter it is little else than a clump of stiff bristles just at its tip; whilst on the head it is wholly confined to the nose, here being seen, as agglutinated together, to form HAIR IN SINGULAR PLACES. 73 either one or two horns, according to the species. In this respect the horns of the rhinoceros resemble the baleen of the whale, as both are built up by the cementation of an immense number of hairs. In the case of the elephant a very similar condition of affairs will be noted, as regards the paucity of hair upon his body; a few bristles only are found on the trunk, ears, back and the tip of the tail. Its early progenitor, as now found imbedded in the frozen marshes of Siberia, was entirely covered with hair. Dr. Laman, a noted traveler, and who spent some four years in the wilds of Siberia and Chinese Tartary, tells me that he has seen the wool on such a carcass that would measure six or eight inches in length; that it was firmly matted together, or capable of being easily so matted, and was of a brownish color; that it would furnish a coat almost impenetrable to cold. The elephant's tusks, however, are entirely different from the horns of the rhinoceros, as they are more like the hugh tusks, or teeth, seen in such animals as the sus scrofa (wild boar), in that they have a bony socket: whereas, the rhinoceros' horn, as regards its roots, resembles beauty, in that it is but skin deep; for, in flaying the animal, the horns are removed with the skin. In the human being we find, frequently, this rhinoceros-like tendency to the growth of a tuft of upwardly-projecting, bristly hairs from the tip of the nose. This may be a relict of our close relationship to our Darwinian ancestry; but be that as it may, one of my professional friends, a surgeon, is so peculiarly marked that way, that I rarely look at him without thinking of that hairy-horned individual which ploughs the African jungle, and delights in a goring operation upon any playful elephant that may chance to offend his majesty. The hippopotamus is also noted as having hair only at the tip of the tail. 74 HAIR IN SINGULAR PLACES. A hairy water-tortoise from China. This terrapin, or water tortoise, has hairs growing out from its back. It will snap at and devour little bits of meat, fish, shrimps, etc. As the little animal swims the fibers hang away from him so as to give him the appearance of an animated bunch of weeds. His face is very intelligent. I do not know whether the growth upon this terrapin's back has been produced artificially or naturally. It is simply a water-grass, something like the weedy material growing on decaying wood-work and lock-gates of rivers. It is possible that the ingenious Chinese may have some way of doctoring up the living specimens of terrapins, of which I understand considerable numbers exist in the ditches and marshes of China. The tortoise being a sacred emblem in China, the Chinese make pets of the hairy tortoise, which they keep in basins of water during the summer months, and bury in sand during winter. A small lake in the province of Kiang-su is famous for these so-called hairy tortoises, and many persons earn a livelihood by the sale of these curious little pets, which are about two inches long. In the human being we know that during the last three or four months of intra-uterine life the whole body is covered with a quite thick, and long crop of hair, or wool — lanugo, as it is scientifically termed; and when children are born, before the full time of gestation, their bodies being so covered are, for a time, a source of annoyance to the mother, who fears this will be a permanent condition of affairs. This is not so, how- ever, for in a short time the lanugo disappears, and the second- ary, or extra-uterine, growth of hair of lighter color takes its place on those parts where we are accustomed to see it. In some instances there is an exception to this rule, and the hair remains growing from the whole surface of the child. These WHY HAIR GROWS IN TUMORS. 75 cases are to be regarded as monstrosities; some of the more noted of which are given in the chapter upon " Polytrichia." This lanugo is looked upon, by the Darwinists, as one of the important proofs of man's close relationship to the anthropoid apes, and animals even lower, since it so closely resembles the hirsute condition of these species. Figure 22 is a good picture of the nose- ape (Semnopithecus nasicus) of Borneo, showing quite a similarity, in looks, with characters we frequently meet upon the streets; certainly quite as intelligent-looking as are occasionally seen. What is a singular fact, is that this intra-uterine hair-growth, lanugo, is of dark color, although the parents may be of the blonde type of feature and hair; there seems to be no difference in the foetal coloration whether the parents are light or dark- haired. Something of the same coloring of the hair is seen in that found growing in ovarian tumors, as spoken of on page 13, " dermoid cysts," as they are properly called. The usual color of hair so found is that of a light brown or pale yellow tint; sometimes actually gray hair is seen, as the case reported by Axel. Sometimes long black hair has been found, and also red hair. Wool has also been found in dermoid cysts from sheep; feathers, from those in birds, and hair, from those in other animals. WHY HAIR GROWS IN TUMORS. At one time it was thought these growths were the result of blighted conception; but as they have been found in children 76 WHY HAIR GROWS IN TUMORS. who had never menstruated, in many other parts of the body than the generative organs, and even in males, this theory must be abandoned. My opinion is that these hairy-growths may arise in one of these three ways: I. Sometimes as the result of a blighted conception or incom- plete fructification of the egg, the ovum not entering the uterus, bat lodging upon, or near the ovary, thus producing many of our dermo-ovarian and uterine tumors. In these tumors other substances than hair are frequently found. Thus I have seen bones, teeth, and cartilaginous sub- stances that were removed therefrom. Brain-matter, sweat and sebaceous glands have also been discovered in these cysts. Sometimes when these tumors are so situated that they will admit of being punctured and the contents removed (when the complete removal of the tumor has been, for some reason, made unjustifiable) it has been found that the hair and teeth will grow again, just the same as witnessed in the human being. Barnes says he has extracted tufts of hair, at intervals, from the same tumor, for several years. Meckel says this kind of teeth are subject to just the same laws of development and duration as mark the growth of normal teeth; the inti- mate attachment of their follicles, as well as the follicles of the hair, to the cyst-wall insures the reception of sufficient pabulum to keep up their growth and regeneration when shed. II. As the result of a double fructification, one ovum con- taining the other. This process gives us our double monstrosi- ties, as children or animals with supernumerary legs, arms, bodies or heads. A good case in point is that of Velpeau's, where a young man, aged twenty, was admitted to the hospital, of whose surgical ward he was in charge (Charite), who had quite a large tumor connected with one of his testicles, which had existed since birth. On operation, it was found that the WHY HAIR GROWS IN TUMORS. 77 tumor was imbedded in the substance of the testicle; it gave exit to several bones and parts of a foetus. The presence of hair Avas not recorded in this case, although it has been so noticed in this organ by other observers. III. As a result of the induplicature of the skin-sensory layer of the germinal membranes. This is one of the four primitive germ-layers that give us our epidermis, brain, spinal cord, ova- ries, breasts, oviducts and vagina; and when united with the skin-fibrous layer, gives us our cerebral and spinal nerves, the organs of touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing; also our kid- neys and urinary ducts, testes, spermatic duct and penis. (The skin-fibrous layer has its origin from the skin-sensory.) This is not the place to go into the details of ontogeny; but if the organs above enumerated are held in remembrance, as being formed from identically the same germ layer, it will be easily seen how it is possible for one to be readily encysted, within the other, through an induplicature of the primitive membrane. This theory will be still more plausible when we remember that bones, teeth, hair, brain and muscle are formed from the same primitive layers, and that (so far as my observa- tion goes) these dermoid cysts are found only in some one of the organs above named; there originating from the skin-sen- sory and skin-fibrous germ-layers. Until the contrary shall be shown, I shall be inclined to refer most of these dermoid growths, except when occurring in the ovary, or contiguous thereto, to this third principle for their cause. An excellent illustration of this principle is the following interesting case, which occurred in New York city quite recently: A young man was afflicted with a tumor of the tongue, one of the dermoid variety that I have just been describing. It was one of those recurring hair-growth tumors; for as often as it was lanced a discharge of hair would take place only for the 78 WHY HAIR GROWS IN TUMORS. cyst to refill again. Several hundreds had been discharged, being of all colors, white, red, brown and black. Their length was equally variable, being from one-half an inch to three inches; sometimes they would be straight, sometimes curled; then again quite a lock of them would come out together. It really seemed as if the body of his tongue was made up of hair. The opinions of the young man's attendants were, that it was congenital, and the result of some inflammatory process. To the former view, its being congenital, I unhesitatingly sub- scribe; i. e., that it was formed before birth; but as to the inflammatory part of the process, induced by some irritation, as they averred, I do not believe. The only cause at work was the slight infolding, and retention, of a small portion of the germ-membrane that ultimately produces hair, within the membrane that evolves the tongue; and hence the imprisoned hair-producing membrane, in the production of the hair within the tongue, was but performing its proper physiological func- tion, although under abnormal conditions. Perhaps I can make my meaning clearer by the use of the following diagram: In this, Figure 23, A represents the com- mencement of the in- duplicature of the skin -sensory germ- layer, represented by the dotted line s s, and its infoldment in the skin-fibrous germ- layer, s f. B, of the same figure, represents the completion of the process of the surrounding of the skin-sensory layer by the skin-fibrous layer; the letters s s and s f having the same reference as in the A diagram. The s f and s s layers in B, can also very properly J& „ ££. S$ -JUT #JF jt JJ>... sWL- JT 9 B «^ Fig. 23. FABLES. 79 represent the tongue, in the case of the young man, and the dotted ring within the ring s f, the imprisoned hair growing within the follicle. Until this tumor is opened and the hair papillae lining the follicle destroyed, hair will be reproduced as often as it is taken away. Amatus Lusitanus mentions a case very similar to this one, though he omits to give the sex, where he had seen hair grow- ing from the tongue. A similar process of infolding of the germinal skin-sensory layer into the skin-fibrous germinal layer readily explains the formation of the tuft of hair upon the calf's eye-ball, as pre- viously noted; both are formed from the same primitive germ- layer, along with the teeth, tongue, bones, etc. In the mastoid cells, and from the tympanum of the ear, as well as in the bladder, brain and abscesses of other parts of the body, hair has been found to grow; and in all of these from the physiological cause just given. FABLES. The following cases should receive no weight from a scien- tific point of view, but I give them because once they were firmly believed in and respected as truth: The Messenian warrior, Aristomenes, who died 668 B. C, at Jabysus, a maritime city of Rhodes, was believed by Pliny and Valerius Maximus to have had his heart covered with hair. Such, at least, was the fable that had come down to them, and such they firmly believed and promulgated as being- true. Leonidas, the great Spartan, who fell at Thermopylae, 480 B. C, is credited, by Plutarch, with a similar hirsute condition of the heart, as found after his death. 80 BEZOARS, OR HAIR BALLS. Hermogenes, of Tarsus, Coelius Rhodiginus averred, was also blessed with a heart that was covered with hair. Tyson claims to have found hair floating in the blood of a young lady, and Slonatius claims to have found the same in the blood of one of his female patients, and also in a Spaniard. Possibly an explanation of the condition of the heart ascribed to Leonidas and Aristomene^ can be given, if we look upon the phenomena as a result of pericarditis, — an inflammation of the sac surrounding the heart. In this disease, a fiber-forming exudation takes place, which, in more advanced and severe cases, forms a meshy net-work of organized fibrine-strings upon the walls of the heart and its pericardium. Possibly this is what the ancients took to be tufts of light-colored hair growing from the heart itself. BEZOARS, OR HAIR BALLS. Somewhat closely allied to the subject proper are the masses of hair found in the stomachs of the ox, and deer kind, known as Bezoars. I have seen them equal a diameter of three inches the long way and two inches the shorter, and some are reported as being six inches in diameter, that were found in a California cow. They are usually of this egg-shaped form, and resemble, outwardly, a smoothly-polished, dark-colored stone. As soon as taken in the hand the notice of absence of any appreciable weight dispels this illusion at once. On sawing them asunder they are found to be made up of an immense number of hairs, licked from off the animal's body, and which are held together by some gelatinous product; probably the result of the action of the stomachic juio.es upon the hair. By being continually rolled around, inside the stomach, the masses have assumed their ovoid form, with a finely polished surface. Oftentimes these BEZ0ARS, OR HAIR BALLS. 81 masses kill the animals by getting wedged into one of the stomachic orifices. Cats also are troubled with the formation of these hair balls within their stomachs, and many die victims to their fondness of lapping each other's furry coats. Recently, from an alligator's stomach there was taken a hard, round mass, about the size of a base-ball, which was found, on section, to be made up of innumerable hog's hairs and bristles, thus testifying pointedly to the pork-loving taste possessed by that denizen of Red river. In this same connection might properly be related that unique case of Mr. Knowsley Thornton, as detailed in " The Patho- logical Transactions for 1876." This was a female who died with a very large abdominal tumor. On tapping the woman some eighty-six pints of fluid were evacuated, and with it a large number of little brown balls came out; these little balls proved to be made up of short red hairs, crystals of chlotester- ine, epithelial scales and fatty matter, matted and rolled firmly together. Then there is the interesting case, given by Mr. Carver, sur- geon of Enfield Highway, of a post-mortem held upon a woman, soon after delivery, where a large mass of hair was removed from her stomach, which proved to be a large chignon, weighing one-half a pound. The stomach contained not only the hair, but also a piece of blanket, Berlin wool, thread and string, which the demented woman had swallowed. These blocked up the intestinal, or pyloric, orifice of the stomach and so killed her. 6 s-\ CHAPTER VIII. HYGIENIC TREATMENT OF THE HAIR. " If a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him. But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her." — St. Paul. A fine head of hair, has, in all ages of the civilized world, been looked upon as an essential element of beauty. While it is not possible for every person to have an exuberant growth of head-hair, or of the beard, it is possible, with proper care and attention, for all to be the possessors of a respectable hirsutic covering. To secure this, in its greatest degree, the hair should receive proper attention, and care, from infancy up. Campbell, though a poet, recognized this fact, for he says in one of his poems: " To form a head of beauteous hair, Children claim our greatest care." " Cleanliness is next to Godliness," is an old aphorism, that might, to suit hirsutic hygiene, be changed so as to read Clean- liness insures a good head of hair. Many parents are loath to wash or cleanse their children's heads. I often see babes in arms, with a thick, scurvy crust upon the scalp, through the neglect of the parents to insure proper cleanliness of the child's head; this crust, being left on for a time, irritates the skin, and an eczematous eruption ensues, giving us our scalj-head, as it is popularly called. Under a proper head, see the chapter on Eczema, this subject will be remedially treated of. But this condition of affairs should not be allowed to take j)lace, and it would not, if proper attention were paid to the child's scalp. Washing the baby's head in lukewarm water, with Castile A PROPER BRUSH AND COMB. 83 soap, twice or three times a week, or oftener if necessary, should be practiced from birth up; then a daily brushing of the scalp and hair should be made. For a very young infant the softest brushes only should be used; but as the child increases in age, two should be employed; a rather harsh one to be used first, to loosen the dirt, dried sebaceous material and epithelial scales, from the scalp, and brush it out; and then a soft, fine brush to polish the hair and make it lie smoothly upon the child's head. A fine comb should not be used on a child's head, and a coarse one would be of no special use except to part or lay the hair. A PROPER BRUSH AND COMB. In the purchase of a brush or comb, care should be exercised to see that a properly manufactured one was selected. It may seem like a little matter to attempt advice on so, seemingly, unimportant a subject; yet a great deal really depends upon it. "For want of a nail," you' know, "the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the officer was overtaken and slain by the enemy." So, too, if you get a hair-brush, or comb, with slivery bristles or teeth, or teeth too sharp, the scalp will be scratched by the one and the hair will be broken with the use of the other. A proper brush is one made up of bristles, varying with the individual as regards the stiffness of them. The clusters should be evenly set into the back, equidistant from each other, so that the whole surface of the scalp, to which it is applied, will be touched by some one of the bristle-bunches. Then the clusters should be made up of bristles of slightly unequal length, so as to still farther favor the brush in covering every portion of the scalp; by this means every hair will be rubbed down on all sides, and there will be no streaks, or spots, of the scalp left untouched. 84 CARE OF THE HAIR OF ADULTS. A proper comb is one whose teeth are even and regular, with points not sharp, but rounded. It should be held up to the light so as to detect any splitting, or roughening of the teeth on the sides; for if they are so roughened, injury to the hair, through breakage of the -shaft, will surely result. Should the teeth, through any cause become so split, as you value your hair, the offending members should be carefully cut from the comb; the slight space of the scalp that would thus remain untouched would be of no moment, as a comb is not an article that is used for cleansing purposes, as is the brush. A word might be properly said here on the wire brushes now in use. In action they are really a comb, nothing more, nothing less. As to their promulgated virtues of magnetic influence on the scalp and hair, why this is all nonsense. They are no better than a metal comb would be. However, as a stimulator of the scalp — that is by the friction of the teeth upon the scalp- surface a glow may be produced — if not used too harshly, they work very well, though are not equal to a good bristle-brush. THE HAIR OF ADULTS. In coming now to the consideration of the care of adult hair, we should remember also that cleanliness of the scalp is a cus- todian of the hair's longevity, as well as a condition favorable for its growth. Hair is not a collection of filamentous plants, or weeds, depending upon dirt for sustenance; but rather it is a physiological organ, one whose life is kept up by the same deli- cate life-giving material that furnishes food to the brain-cells for thought, and to the retina for sight. Some of the ancients, I know, had not over-cleanly notions on these matters; but personal discomfort, and loss of hair, was their sweet reward. Socrates, it is said, and also his followers, did not wash them- selves, because cleanliness led to vanity, they thought; and it CARE OF THE HAIR OF ADULTS. 85 took so much of their valuable (?) time. If this was really the case, who can really blame Xanthippe, his wife, for being such a scold ? Archimedes, paradoxical as it may seem, invented pumps for watering the gardens of the Nile, and yet never used water, when he could well avoid it, for ablutionary purposes. Aristophanes, in one of his satires, tells us of the wealthy Athenian Patrocles, who never washed, for he says: "I have just come from the house of Patrocles — the man who has not washed himself since his birth." iElian avers that the Dardans washed themselves but three times in their whole lives. Now, there may be a very good apology offered for this apparent uncleanliness, through the non-use of water, on the part of these ancients, in that they substituted oils and pomades in place of the water. We all know that they were very fond of anointing their bodies, from head to foot, with some sweet- smelling pomade. This, if applied regularly, and properly removed, would keep the body clean. Perfumes undoubt- edly owe their origin to this. Pliny, who wrote in the first century after Christ, in speaking of them, so says; but adds that the Persians used them to counteract the odors of their persons, occasioned by the dirt upon them. This last I can hardly accept, as the ancient Persians, or Fire Worshipers, were most careful of their bodies. The Zend Avesta (Vendi- dad, Fargard xii, v. 6), their bible, plainly says: "Three times let them wash the body, three times let them wash the clothes." In another place (Yacna xxxviii, iv, 9) occurs these words: " The water well-flowing, well-washing, desirable for both worlds." And still in another place (Khorda Avesta, Patet Aderbat, xlv, 7), this passage: "If I have omitted the recita- tion of the Avesta, and have strewed about hair, nails and 86 CARE OF THE HAIR OF ADULTS. toothpicks, or have not washed the hands, ;and all the rest which belongs to the category of dirt and corpses, — if I have thereby come among sinners, I repent of all of these sins, with thoughts, words and works, corporal and spiritual, earthly as heavenly, with these three words: Pardon, O Lord! I repent of sin." Then, too, the ancient Greeks were very careful to make themselves clean before their gods by many and careful ablu- tions. Homer's " Iliad " is replete with such instances. Hector would not even make a libation, to the god Jupiter, with unwashed hands. Ablutions of the whole body were required to properly purify the person, so as to permit him to attend a sacred sacrifice; in case of the deities of the lower world, sprinkling would suffice. In Euripides' "Ion," written 450, B. C, we read this: "Ye Delphians, ministers of Phoebus, go to the silvery waters of Castalia, and, having cleansed your- selves, then go to the temples." Indeed, the burden of the history of the priesthood, Biblical, Egyptian, and of the later eras, Incan, is that of bodily puri- fication. No better hygienic code can be framed for a nation under similar conditions, than that found embodied in the book written fifteen hundred years before Christ, and known as Leviticus. Probably the origin of the phrase '* Cleanliness is next to Godliness," is due to the fact of that close connection of personal purity, or cleanliness, that was exacted of the priesthood of all religions, before communion could be had with the God of Christendom, or the gods of heathen worship. Men, as a rule, are more negligent of their scalps than the opposite sex; probably because it is so little bother to them to arrange the hair, that they overlook the brushing and washing of the scalp almost entirely. Now, the adult scalp should be thoroughly washed as often as once a month, at the very least; CAEE OF THE HAIE OF ADULTS. 87 a daily brushing will not suffice; brushing does not remove the oily particles from the scalp, except when dried down with dust and the scarf -scales of the skin. One of the best cleans- ing substances I know of, for either male or female to use, is the yolk of an egg. This should be well rubbed into the roots of the hair and upon the scalp; then the whole washed out with tepid water and Castile soap, rinsing with clear cold water. This done, it should be thoroughly dried by brisk rub- bing with towels, so as to get a roseate glow to the scalp, thus bringing a larger supply of blood to the hair papilla?; if found too dry, a little pomade could be applied. The cocoa-nut oil is probably the best of any. Among the proprietary preparations Burnett's Cocoaine is probably the best, as it is made up almost entirely of cocoa-nut oil. Purified beef's marrow could also be made use of, though vegetable oils are the best to use, as they are less apt, than the animal oils to become rancid. It is quite a popular belief that bear's oil or hedge-hog oil is the best application to make to the hair; but this is an erroneous idea. It has a smack of superstition about it. Bear's oil was undoubtedly selected because that animal has a very hairy coat; the hedge-hog, because his quill -hairs are of very strong and rank growth; the idea being that these pro- ductive qualities were given to the oils of these animals, and that man, in using, would imbibe the similar characteristics. The Malays eat the tiger for a similar reason — they think it makes them more ferocious. The Dyaks, of Borneo, will not eat deer flesh, lest it make them as timid as that animal; the women and children, however, are allowed to eat it. The Caribs will not eat pig or tortoise flesh, lest their eyes become as small as those seen in these animals. New Zealanders ate their most formidable enemies in order to make themselves more ferocious. The Dacotahs eat dog liver, that they may 88 CARE OF THE HAIR OF ADULTS. become as sagacious and brave as that animal; and in olden times people, desiring children, used to eat frogs, because these animals were so prolific in eggs. The Esquimaux, for the same reason, tease for pieces of the shoe-sole of the European discoverers to hang about their persons, as this nation is so much more fertile than theirs. But these examples might be prolonged indefinitely. While bear's oil, if pure, is a very- wholesome and sweet oil, I do not deem it any better, or even as desirable as the oil of the cocoa-nut. A proper amount of pomade is not only harmless, but really useful to some scalps; especially those which furnish little or no oleaginous material to keep the hair supple and glossy. When used in excess, or to cover up dandruff or dirt, then it becomes harmful; when so used oils are apt to become rancid and so irritate the skin beneath. Usually, however, a single " oiling," after a washing of the scalp, is all that is needed; and the frequency of the washing must depend entirely upon the individual, as to whether his head sweats much, or the sebaceous glands pour out an extra amount of material; also upon what his occupation is, whether dusty or not, and whether it is summer or winter. As to cutting the hair. In men, taste and present style demand that it should be kept pretty closely clipped. In ladies all hair should have the ends trimmed off every month or so, in order to keep the growth even. If there is any ten- dency to the splitting of the hair, all hairs should be trimmed back to a point above the terminus of the cleft, as it is the tendency of the cleft to extend further up the shaft. If the hair becomes very uneven, it is best to have considerable trimmed from the ends, that the papillae may have more matter left to instill a vigorous growth to the existing shafts; other- wise the hair will be thrown off entirely. The frequency of CARE OF THE HAIR OF ADULTS. 89 this trimming will depend upon the individual, hence no gen- eral rule can be made. There is no doubt that frequent trimming, or polling, as it was anciently called, of the hair, is conducive to its rapid growth. Absalom trimmed his once a year, and the fleece he shed was enormous, see page 57. The Egyptians cut theirs once or twice a week; indeed most of them, the males, kept pretty closely shorn. St. Paul wrote that Nature taught us that if a man had long hair it was to his shame; and the Church has fulminated this as a dogma for nearly eighteen hundred years. There is a canon, of the year 1096, still extant, which declared that those who wore long hair [referring to the males, probably] should be excluded from the Church, and should not be prayed for when dead. Serlo, a bishop in Normandy, on a Sabbath, turned barber, and cut the hair of his whole congre- gation. /Superstition has also had a controlling influence over hair- cutting, as it has had over almost everything else. The Fire Worshipers used to employ a priest to bury the hair shorn from their heads, lest the devils should get hold of it, and so curse the bearers. The Romans made it unlawful to pare the nails, or trim the hair, when on ship-board, unless it was during a storm. The penalty was forty stripes. " Love-locks " were often cast upon the turbulent waters to quell their fury. In Greenock, Scotland, the peasantry will not allow their clipped hair to be blown promiscuously about, lest the birds get hold of it, to build their nests with; it is all carefully picked up and burned. This superstition is even more ridiculous in its precepts when we consult some of the more uncivilized races. 90 BRUSHING THE HAIR. BRUSHING THE HAIR. The hair and scalp should be brushed daily. In this proce- dure too much violence should be carefully guarded against. What is wanted, is to cleanse the scalp of dandruff and dust, by the use of the harsher brush; and then to smooth and polish the hair-shafts, and lay them evenly in their places, by the use of the softer one. This process is to be looked upon as a friction bath to the scalp. A cautious writer has observed that you cannot brush the scalp too much, nor the hair too little. The point is, the scalp should receive enough of the friction to induce a roseate glow to its surface. This insures a quicker circulation in the follicles about the papillae, and hence the growth is invigorated. This is the same action we expect from the use of tonic hair washes, viz., a stimulating effect upon the skin capillaries. A scalp that has grown a scanty covering for itself, may, frequently, by this means alone be made to produce an increased crop of hirsutic material, and so insure the possessor with a very fair head of hair. Fine toothed combs should be avoided, as a rule, as they peel off the scarf-skin, and leave a denuded surface below, which is apt to end in veritable disease, the mildest being pityriasis. (See chapter on this complaint.) The morning is probably as good a time as any to do this brushing, as neither the stomach nor brain are needing blood for their work, and so the circula- tory fluid can well be spared, for an hour or two, to the scalp. At night, just before retiring, is equally a favorable time, as the glow started up by the brush -friction, will, by the warmth of the pillow, be kept up for some considerable time. The end we seek, in building up a scanty hair-crop, is a proper amount of blood supply, through frictions and hair tonics, to the lethargic papillae; then the growth will, as a result, be duly TREATMENT OF LADIES' HAIR. 91 accelerated, or in cases of certain kinds of baldness, be started anew. As a tonic, when such may seem to be indicated, the following will be found quite efficacious: I£. Tr. cinchonas rub. (tr. red cinchona bark), I j (1 fl. oz.) Tr. nucis vomicae (tr. mix vomica), 3 ij (2 drachms). Tr. cantharidis (tr. Spanish flies), 3 ss Q^j drachm). Aq. cologniensis (cologne water), Ol. cocois (oil cocoa nut), aa. q. s. ad 1 iv (of each enough to make 4 ounces). M. S. Apply once or twice a day to the scalp by means of a soft sponge. TREATMENT OF LADIES' HAIR. The general principles just enounced should govern the ladies in the care they bestow upon their hirsute treasures. As they have from forty to one hundred and twenty miles of these possessions, it naturally follows that the care devolving upon them, for keeping them in proper healthful order, is greater than that upon men. Still, wig-makers would ply less of a voca- tion if the few hygienic measures I have given, and those that follow, were heeded. As "fashion rules the world to a great degree," I cannot really expect that all of this advice will be very closely heeded. Yet, the hair should be brushed, rather than combed, daily; its "tangles" carefully unraveled, its split ends cut off, and when done up, it should be bound in as easy rolls and coils as possible: one reason for this is to allow as free ventilation as possible for the scalp; the other, that you may not break the hair or strain the roots, by tight tension upon them. Many a lady has lost a luxuriant head of hair by per- sisting in crimping it closely to the head, then binding it in coils, as tightly down as possible, thus severing the connection (partially it may be) of the hair-bulb from its living papilla at the bottom of the hair follicle, when death to the shaft is sure to result. Again, don't crimp or curl it to death. Hair was never intended to sleep in the worse than a straight jacket — crimping 92 TREATMENT OP LADIES' HAIR. irons — nor to be broiled or steamed on a curling tongs that bears the temperature of a gridiron on which Biddy broils a steak. You must not blame your hair for rebelling at this cannibalistic treatment, in the way of becoming irremediably stiff, harsh, wiry, broken and stunted in its growth. Don't bleach it out of its healthy color (should blonde hair be the fashion when nature has made yours brown or black) by the use of strong caustics. You might as well try to bleach the healthy color from your lips, by unhygienic procedures, and then expect health to remain. The hair-bulb itself keeps pretty close watch on your manoeuvres, and if you get to carry- ing your proceedings too far, ends up by tossing it all off from your head — about the same line of treatment your stomach adopts for ridding itself of a late supper of green cucumbers, lobster-salad, fried oysters and fruit cake. After a time you may get your hair all back again, when so lost; but it never is so healthy and thrifty as before. It is strange, this never-ending feeling of dissatisfaction with nature that lurks in the human breast. From Astyages on the throne, down to our maids in the kitchen, we find this longing for a cranial covering differing from our own. Some want white, some black, some red, some blue, and some the hair of golden hue; and modern chemistry seems to have done its utmost in providing us with means to reach these artificial wants that society may demand. However, as the ruling passion with us, just now, is to paint the mile-stones black, which stand out like whitened ghosts to tell the many annual rounds we have walked with time, we will speak more particu- larly of this, and leave the Parsee, with his indigo bag, and the Briton, with his coloring fire, to themselves. (The Felatah ladies, in central Africa, also stain their hair carefully with indigo.) TREATMENT OF LADIES' HAIR. 93 All the so-called hair dyes, which might more properly be termed paints, depend upon the chemical action of minerals for their blackening process. All of them, with hardly an excep- tion, contain lead, in some form, either the acetate, carbonate or oxide. This is usually in one liquid; then the other prepara- tion, to be applied afterwards, holds in solution some form of sulphur. By using the first, a deposit of lead is held upon the hair- shaft, by the imbricating scale-layer; by using the second, sulphur is washed upon the lead, a chemical change takes place, and you have the black sulphide of lead resulting. Some dyes do not use the second wash; these are either made up from argentic nitrate (lunar caustic), which turns black on exposure to light, or else the manufacturer relies upon the sulphur in the hairs, or the free sulphur in the air, in the form of gases, to produce the chemical change in the lead wash. In spite of this discouragement to the use of these dyes, as an answer to the crying " demand of the times," I have given, further on, a chapter upon the subject of hair-dyeing. I give it, though, under protest; it is decidedly unhygienical, although I have selected as harmless compounds as possible. Some of our belles who believe in painting, as it is popularly called, when the palette is a lotion bottle, the brush, a piece of flannel, the canvas, a face seen in the mirror, are sometimes exposed to laughable incidents, when the carbonate of lead has been given them wherewith to whiten themselves; for when so lotioned, or powdered, a few hours' exposure in a ball-room, or in the private parlor, results in a brunetting, if not positive negrofying of their faces; the sulphurous acid gas, given off from coal, or the sulphureted hydrogen in the air from various other causes, unites with the lead, and the black sulphide is the result, just as in the hair painting. In one instance I have heard of, a lady who went in a blonde but came out a mulatto, in 94 looks. This same sulphurous element is at work upon our houses, that are perennially painted white; the lead in the coat- ing being soon acted upon by the sulphur, the sulphide of lead is formed, and a dirty white color is the result. I have spoken of these dyes as being constitutionally, as well as hirsutically, harmful; they are so only in the fact that they are liable to be absorbed by the skin, and paralysis, neuralgias, and the like, are then liable to result. While there is not so much danger from hair-dyes as from the facial cosmetics — from the fact that the dyes are less often used — yet it is better to leave them all alone. In several of my lady patients I have seen what was, to me, unmistakable evidences of the pernicious effect of the use of these lead hair- washes; leastwise their neuralgias of the face and head were much benefited by leav- ing the dyeing alone. As to the facial cosmetics, many deaths can be clearly traced to them; notably the late G. L. Fox, our whilom Humpty Dumpty. It is much better on the w T hole, to leave all such sophistications — perhaps " society " avouM hardly sanction so strong a term as that — entirely alone. Nature is a pretty good judge of how things should be, or at least she ought to be, living as long as she has. CHAPTER IX. POLYTRICHIA. EXCESS OF HAIR GROWTH. Synonyms.— Hirsuties, Trichauxis, Trichosis, Hypertrichosis. Derivation. From, the two Greek words no\vZ meaning many and %f>i£, hair; the whole word meaning many hairs, or many-haired. Causes. It is not definitely known what is the specific cause of this general growth of hair upon the human subject. Some- times the complaint is plainly traceable to heredity; in other cases to nervous troubles; whilst in middle-aged females, who are afflicted with uterine or menstrual malfunctions, and who are unmarried, a growth is quite common upon the upper lip, and upon the cheeks; in other persons an inflammatory action of long standing, as a blister long kept open, is apt to occasion a local growth of hairs. Sometimes, after a severe fit of sick- ness, the hair of the head will take on an exuberant regrowth. Again, through some freak, the head hair will be of slow growth or positive loss, whilst other parts of the body will be producing it in abnormal abundance. Godfrey gives a case where a lady, thirty years of age, who had always enjoyed good health previously, was subjected to a severe fright; this checked the uterine function entirely. She became excessively nervous and irritable, and general hair- growth took place upon all parts of the body; it was dark brown in color, and the razor was in constant use to trim off the beard and mustachios. 96 EXCESS OF HAIR GROWTH. Ollivier also details one, a young lady of remarkably fair skin, though black hair, who, after a fever, noticed her skin to become " goose pimply," the summit of each " pimple " being surmounted by a small black hair; these rapidly grew, and by the end of a month her whole body, and limbs, were covered with short black hair, about an inch in length. Wilson, in 1875, says he was consulted by a woman, thirty- three years of age, for loss of hair, and complete baldness at the summit of the head. She formerly had had a plenitude of hair. The hair-building materials were found to have been given to the body and face at the expense of the head. She had to shave daily, to keep down a thick beard, whiskers and moustache; whilst on her body the hairy coat, thick, harsh, and black, measured from one-half an inch to over two inches in length. A broad hairy belt covered her loins, and a thick fringe hung down from her buttocks, whilst from the whole length of her spine the profuse growth resembled a mane. With all this covering of hair she complained of constant chilliness. Rayer gives a case of a medical student, who was fond of bathing in salt water, and whose body was exposed to the sun, when drying himself, soon discovering upon himself numerous sallow spots from which hair was starting quite abundantly. Somewhat similar to this is Cattle's case, where a young lady, twenty-five years of age, who had for some years resided in South America, found that on the portions of the face and neck exposed to the sun there was a strong growth of light colored hair; some hairs measured an inch in length, and no such growth existed there prior to her trip to South America. Her complexion was "fair," and her head-hair was light brown in color. In some instances the hairs are greatly increased in length, EXCESS OF HAIR GROWTH. 97 rather than that the growth covers the whole body; thus, those of the axilke or pubes may measure three or four feet in length. In other cases the excess of growth is confined to the head, or beard, or to both. Thus, in the case o£ Absalom, it is narrated that he polled yearly from his head some six pounds of hirsutic material. Again, paralysis of the muscles sometimes leads to an increased growth of hair. Thus, Paget reports a case of a child whose left arm and shoulder (paralyzed) were covered with a thick fringe of hair. Nayler had a case of partial paralysis of the leg, where the skin changed to a mottled color of brown, which grew long fine hair. Epileptic, idiotic and insane individuals sometimes have excessive growths of hair. Godfrey speaks of one epileptic that consulted him that grew a famous moustache and beard; she was then but thirty years of age. Her mother and one sister were in an insane asylum, and another sister was nearly raving from neuralgic pains. Mitchell tells of an idiot that had very heavy eyebrows, and short, stiff hairs growing from his face and cheeks; whilst Pinel speaks of another whose hairs, on the back and loins, measured two inches in length. Another case also is reported of a precocious child, afflicted with encephaloid cancer of the liver, that died, when three years of age, at St. George's Hospital, and which was pretty well covered with hair. Consumptive children, or children from phthisical parents, usually have nice heads of silken, glossy hair, but it is easily shed. The advent of puberty is always a period of accelerated hair-growth in both sexes. Diagnosis. This is of course easy enough, as it depends upon the visible growth of hair in abnormal places, or upon an over-growth in customary hairy localities. Moles, or birth- 98 EXCESS OF HAIE GEOWTH. marks, are usually sites of stiff, bristly hair growth; the hyper- emia of the adjacent tissue serving as extra nutriment to the hair-shafts, that would otherwise be but imperfectly developed. Recently there has come to our notice the case of Edwin Smith, of Fairfield, Lenawee Co., Michigan, who has a local notoriety for his long beard, and rapid growth of head hair. He was forty-five years of age, when seen, and his beard measured seven feet in length. When standing upon an ordinary chair, it would lap over on the floor. If the longest hairs were taken, and straightened out, they would measure seven feet, six and one-half inches in length. The beard had been twelve years making this enormous growth. At fourteen years of age he had a heavy growth of beard, measuring, at one time, six inches in length, though he usually kept it closely shaven. When reaching manhood he usually wore his beard at a length of six inches, until, when out of mere curiosity to see how long it would grow, he began its present lengthy growth. He has a twin brother who shows no evidence of this marvelous hair-growing; neither is it seen in any of his family. The head-hair of Mr. Smith possesses a similar exuberance of growth, though not to the same degree per- Fig. 24. EXCESS OF HAIR GROWTH. \)\) haps; he has it cut every month, when some two inches of its length is removed each time. He has always enjoyed good health till within a year, when, through the protracted sickness, and finally death, of his wife, he became very much reduced, and has never seemed to have regained his former health. There has been nothing extraordinary in his mode of living, his diet being that of the ordinary farmer. Undoubt- edly the continual draft upon his economy, that his luxuriant hair-growth is making, is a prime factor in keeping him in ill health. The earliest record that we have of excessive hair growth is found in one of the Hippocratic treatises [about 500 years B. C], where Phsetusa, of the Thracian city, Abdera, and wife of Pytheus, awoke one morning with a loss of her beautiful voice, and with pains in her joints, and a heavy growth of hair starting from her chin. Apropos of the case of Mr. Smith, Eble informs us that, in the Prince's Court of Eidam, there is a life-size portrait of a carpenter represented, whose beard was nine feet in length; he carried it in a bag when at his work. Mr. Smith, by the way, has his braided in long narrow strands, and these rolled up into a ball, one over the other, and then tied, hanging beneath the chin; the shorter hairs, therefore, cover it up, so any one would not suspect the enormous beard-growth that he carries with him. Then we have the case of the burgemeister, Hans Steiningen, whose beard was so long that, when ascending the steps to the Council Chamber, one day, he stepped upon it, and so fell and was killed. An Amazon was taken in the battle of Pultowa, who was the possessor of a beard that measured four and one-half feet in length. 100 EXCESS OF HA1E GROWTH. Evelyn relates a case that was exhibited in London, in 1657, where a young married woman, Barbara Yan Beck, had a long lock of hair growing from each ear, a full beard, mustachios, and long hair growing from her nose. This hair was soft, and brown in color. Wilson gives a case, which he had seen, where a lady, twenty- eight years of age, and five feet five inches in height, had hair which trailed on the ground three or four inches when walking. Her hair was wavy, and it gave positive pain to pull a healthy shaft out. Damascenus relates that, at Pisa, a girl was born that was "all over hairy." This was supposed to have been a birth- mark, caused by the mother's habit of rumination, and the fre- quent seeing of the picture of John the Baptist, which hung by her bedside, dressed in a hairy garment. Ruggieri gives an account of a woman, twenty-eight years of age, who was covered, from her shoulders to her knees, with soft and black woolly hair, like unto that seen on a fashionable poodle dog. This was in 1815. In 1829 the English Embassy to Burmah (report of Craw- ford) saw at Ava a man, Sheve-Maon, who was covered with hair from his head to his feet; that upon his face, ears and nose, was upwards of eight inches in length, whilst that upon his shoulders measured four to five inches. It was of a silvery gray color, straight and silky. At birth only the ears were involved, which presented hairs two inches in length and of silky-flaxen color. At six years of age it appeared on his forehead, and spread gradually all over his body. He was deficient in teeth, and otherwise stunted in development and growth. He did not obtain his permanent teeth till he had arrived at the age of twenty years; signs of puberty appeared also at that time. He married shortly afterwards, and his wife EXCESS OF HAIR GROWTH. 101 has presented him with four children, all girls; the three elder have escaped any hirsutic tendency, as reported by Captain Henry Yule, in 1855; the youngest, though, presents unmis- takable evidences of inheriting her father's hirsutic tendencies. Maphoon's (for this was her name) face was covered, with the exception of the upper lip, with hair that was brown in color, silky in texture, and four or five inches in length. The ears were covered so completely, from the outgrowth of silky hair, that only the lobules were visible; it hung down to the length of eight inches. Her neck, bosom and arms were covered with a fine, pale down. The daughter, as well as father, was lacking in the canine teeth and molars; a hard ridge taking the place of the grinders. Maphoon also married, and has borne two children, boys. The elder (then five years of age) presented nothing abnormal; but the younger, then fourteen months old, and still nursing, had but little hair upon the scalp, though his ear bore a lock of long, silken floss, coming from the meatus; and he had a beard and moustache of silky down that would delight many a beardless youth. Some races are characteristically prone to this excessive growth of hair; notably the inhabitants of the Island of Tesso, the " hairy men," as they are called. These are the Mosinos, and they number about 100,000 souls; they inhabit the two cities, Mato-mai and Hako-dadi. They are a short, thick-set, clumsy, uncouth race; though have well developed foreheads, and dark, expressive eyes. The head is covered with a gigantic mass of matted hair, and their beards are long and thick, and the whole of their bodies is covered with an extra- ordinary profusion of hair. The women stain that portion of their faces, which corresponds to the bearded portion of the males to a dark color. History also tells us of the hairy St. Angus, who was so 102 EXCESS OF HAIR GROWTH. untidy that seed, from his crops, took root in his shaggy cover- ing of nature, and so sprouted. Then there was the Spanish dancer, Julia Pastrana, who used to exhibit herself for pay, that was profusely covered with hirsute material; she, with the Burmese family previously men- tioned, was lacking in dental development. Still more famous was the bearded virgin of Dresden, who lived during the earlier portion of the 18th century, whose por- trait still adorns the king's gallery at Poland. Michaelis says that her beard was of snowy whiteness, and was three inches in length. Her moustache was jetty black, though short. She was bold and courageous, and ate enormously; her voice was strong and powerful. Eble also details the case of a young woman, in the time of Marie Theresa, who served in the ranks for many years as a hussar, and gradually worked her way up to a captain's com- mission, that sported a fine mustachio. A somewhat similar case, in which sex was seemingly dis- guised, was that recorded by Dr. Chowne, in 1852, of a young lady, born in Switzerland, that applied at Charing-cross Hospital for examination, in order to secure a certificate of her sex, so that she might consummate marriage; the min- ister to whom she had applied doubting her sexuality. She was then five months advanced in pregnancy. She stated that when born hair was on her face, and when eight years of age it was two inches in length; her upper and lower lip were, however, hairless. Her whiskers and beard, at the time of her presentation for examination, were very bushy, and measured four inches in length. Upon her body the hair was consider- ably, but not excessively, developed; otherwise she was not so very different from other women of her nationality. Her brother was as remarkable for a deficiency of hair growth, as she EXCESS OF HAIR GROWTH. 103 was in its excessive abundance; and her sister, younger by two years, had a similar peculiarity of exuberance of hirsutic growth. Gross relates the case of an old lady who is compelled to shave weekly to keep down the excessive hair growth from her chin, cheeks and lips; her whole aspect, excepting the length of her head hair, is decidedly masculine. Robb details the case of a girl, four years of age, that he saw in 1877, that was covered with soft downy hair, excepting in the palms of her hands and the soles of her feet (the parts always devoid of hair in all hirsute individuals). There is also constant and profuse perspiration of offensive odor; it is of a dark yellow color, and of great specific gravity; it is so pro- fuse that, half an hour after being washed and cleanly dressed, she will be as wet as if a bucket of water had been thrown over her. Her voice is coarse, like a man's, and she is very large and strong, weighing one hundred pounds. Her form, however, is perfect; the mammae are fully developed, and she menstruates as regularly as ladies at the ordinary age of puberty. She is nearly five feet in height and measures eighteen inches across the chest. Up to February of the year previous there had been no extra growth of hair, or this sweat- ing; a little after that time she became suddenly warmer than normal, and the growth of the soft downy hair, the color of that on her head, commenced, and now it hides the skin com- pletely. Treatment. From the numerous cases given it is evident that no one plan of treatment will suffice. Undoubtedly the cases of general hairiness are beyond the reach of medicine, or surgery; still, it is interesting to note that in all there was evi- dence of general nervous disturbance; the teeth, in most cases, were poorly and insufficiently developed; in such cases reme- 104 EXCESS OF HAIR GROWTH. dies addressed to the nervous system generally would be indi- cated. Other food-like medicines, as cod-liver oil, extract of malt, the hypophosphites and iron would be indicated. In phthis- ical or strumous cases, this plan of tonic treatment would be imperative. The use of the tincture of the chloride of iron, or at least iron in some form, with cod-liver oil, is a remedy that should be persisted in for months in these cases of general hirsuties. The manner of administration should be changed frequently, so the stomach will not tire of it. Godfrey recommends the brushing of the hairy surface with a solution of equal parts of liquor potassse and alcohol, at night, then following in the morning with a tepid bath, and pretty free use of soap. If used carefully no damage will be done the skin, and the hairs will be dissolved by the action of the potash. It is doubtful, however, whether the papillae, the parts really at fault, will be destroyed by this treatment. Still, a thorough trial should be made of something of this kind. Sulphuric acid also dissolves hair, but it is slower in its action than the liquor potassa3. When the Polytrichia is more local, other methods should be adopted. If dependent upon uterine malfunction, as is usually the case in females, this should be looked to from the first. As a rule, too, the same general treatment of tonics, mentioned above, should be adopted, for the system is a general sufferer. Let one organ get diseased, and all the other organs suffer in a minor degree. A pleasant form for the administration of iron, in these cases, is the citrate, combined with the cinchona bark, thus: ]J. Ferri citratis (citrate of iron), 1 ss (% ounce). Tr. cinchonae comp. (compound tincture cinchona), I iij (3 ounces). - Vini xerici (sherry wine), q. s. ad § viij (enough to make 8 ounces). M. S. Dessertspoonful, in }4 wineglass of water, at meal time. EXCESS OF HAIR GROWTH. 105 The bowels should be kept in a proper condition, and move- ments should be had daily. This can be done by the use of a rhubarb pill, or, what I prefer, with one of the fluid extracts of the buckthorns, combined with a little nux vomica, thus: R. Fl. ext. rhamni f rangulae (buckthorn bark), 1 ij (2 ounces). Fl. ext. nucis vomicae (nux vomica, fl. ext.), 3 j (1 drachm). Syr. tolutani (syrup tolu), 1 ij (2 ounces). M. S. Teaspoonful two or three times a day. As a local application, some one of the numerous depilatories can be made use of. The most ancient is fire. This is a sure one, but it is very painful, and is apt to scar. Dionysius (B. C, 430) of Sicily, who wished to appear effeminate, used to singe his beard off with walnut shells heated to whiteness? and Aristophanes tells of a dame that used to remove her superfluous beard and mustachios by the use of a lamp. In the eastern harems the ladies use a compound known as rusma. Its composition is as follows: R. Arseniei tersulphur. (orpiment), 3 ss (J^ drachm). Calcis (quick lime), 5 ss (^ ounce). Farinae tritici (wheat flour), sij (2 scruples). Aquae ferv. (boiling water), q. s. ut pasta ft. mollis (sufficient quantity to make a soft paste). This is then put on the part to be depilated, with a wooden spatula, to the thickness of a knife blade, and left for from five to ten minutes, or until it begins to sting; then scrape it off with a blunt-edged knife, washing the skin with warm water. Some rice or starch powder may then be dusted on the parts, or the whole covered with the officinal unguentum zinci oxidi (oxide of zinc ointment). This is to be repeated, every day or two, till the superfluous hairs are removed. Boudet's depilatory is composed as follows: R\ Sodii sulphatis (sulphate of soda), 3 iij (3 drachms). Calcis (quick lime), 3 x (10 drachms). Amyli (starch), 3 x ^10 drachms). 106 EXCESS OF HAIR GROWTH. These are to be finely powdered and intimately mixed, and kept in a ground-glass stoppered bottle. When used, enough water should be added to a little of the compound powder to make a thin paste, and it is to be applied as in the preceding preparation. Rayer's depilatory is as follows: R\ Calcis (quick lime), 3 ij (2 drachms). Sodii carb. (saLsoda), 3 iij (3 drachms). Cerati simp, (simple cerate), I ij (2 ounces). M. This is to be applied as the two preceding. Most of the patent-right depilatories, found in the market, contain arsenic; anyhow they should not be used, as their com- position is unknown. The following is the way the English belles, of some four centuries ago, had for doing these things; it is taken from the first work on midwifery published in the English language, and is known as "The Birth of Mankinde; Otherwise named the Woman's Booke. Set forth in English by Thos. Raynald, Physitian, London. Printed for A. H., and are to be sold by John Morret, at the two Tuns, in little Britaine, 1634." "to take hayre from places where it is unseemly. " Item. — Sometimes hayre groweth in places unseemly and out of order: as in many maidens (i. e., women) the hayre groweth so low in the foreheads and the temples, that it disfigureth them. For this yee may use three wayes to remove them: either to plucke up one after another with pincers, such as many women have for the nonce, other else with this lee following. " Take new burnt Lime foure ounces, of Arseneck an ounce, steepe both these in a pint of water the space of two days, and then boyle it in a pint to a half. "And to prove whether it be perfect, dippe a feather therein, and if the plume of the feather depart off easily, then it is EXCESS OF HAIR GROWTH. 107 strong enough: with this water then anoynt so farre the place yee would have bare from hayre, as it liketh you, and within a quarter of an houre pluck at the hayres and they will follow, and then wash that place much with water wherein Bran hath been steeped : and that done, anoynt the place with the white of a new laid Egge and oyle Olive, beaten and mixt together with the juyce of Singrene or Purflaine, to allay the heat engendred of the foresaid lee. "The third way to remove hayre, is a Plaister made of very dry pitch and upon leather applyed to the place, the hayres being first shaven, and cut as neare as can be with a payre of Scysors. "Now, when the hayres be up by the rootes, then to let them that they grow no more, take of Alome the weight of a groate and dissolve it in two spoonefuls of the juyce of Nightshade, or of Henbane, and therewithal anoynt the place two or three times every day, the space of nine or ten days, and hayre will grow no more in that place." Late years a minor surgical procedure has been adopted for getting rid of these superfluous hairs, that are a "thorn in the flesh," as it were, to some of our ladies, and this is done with the aid of electricity or some potent caustic. When the former is used, a constant battery of from six to ten cells should be employed. The negative pole of this is attached to a fine cambric needle, mounted in a suitable handle, whilst the positive, by means of a soft sponge, is put in communication with an adjacent part of the body from which the hairs are to be removed. Each hair is seized with a pair of forceps, and partially withdrawn from the follicle (it is left partially in as a guide), when the cambric-needle, in connection with the negative pole of the battery, is thrust carefully down to the bottom of the follicle, and retained a few seconds, or until a 108 EXCESS OF HAIR GROWTH. white line shows the operation as completed. A lens of fifteen diameters' magnifying power is quite an assistant to the vision. This is a modification of Michele's method, and is not a very painful one. As many as a hundred and sixty hairs, in the space of a half an hour, have been removed by this method. Another method, Piffard's, is somewhat similar to the above, only the battery is dispensed with. In this case, after the hair is partially withdrawn, a fine, three-cornered surgeon's needle, securely held in a needle forceps, is forced to the bottom of the follicle, and rapidly twirled back and forth two or three times; this usually breaks down the papilla, and the succeeding inflammation generally obliterates it entirely. If the needle, previous to its being used upon each hair, be dipped in a solu- tion of carbolic acid in olive oil (equal parts of each), it will be found to be of advantage. Another authority has recom- mended an injection of a drop of the following solution, by means of a hypodermic syringe, into each follicle: fy. Zinci Chloridi (chloride of zinc), 3 ij (2 drachms). Aquae (water), 3 iij (3 drachms). but this has no special advantage over the needle method pre- viously given. The success of the needle method averages about fifty per cent; that is, about one-half of the hairs so treated will return again in time, and their follicles will need to be treated as before. Still another method is to seize the hair firmly in the bite of the forceps, stretch it taut, but not enough to withdraw it from its follicle, then push down to its papilla a fine cambric needle that has been previously coated with a thin film of nitrate of silver. The cauterizing effect of the silver destroys the papilla, and the hair drops out, of its own accord, in a short time. CHAPTER X. CANITIES. BLANCHING, OR TURNING. GRAY, OP THE HAIR. Synonyms. Trichonosis discolor, or cana ; Poliothrix, absence of hair pigment. Derivation. From the Latin word canities, meaning white or light gray color (canus, hoary). Description. I have, in a previous chapter, that upon the Chemistry of the Hair, spoken of the different chemical ele- ments found in hair, and especially of the large amount of phosphate of lime found in the ash of gray hair. A rule of the whole physical economy of the aged is that fatty degene- ration of tissue, and phosphatic deposit, shall be taking place everywhere. This is really but a process of living animal decay, and which we call "the decline of the aged." As regards the scalp, the tone of the blood vessels and nerves is lessened, and hence perfect hair-cell growth, either of coloring or formative matter, is impossible. The final result of all this is a gradual blanching of the color of the hair. Light hair is slower to make this change than the darker colored, from the fact that a maximum amount of coloring matter was never secreted, and hence the papillae and pigment-making materials are not so soon exhausted. Usually the beard is the first to show the approach of age, turning gray at its upper portion, near the ears, first of all. At about the same time the hair, over the region of the tem- ples, begins to show the presence of " silvery locks." Creep- ing therefrom, the whiteness extends up to the crown of the 110 BLANCHING, OR TURNING GRAY, OF THE HAIR. head, and down to the forehead, and with this there is apt to be a gradual loss of the hair. Yet, by no means should it be understood that because the hair is gray it is always of lessened vitality, since for years it may grow as strong and luxuriant as when of brown or raven hue. The upper portion of the papilla, or that which gives the coloring cells to the hair-shaft, is undoubtedly the seat of disease in these cases; the lower por- tion remaining free, of course the formative cells of the hair- shafts are furnished in normal quantity, and hence the shaft preserves its growth in length. The cause of the growth of white hair after burns of the scalp, or quite severe local inflammations, both in man and ani- mals, is explainable on this same basis. The burn, or inflamma- tory action, has extended deep enough to destroy the top of the papilla, but not enough to implicate the base, and hence a white hair is the result. If we represent the papilla in the follicle diagrammatically by the letter /\, then that portion above the cross-bar in the letter will represent the color-forming part of the papilla; that below, the hair-forming portion. Dr. Wertheim, of Vienna, who has made many experiments and examinations upon the papillae of gray hair, has found the papillae to be in the different colored stages of black, dark-red, blood-red, reddish yellow and white, progressively; the black papilla, giving a dark-colored hair in each instance. When the papilla was red, or reddish, the hair springing therefrom was losing its normal dark color; when white, nothing but white hair was produced therefrom. In the falling out of the hair, it was found, on examination, that the pigmentary cells at the top of the papilla became loosened, and the hair was thrown out by the contraction of its follicle. As hair is nourished by minute vessels that come into close contact with the bulb, yet do not enter it, it is evident that but a little perverted nervous BLANCHING, OR TURNING GRAY, OF THE HAIR. Ill influence is necessary to check the formative growth of the pigmentary and forming cells, for a time, and hence gray hair, or even a total loss of hair, would soon be the result. For further reference to this part of the subject, see the chapters upon the Anatomy of the Hair and Follicle. The three microscopical conditions found in gray or white hair, as first described by Dr. Pincus, of Berlin, are as follows: 1. The pigmentary cells and granules disappear from the external layers of the cortical substance. If any hair is watched in its growth, for several years, it will be found that it undergoes several minor changes or alterations in color. This is the most usual form. 2. In the cortical and medullary portion of the hairs of stronger growth there occur little interspaces between the separating cellular imbrications; in some instances they become, comparatively, quite large. If, however, this is more marked in the medullary portion of the shaft, the cortical portion being only slightly affected, the hair assumes more of an iron- gray color. 3. The cortical portion of the hair may become split, or roughed-up, like a brush-head, in many places, and if these spots be found closely together, a gray color of the hair is sure to result, as the little interstices are colorless. CONGENITAL CANITIES AND ALBINISM. This is the second variety of canities, and with the exception of the race known as Albinos, is only partial, as regards its extent, upon the head or body. A single lock, it may be, is alone transmitted from generation to generation. Sometimes, however, the whole scalp will be spotted with tufts of white or gray hair. Bartholin reports a case of a babe that he saw, which had 112 BLANCHING, OR TURNING GRAY, OF THE HAIR. one-half of its head covered with white, and the other half with jet-black hair. Sibley gives a case where a girl, of Somersetshire, had one side of her head covered with jet-black hair, whilst the other side was covered with hair of a reddish yellow. The body hair was as characteristically marked. The mother's hair was a carroty-red. Another case, the same author details, is that of a son of a white father, but negro mother, who had the hair on the right side of his head long and brown, like his father's, but on the left side short and woolly, like his mother's. In a case where a Negro married a white woman, and had two sons and three daughters, the eldest son was curiously marked in having the lower portion (below the navel) of his body with black skin and curly hair, like his father's, whilst the upper portion of his body was like his mother's, as regards the skin and hair. Dr. Rizzoli narrates a case of the hereditability of white locks in the person of a young girl that had a lock of long, thick white hair growing from her forehead, whilst the rest of the hair of her head was jet black. This white lock had been congenital in her family for over two hundred years; twenty- three individuals, in six generations, had each borne his mark. Dr. Nayler narrates the case of a boy, ten years of age when he saw him, that had a patch of white hair on his eyebrow, and a streak of the same color across the scalp, near the forehead, that was one inch in width by three inches in length. This • was a hereditary peculiarity, his mother and one of his brothers being similarly marked. The same author also reports a case he had met, in which a band of white hair encircled the occiput from one ear to the other. The band was one-half an inch in width and was up about an inch from the inferior margin of the scalp. This had BLANCHING, OR TURNING GRAY, OF THE HAIR. 113 t existed from birth. The normal color of his hair was brown. In a gentleman with a head of long black hair, a white lock was seen that had always been of that color from the first growth of the beard. Dr. Hodgkin also gives an instance of a white lock of hair descending through several generations. Darwin, also, of an Irish gentleman with dark-colored hair, who had a white lock on the side of his head. His mother had the same hirsute marking on the opposite side of the head, though his grandmother had one on the same side as his was on. Such changes as these could only be possible where the condition of the papilla was such as we have just indicated, viz., injured at the top, where the color-producing elements are found. Were it due to a general disease, then all the hair follicles must suffer in an equal ratio; that is, all the hair must become gray; yet, in these cases the gray hair was of as thrifty growth as the colored, hence proving that the formative por- tion of the papillae remained uninjured, although the upper, or coloring portion, was destroyed. As regards Albinism, it is usually looked upon as a sign of physical deterioration. Albinos are found everywhere. Yet the term was originally used to designate white children born of black parents. They are found among all nationalities as well as among animals, and it is a notorious fact that cats with blue eyes and white fur, are always deaf. White horses, and white pigs or cows are less robust than their fellows. White sheep are poisoned with food that black sheep eat with impunity. This is made practical use of by the inhabitants of Tarentino, who only raise black flocks, as the white sheep* are killed by eating of an herb, Hypericum crispum, that grows in abun- dance thereabouts; the black eat it with impunity. Even the ordinary buckwheat plant, when in flower, it is said, is injurious 114 BLANCHING, OR TURNING GRAY, OF THE HAIR. to white or spotted pigs feeding on it, if they are exposed to the direct rays of the sun; yet black pigs, under the same con- ditions, are uninjured. Darwin asserts that Albino Negroes suffer more from insect bites than the regular blacks, that white chickens are more puny than colored, that white-horned cattle suffer more from flies than darker colored, and that white terriers are more liable to distemper than colored dogs.- He also relates a case of a gentleman's turning a drove of fifteen horses into a field of mildewed tares; the spotted (white) chestnuts and bays were seriously injured by the formation of angry sores about the white spots. The bays with no white spots were uninjured. Even in the vegetable world the same peculiarity is observed; white onions, white verbenas and other white flowering plants are more susceptible to disease, mildew and parasites than those of darker hues. In Prussia it has been found that vetches, which have become mildewed, sicken and sometimes kill the horses with white spots that feed upon them; the white spots becoming inflamed and gangrenous, although the dark-haired portion of the skin remains unaffected. The condition Albinismus may be general, or it may be par- tial, as regards an individual's body. The former is repre- sented by persons wanting of pigment everywhere about their bodies; the iris itself being blood-red from the want of the coloring substance to modify the hue of the circulating blood therein; this delicate member is kept, in daylight, in a state of constant contraction, so as to shut off as many of the light rays as possible from the over-sensitive retina. As a rule, the intellect is also weakened in these unfortunate cases. The Dutch, from the natural proclivities of Albinos to be abroad only in darkness, gave them the name Kaker-lachen i BLANCHING, OR TURNING GRAY, OF THE HAIR. 115 (cock-roaches). The inhabitants of Java call their Albinos Chracrelas ; those of Ceylon, Bedhas ; the Africans call theirs Dongos, and the Portuguese call the same African tribes, Lank CEthiopes (Leucceth lopes, or white negroes) ; whilst the Hindoos term their Albinos Pdndan, and endeavor to destroy them as soon as they come into the world, believing them to be begotten in and of sin. This abnormality is most frequently met with in African and East Indian tribes. In certain respects the Hindoo belief, though savoring much of barbarianism, is not far out of the way. Consanguineous marriages really should be looked upon as a crime, since offspring from all such matrimonial alli- ances are so commonly demented individuals, or inheriters of sickly, puny constitutions. The only reason why there is not more of albinismus and imbecility from consanguineous alli- ances is from the fact that such marriages are so often sterile. Dr. Devoy reports the marriages of two brothers to their two first cousins (sisters); the seven children born to these two families were all victims of Albinismus, though there was no previous history of this condition in their families. Dr. Godfrey gives the instance of a physician marrying a near relative; he had two sons, each an Albino, though they did not seem to suffer in intellect. Delacouse asserts that the Albinos of the western continent are incapable of producing offspring, and that they are of either a scrofulous or lymphatic diathesis. Devoy also supports this assertion. Partial albinismus, of which we have given several instances in the preceding pages, is a hereditary peculiarity, the mark- ings appearing in the family history for several generations; whereas general albinismus is a congenital disorder, the result, nearly always, of close intermarriages. 116 SUDDEN BLANCHING OF THE HAIR. SUDDEN BLANCHING OF THE HAIR. This is the third variety of canities, and one, next to senile grayness, the most frequently seen. A part, or all, of the scalp- hair may be the portion blanched; though the more usual way is to have but a portion of the scalp showing the whitening of its hirsute covering. This is due, mostly, to some severe nervous disturbance, induced by either fright or disease. Some strange freaks of nature are observed in the matter of this sudden decoloration of hair; for often, in a single night, or in the space of a few hours, or even moments, hair, which was formerly of a dark color, is changed to a silvery gray. Many of these cases are historical facts, as notably that of Marie Antoinette, the Queen of Louis XVI., whose magnificent auburn tresses changed to gray in a single night (1791), when the royal party was arrested at Varennes. Another royal instance is that of Mary, Queen of Scots, whose auburn hair, through fright and grief, was changed to gray in the course of a few days. Miss C. D. Brent, of Washington, has in her pos- session a lock of hair of this unfortunate individual. It is of silky texture, and of a beautiful pale auburn color. Quite a history is attached to this lock: When Mary was a prisoner in the castle of Lochburn, in the winter and early spring of 1658, she drew young George Douglas, the governor of Lochburn, into her favor, for the purpose of effecting her escape. The youth was won com- pletely. On the evening of the 2d of May, 1658, the keeper and his family being at table, George seized the keys and fled across the lake with the royal prisoner. For this romantic allegiance Queen Mary presented to George Douglas a lock of her hair. Now it so came about that, as time rolled on, this lock — of a silken texture and beautiful pale auburn — was found SUDDEN BLANCHING OF THE HAIR. 117 among some old papers at Wishaw, one of the estates of the Douglas family. And as time again passed, when the late John Carroll Brent visited the late Mrs. Catharine Pye Doug- las, of Rose Hill, Scotland, a relative, she showed him the lock, and, dying seven years later, in 1847, bequeathed it to him. At the death of John Carroll Brent it fell into the possession of his sister, Miss C. D. Brent, of Washington, D. C. Prisoners of war, and condemned criminals, also present examples of this sudden blanching of the hair. Byron has made an interesting point of this in his " Prisoner of Chillon," whom he makes to say: " My hair is gray, but not with years; Nor grew it white In a single night, As men's have grown from sudden fears." Shakspeare, in Henry IV., has also made note of the sudden blanching of the hair. Thus, he has one of his characters say: " Worcester is stolen away to-night; Thy father's beard is turned white with the news." Scott has also taken advantage of the same physiological fact, and says, in " Marmion : " " For deadly fear can time outgo, And blanch at once the hair. Hard toil can roughen form and face, And want can quench the eye's bright grace; Nor does Old Age a wrinkle trace More deeply than Despair." It is also authentically stated that the hair of Sir Thomas More turned gray on the night preceding his execution; and Dr. Parry relates the instance of a Sepoy, of the Bengal army, aged twenty-four years, who was taken prisoner in 1858, and, while under examination, his hair, which was the jet black of 118 SUDDEN BLANCHING OF THE HAIE. the Bengalee, turned gray, all over his head, within the space of half an hour. Very similar to this last is the case of a Mr. Anderson, a circus performer, and friend of one of my patients. His age was thirty-nine at the. time of the sudden blanching of his hair. During an accident to one of the cages, he got confined between a large bear, that had just broken out, and an elephant which he had made angry by giving it a mouthful of tobacco a little while previously. He was expecting immediate destruc- tion, and his hair, which was quite dark, in the space of a few moments changed to gray, never to regain its normal color. Turner relates a case of a young man, Don Diego Osorious, who had been seized by the king's guard, when holding a stolen interview with a young lady of the Spanish court, and so incarcerated. This was a capital offense, and it so terrified the man, when sentence was pronounced upon him, that in the same night his hair was turned to gray. The occurrence, how- ever, was fortunate, as it saved him his life. In a railroad accident that occurred recently in California, where a miner fell under a car and had both of his legs amputated, a young man, by the name of Weston, seeing the ghastly wounds, fainted; on being restored to consciousness his hair, which previously was black, was, as the account says, " as white as snow." In a railway accident in England, Dr. Ellis reports that a young man was so severely frightened, by being thrown from the car, although uninjured, that his brown hair was changed to gray, especially that over the temples, on the following morning. His age was thirty years. Dr. Cassan notes the case of a lady who was summoned to give evidence upon a trial in progress before the House of SUDDEN BLANCHING OF THE HAIR. 119 Peers, and which occasioned such fright, that in a single night her hair was turned to gray. She was thirty years of age. A German physiologist has observed that several of his delirium tremens cases, which he had in the hospital, have been affected with a sudden blanching of the hair. He exam- ined the hairs under the microscope, and found that air was infiltrated throughout their substance. In the late notorious Tichborne trial, Abbe Lefevre gave testimony that he had dreamed that he had seen the murder of his father, in all of its horrid details, and as a result of the fright his beard turned to gray that night. Again, in Caesar's time, a young nobleman was cast into prison, and he was so exercised thereby, fearing execution, that by the next day his hair and beard had changed from their original dark color to a gray. The emperor suspected counter- feiting, at first; but on examination, finding it to be a freak of nature, dependent upon fright, forgave him the crime for which he had been incarcerated. A case is related to me of a soldier in the War of the Rebel- lion, who was wounded in the chest — shot through the lung — - and so lay sick a long time in the hospital, who, on his recovery, found that the hair, growing from the center of the forward portion of the scalp, had changed to a gray color. This gray tuft continued for years, and so far as my informant knows, to the present time. It would be hard to account for this freak of nature as the head was entirely uninjured. In the confinement of Mr. Stokes, of our own time, for the shooting of Jim Fiske, the early turning to gray of his hair was a constant theme for newspaper discussion. In 1872 Dr. Wilson reported the case of a lady who, during pregnancy, had received a severe shock, the result being a complete loss of hair, for a year, from a portion of her scalp. 120 SUDDEN BLANCHING OP THE HAIR. It then began to grow over the bald portion, but it was white in color; in two years more the white hair had changed to even a darker hue than the rest of her hirsute head-covering. Boyle tells us that an Irish captain, who had delivered him- self up to the British forces, on the ground of pardon pro- claimed by Lord Broghil, and learning of the Lord's absence from the place of encampment, was so fearful lest he might be executed before his Lordship's return, that his hair assumed a piebald condition; a part being white, and the rest the normal reddish hue. Captain P., of Vermont, when taken prisoner by the British in 1813, on the Canadian frontier, was told that he would be shot on the coming morning; the fright was so severe that during the night his hair, which was previously jet black, was turned to gray. A professional acquaintance of mine once became the victim of a sudden blanching of the hair; in a single night his hair changed from a raven-black to silvery whiteness. Rumor saith that he was under the pernicious influence of " seventy miles of golden locks" at the time; in other words that he was jilted. As a supplement to this is the case of a lady of London who, on receiving the news of the shipwreck, and drowning, of her affianced, when on his way to complete his engagement, by marriage to her, fell into a swoon. On the following morning her hair, which had previously been dark brown, was found to have turned to silvery gray, though her eyebrows and eyelashes retained their normal hue. Moreau records the case of a man, thirty years of age, losing by death a dearly beloved wife; on the morning following her demise his hair, through grief, was found white as snow. To turn the tables, and show that love may work mightily in BLANCHING, OR TURNING GRAY, OF THE HAIR. 121 an opposite direction — though this might not have been the reason for the freak of hair-blanching in this case — I give the following: A gentleman, forty years of age, possessed of a luxuriant growth of dark hair, was married to the lady of his choice, and took the customary bridal tour. Now, we have no means of knowing what his lady said to him, when away, but it was a fact, lamentable though it may seem, that his hair was so completely snow-white on his return, even to his eye- brows, that his own personal friends doubted his identity. Causes. These have been given, incidentally, in the cases representing the three varieties of canities, narrated in the preceding pages. The nervous system is, undoubtedly, pri- marily at fault, in most instances. In old age the nerves are among the first of the wheels of life to tire out, and break down; the many instances of blanching from fright and sor- row are also so many instances of perverted nervous action; even in the congenital cases it is the transmission of nervous (hereditary) impressions from the parents to their offspring that leads to premature grayness, or albinismus, even. Among dyspeptics, too, gray hair is a common sign; and even here it is undoubtedly a reflex nervous action that induces the decolori- zation of the hair, rather than the non-digestion of the food, per se ; of course the dyspepsia is the exciting cause. It is also quite well authenticated that cold weather, if prolonged, induces grayness of the beard. Captain Markham, who once commanded a vessel on an exploring expedition to the Arctic regions, noticed, as a curious fact, that those who were for a long period absent from their ship had their hair on their faces bleached nearly white. The loss of color was gradual, and, although noticed, was never alluded to; each one imagining that his companions' hair was turning gray from the effects of hardship and anxiety. It was only after their 122 BLANCHING, OR TURNING GRAY, OF THE HAIR. return to the ship that those possessing beards and moustaches discovered the change of hue in their own hair. And yet the color gradually returned in about three or four weeks, after being less exposed to the inclement weather. Hairs of animals are equally subject to this change of color through the influence of cold; it is supposed that the color of the hirsute coating of the polar bear is due to this cause, in great measure, as it is continually exposed to the coldest of weather, and for pro- longed periods. The lemming has been proven, by Sir John Ross, to whiten its coat, if exposed to severe weather. Expos- ing one to a temperature of 30° below zero, it was found, on the next morning, that white spots of fur were on each cheek, and on each shoulder; the day following, the back part of the body and flanks were of a dirty white color, and by the end of the week the whole animal was white, excepting a small spot at the middle of the back. The white hairs were the longest of any in the body, hence proving unquestionably that the original hair-cylinders were blanched, and that it was not a new growth of hair. Somewhat akin to this is the fact that human hair also grows faster in summer than in winter; also faster by day than by night. All these conditions, I think, are clearly explained by the perverted nervous action induced by the cold and absence of the usual amount of daylight. The skin is shrunken by the action of the cold, and hence, from this, as a mechanical cause, less blood is brought to the scalp, less nutriment is supplied the papillae, and so grayness or blanching results. The graying of the hair, as an effect of prolonged financial and business worry, may be explained in a similar way. Numerous instances are on record of the speedily turning gray of the hair after business reverses, the same as after grief following the loss of friends. Wearing of closely fitting and BLANCHING, OR TURNING GRAY, OF THE HAIR. 123 illy-ventilated hats, especially in the house, or office, is another predisposing cause for early grayness. Heredity also has much to do as a predisposing cause, though it is not so much the white hair factor that is handed down, as it is the perverted nervous influences, vitiated constitutions, scrofula, and the like, that are transmitted, and which speedily induce, secondarily, early or premature grayness, or even albi- nism. Neuralgias, and nerve injuries, are frequently followed by a turning gray of the hair upon the parts supplied by the diseased nerve. I have several ladies under my professional care whose neuralgic headaches (confined to the summit of the head) lasting, usually, two or three days at a time, are followed by a marked grayness of the scalp over the painful region, though the normal color returns after a few days. Dr. Anistie is himself a victim to the blanching of the hair upon the right side of the head, owing to persistent attacks of supra-orbital neuralgia and migraine. There is no falling out of the hair, and in a few days, following the attack, the normal color is nearly or quite restored. Dr. Paget, in his " Surgical Pathol- ogy," relates the case of a lady, subject to nervous headaches, who, on the morning following an attack, finds her hair, in spots, as white as if powdered with starch; in a few days the normal color returns again. Some authors, as Vanquelin, have argued that an acid condi- tion of the blood is generated in the animal economy, and this causes the sudden cases of decolorization; possibly this is an important factor in many cases of sudden blanching of the hair. Additional weight is added to it from the fact that, as is well known, an acid or poisonous condition of the nursing- mother's milk is induced by severe fits of anger, or prolonged mental worry, and her child is speedily made sick by drawing 124 BLANCHING, OR TURNING GRAY, OF THE HAIR. such nourishment; indeed, cases are on record of a child's speedy death from such a cause. Still, the most important factor in the case I believe to be the want of proper and regular supply of blood — hence, formative materials — to the hair papillae, the pigmentary-forming portion suffering most of all; and this, through a vicious action of the sympathetic nervous system. Concerning the further action of this system, and its direct influence over circulation, through its vaso-dilator and constrictor branches, it is not our province herein to treat of, as it is now generally conceded by all physiologists. Other authorities, as Dr. Landois, have looked *upon the phenomenon as being due to the collection of air-globules in the fibrous portion of the shaft; this view would be tenable if the case were always of slow growth, and the air-globules entered into the shaft at its root, where all the cellular elements of the hair-cylinder are formed and moulded together; but this is not usually the case, although it was the condition actually found by Dr. Wilson in the interesting case of variegated hair, which I give in the following chapter. Treatment. In a general way this is referable to two plans — Preventative and Curative. The blanching of hair from fright, the condition known as albinismus, and the pro- gressive whitening from age would come more directly under the first division, as curative agents are rarely^ of avail. The chapter devoted to the Hygiene of the Hair can be referred to as a matter of general preventatory treatment; to this should be added the inferences that may be drawn, from reading the many instances cited in this chapter, of what should be avoided, so far as possible. As to curative measures, some one or all of the stimulating washes recommended in the chapter upon Alopecia, or Loss of Hair, will be good to apply. Frictions of the scalp, with a BLANCHING, OR TURNING GRAY, OF THE HAIR. 125 bristle brush, night and morning, bathing the head with cold water, and if the scalp be unduly dry and harsh, a dressing, like the following, will prove of service: R\ Olei cocois (cocoa-nut oil), % ij (2 ounces). Tr. nucis vomicas (tr. nux vomica), 3 hj (3 drachms). Spr. myrcise (bay rum), 5 j (1 ounce). 01. bergami (oil bergamont), gtts. xx (20 drops). As, in most cases, the nervous system is exhausted, remedies addressed thereto are of value. Nux vomica and phosphorus, combined with iron or arsenic, will be indicated. Cod-liver oil is also an excellent adjuvant. There is a pill already pre- pared, in coated form, that is composed of phosphorus, T -J-g- grain; strychnia, -g 1 ^ grain; carbonate of iron, one grain, that will prove as valuable as any extemporaneous formula. The compound phosphorus and quinine pill will also prove of value; this is composed of phosphorus, -^ grain; reduced iron, one grain; strychnia, -g 1 ^ grain; quinine, \ grain. Either of these pills can be given in increasing doses as occasion may demand. Of arsenic, the best form for administration is Fowler's solution, the following making a very eligible pre- paration : R\ Lq. potassii arsenitis (Fowler's solution), 3 j (1 drachm). Tr. ferri chloridi (muriate tr. of iron), 3 ij (2 drachms). Tr. cinchonas comp., 5 i 3 (2 ounces). Tr. cardamomi comp. (comp. tr. cardamom), q. s. ad 1 iv (enough to make 4 ounces). M. S. Teaspoonful four times a day. If neuralgia is a prominent symptom, this must also be met by remedies calculated to overcome the cause; if this be found to be dependent upon carious teeth, a dentist should be con- sulted, and the offending members withdrawn; if upon uterine derangements, which is one of the most common causes for early graying of the hair in the female, these should receive 126 BLANCHING, OR TURNING GRAY, OF THE HAIR. their proper local and constitutional treatment; if upon some vicious cicatrix, a surgeon's services should be secured, and the irritation, from the contracted cicatrix, relieved. Sulphur, administered internally, is thought by some to prove of benefit, in supplying one of the elements to hair- growth to the waning papilla. The yolk of egg, which con- tains sulphur and also iron, applied locally, is also of service; besides this it is oleaginous, and so supplies this element to a harsh-feeling scalp. An iron solution, applied to the hair, will also prove of service, as, for instance, the following: 3$. Ferri citratis (citrate of iron), 3 ij (2 drachms). Tr. nucis vomicae, 3 ij (2 drachms). 01. cocois (cocoa-nut oil), ^iss (1)4 ounces). Spr. myrcise (bay rum), | iss (1J^ ounces). Gray hair, when the filaments are scattered, should be removed by the use of hair-dressing tweezers; as a rule these hairs so treated do not return. If the hair is split at the ends, or inordinately long, it should be clipped back, and so save the drain upon the other parts of the scalp as much as possible. But in spite of all treatment hair will turn gray when " old age " comes on, though " We fain would hide This sign — how long with time we've been," and so the services of the dyer and dyes, and the professional wig-maker will be required to aid those who, though old, would still look young. But in a following chapter I will speak of this more particularly. It remains but to notice in this one that sometimes hair will not turn gray as age advances, as notably the case of Mrs. Sally Davis, of Kentucky, who is a venerable woman over seventy years of age, and is the possessor of a suit of hair that might awaken envy in the breast of many a fair maiden of " sweet sixteen." It is soft, brown and silky, with BLANCHING, OR TURNING GRAY, OF THE HAIR. 127 no suspicion of silver among the glistening threads, and it falls in luxuriant profusion far below her waist, a marvel to all beholders. Sometimes, too, gray hair will turn to darker hue without the aid of either chemist, or physician. These cases are very- rare, still a few have scientific accreditment. In the last century (1774) at Vienna, the case of a Mr. Naza- rella, aged 105, is recorded, who, at this extreme age, was pre- sented with a new set of teeth, and a re-colorization of his white hair to the black of youth. A John Weeks, as recorded by Wilson, who died at the ripe age of 114 years, was also blessed with a rejuvenation of the color of his hair some years before his death; the gray giving place to the brown hue of youth. Another case, reported by Sir John Sinclair, was that of a Scotchman, dying at 110 years of age, whose hair, during the latter years of his life was restored to its color of youthful days. Dr. Richards, of New York city, reports the case of a man who has had three changes of his hair from black to white, during his life, the first change occurring when about thirty- five years of age. To the Academy of Medicine, of Paris, there was reported by Dr. Bruley, in 1798, the case of a woman, 66 years of age, afflicted with phthisis, whose head hair was of a clear, silvery- white color, and which color, four days before her death, was changed to a jet black; the bulbs are stated to have been dis- tended with black pigment, and of unusual size, whilst the bulbs of the remaining fair hairs were small and shriveled up. In the Encyclopedia Metropolitana is given the case of Susan Edmonds, who, when 95 years of age, had her gray hair change to black, and then change back to gray again before her death, which occurred at 105 years. CHAPTER XI. TRICHONOSIS DECOLOR ABNORMAL COLORATION OF THE HAIR. Derivation. From the Greek words rpixoS, meaning, "of the hair," and yogoS, disease; also the Latin word decolor, from the verb meaning to deprive of color; the whole meaning "a decoloring disease of the hair." Description. Trichonosis dis (or de~) color is usually given as a synonym for canities, described in a previous chapter. I have seen fit, however, to limit its meaning to the conditions described in this chapter, viz., the chromatogenous changes in the hair other than from dark to gray. There is a condition of the hair known as " variegated hair," which is alternately banded black and white. But three or four such cases are on record. One was reported to the Royal Society, by Dr. Wilson, in 1867; it was on the person of a young lad of some eight years; the hair looked as if it were made up of dark shafts finely ringed with white. The seg- ment of the hair remaining of normal color (brown) was measured, and the band was found to be -^ of an inch in width; that of the white, something less than the j^-q of an inch; both together measured the ^§- of an inch; that is, there would be thirty-six double bands of brown and white in the space of a linear inch of the shaft. This alternate banding of the hair began to show itself when the child was between two and three years of age. There was no apparent diminution of the diameter of the hair-cylinder at the white spaces, and the perfect decoloration was seen throughout the diameter of ABNORMAL COLORATION OF THE HAIR. 129 the segment. On microscopical examination it was found that the brown segments would transmit light, whereas the white would not; a closer examination showed the white portions to be studded with minute interspaces, which were filled with air (?) In the medulla the cellular interspaces were particularly marked. The doctor reasons upon the peculiarity in this way: as the hair grows more rapidly in day-time than at night, then the brown segments must represent day-growth, and the white seg- ments night-growth. As hair usually grows but from the -^ to the -^ of an inch in a day (24 hours) we shall have to assume a more than usual rapidity of growth in this case, in order to meet the doctor's argument — not a very specious one at its best. A similar specimen of alternate marking of the hair is also preserved in the museum attached to St. Bartholomew's Hos- pital, London; Dr. Wilson's is kept in the Hunterian museum, attached to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of England. Professors Schultze and Baum have each described a case, and Dr. Landois has also written a report upon a similar case which he has seen. It is not so very unusual, after a fit of sickness which occa- sions the loss of hair, to have the new crop come in of a differ- ent hue, as well as of different texture; heads that formerly grew rather coarse, straight hair, sometimes present a secondary growth of hair of a curling tendency, or of smaller shaft. But, a few cases are on record where, without the intervention of sickness to occasion the loss of hair, the color has been changed; thus a prolonged stay in a hot or tropical climate may change the color, as well as the texture of the hair. A case is related by Bogue of a young gentleman, possessing a fine head of brown hair, going to Samatra for a few years when, on his return, his friends found it difficult to recognize him, as the 130 ABNORMAL COLORATION OF THE HAIR. brown hair of his head was replaced by that of a positive red color. Travelers long exposed to the dry atmosphere and scorching sun of Egypt, remark upon its peculiar stiffening influence upon the hair. Villerme gives a case of a young lady, thirteen years of age, who lost her head-hair; some months after a woolly product was grown from a part of the head, and brown hair from another part; after a time a part of both faded into gray, and some fell out, leaving a sad condition of affairs — a part being white and a part brown. It is impossible to account for any such freak as this. Somewhat analogous to it is the case of the Philadelphia negro, whose hair had changed from the characteristic woolli- ness of his race to that of the European, in both texture and color, and who, therefore, had the honor of being introduced to Washington. The American Journal of Pharmacy gives a case where,, after death, a head of red hair changed, in the course of a few hours, to a blonde, and, within thirty hours, finally to a gray color. As a change after illness, Alibert gives a case where red hair took the place of dark brown; another case where jet black hah* took the place of brown; but he neglects* to specify whether the k original hair was first shed, or whether the change was affected in the coloring matter of each shaft as it grew from the follicle. Dr. Isoard speaks of a deaf mute, seventeen years of age, a female, who experiences a change from a beautiful blonde head of hair to a dusky red, after each attack of fever that she is subject to. After the abatement of the fever the hair becomes gradually restored to its normal color. Green and blue hair have been described by some authorities, ABNORMAL COLORATION OF THE HAIR. 131 but these colors owe their production to the influence of the surroundings in which their subjects live; the green hair belong- ing to those who work in copper mines; and blue, to those whose occupation is cobalt mining. Workers in indigo, also, have blue hair. These colors are, of course, but on the outside of the shaft, and are, generally, easily removed by the free use of water. In Tripoli and Turkey it is said to be customary for ladies to paint the hair of their children a vermilion color. Treatment. There is but little that can be said under this head, as usually but little can be done; indeed, in many cases nothing is really so desired, as the victim of the chromato- genous change is usually well enough pleased with the color of his dress. Of course, where the change of color is clearly traced to the exposure incident to one's occupation, a change of labor, with proper cleanliness, will be sufficient to restore the hair to its normal color. The ordinary treatment for stimulat- ing the hair follicles, as recommended in the chapters on Alopecia and Canities, would also be in order. CHAPTER XII. ALOPECIA. BALDNESS. Synonyms. Trichorrea, Defluvium capillorum, Porrigo decalvans, Ophiasis, Athrix, Calvities. Derivation. Fi;om the Greek word a\G07trj% meaning a fox; so termed because the ancients noticed that foxes generally had bare spots upon the skin, due, of course, to the " mange " with which they were afflicted. History. From all time the human race has been afflicted with baldness, and it has always been looked upon as a scourge. Isaiah, 760 B. C, prophesied this calamity upon the daughters of Zion because of their iniquity (Isaiah, iii, 16-24), for instead of well set hair, baldness " was to come upon them, and a scab upon the crowns of their heads." Among this nation, the Hebrews, baldness was considered a reproach, and a person so afflicted w T as incapacitated for the priesthood; yet Elisha was bald (901 B. C, when called by Elijah), though a young man, for we read of the destruction (2d Kings, ii, 24) of the forty- two children for calling him the baldhead; this was 896 years before Christ. Moses, 1490 B. C, in writing of this (Lev. xiii, 40, 41) says: " The man whose hair is fallen off his head is bald, and yet is he clean; and he that hath the hair fallen off from the part of his head towards his face, he is forehead bald; yet is he clean; " thus plainly intimating that baldness was apt to be classed with uncleanliness (leprosy). », The ancient paintings and sculptures at Thebes also give us BALDNESS. 133 accounts of bald-headed individuals, although Herodotus plainly states that the Egyptians were never bald. Wilkinson, in his book upon the discoveries among the ruins of ancient Egypt, gives a transcript of a deed — for the Egyptians were always very careful to furnish a lengthy genealogy, and minute description of the contracting parties, as well as witnesses, when making out a conveyance of property — and which reads as follows : " Pamonthes, aged about forty-five, of middle size, dark com- plexion and handsome figure, bald, round-faced and straight- nosed," etc., etc. It was in the time of Cleopatra Cocce and Ptolemy Alexander I. that this was written; hence, you see, Herodotus was a little hasty in his conclusions. As a rule, though, the ancient Egyptians were possessors of much hair, although the males kept it pretty closely trimmed. The god of medicine, iEsculapius, and the father of medi- cine, Hippocrates, are represented as bald-headed individuals; and so far is the mistaken notion, that age necessarily denotes medical learning, now carried, that gray hairs, or the lack of hair at the top of the head, in a young medical man, is consid- ered a pretty good fortune for him to begin on. The disease was so well recognized by the ancients that Aristotle (384 B. C.) and Croesus both use the term at the head- ing of this chapter for describing the complaint; it was then a term in common use. Among the other noted Greek writers there is the sarcastic poet, Aristophanes, who alludes to himself, in his writings, as the " bald head," " the most noble of poets with a shining fore- head," etc.; no lack of arrogance there, you see. Then the great tragedy writer, iEschylus, who, in 456 B. C, came to his end by the blundering, so tradition informs us, of an eagle, which mistook the top of his bald head for a rock, and so dashed its prey, a turtle, upon it in order to break its hard I 134 BALDNESS. encasement so that it could be eaten. It is needless to say what the result was to the man, and the undoubted surprise to the eagle. Then there was the noted sculptor, Phidias (480 B. C), who was prohibited from putting his name upon his master-piece, the Athenian Minerva, and so sculptured himself upon this and other statues as an old, bald-headed man. Time has taken care of both his handiwork, his name, and his likeness, so that all have come down to us; the latter would probably have been unknown were it not for this foolish edict of the Greeks. Then the Salenites, a college of priests at Rome, instituted in honor of the god Mars, 709 B. C, thought bald- ness was a type of beauty, and so sought in various ways to obtain it; and the Roman Catholic clergy seem to have con- tinued it to this day. Another good soul, in later times, probably a bald head, took occasion to write a book proving that baldness was a virtue; the title of the book ran thus: " A Parodoxe; Proving by Reason and Example that Baldnesse is much better than Bushie Haire." This was in 1759. The gentleman's name was Abraham Fleming; he claimed it was but a translation ("Englished") from Syresius, Bishop of Thebes. This is quite possible, as the clergy have, in by-gone years, fulminated and canonaded long hair, till it would seem that there would be little left but baldness anywhere. But of this in another chapter. Then there is the great Roman general, M. Aurelius Carus (A. D. 282), who was so bald that when the Persians sent ambassadors to his camp, seeking favor- able treaty, he replied to them, doffing his head-covering at the time, that if they did not submit at once, he would make their country as bare of trees and corn as his own head was of hair. But probably the best plea ever uttered in behalf of baldness was made by the stoic philosopher, Zeno (B. C, 363), when he A BALD-HEADED RACE. 135 prevailed upon his brother Carthagenian philosopher, Herillus, to shave his pate, in order that by so doing he might disgust his followers, and so save himself from being like a comet, — with a tail of admirers. A BALD-HEADED RACE. The Sidney Mnpire, February 9th, 1862, of Australia, gives this account of a race of bald men discovered in the interior of the continent, one of whom, from beyond the Balonne river, in company with the explorer, Mr. M'Kay, visited the Empires office. The individual was a young man of some seventeen years, although he looked older; there was not a hair upon his head, neither .was there a trace of hirsutic growth upon his body. There was a black, ingrained look to the scalp, as if the roots of the hair remained; but Mr. M'Kay averred this was merely the result of a dirty cloth he was used to wearing on his head, as, when washed, it was as smooth as a billiard ball. The whole contour of the face, form of the head, expression, color of the skin, and listless, almost sullen attitude proclaimed him plainly enough as one of a Mongolian race. He was wanting the thick lips, large and rapid eyes, broad-spread nose and deep brown skin of the native Australian. His skin was a yellow-brown, as if a mixture of the Mongolian and Australian element. Mr. M'Kay had seen over a half dozen of the tribe, one of which was a woman, and all bore the same characteristics, save a little greater height in stature. It had long been a common report in Sidney, that an aboriginal race of bald-headed individuals existed in the western interior; but this was the first that any had been seen of them in the city. It is supposed that his race are the result of the union of Mongolian fishermen or sailors, who got shipwrecked upon the Australian coast many years before, with the aborigi- 136 THE THREE VARIETIES OF BALDNESS. nal Australians; hence the beardless, hairless progeny now seen. Description. The subject proper is divisible into three gen- eral heads: I. Alopecia Vulgaris, or the ordinary progressive and gen- eral thinning of the hair. II. Alopecia Circumscripta, or circumscribed baldness. III. Alopecia Senilis, or senile baldness (calvities, as it is generally called). Besides these three general classes there are the following subheads, useful only for classification or description, and have been in use for centuries: Madesis, or Maderosis, from the Greek verb /j-adaoo, sec- ondary meaning, " I am bald; " it is used to denote a transient loss of hair, speedily followed by a new growth of downy hairs. Anaphalacrosis, from the Greek ava, having the adverbial meaning of backwards; and (paXaxpcoGiS, baldness; it is used to denote baldness beginning at the forehead and extending back to the crown. Phalacrosis, from the Greek cpakanpGOGiS meaning baldness, and derived from cpaXoZ, the upper portion of the helmet. The term is used to denote baldness beginning at the crown. Hemiphalacrosis, from the Greek (paXaxpaoffi? meaning as above; and r/piira meaning the half, or the half of the head; and the term is used to denote baldness of one side of the head. Opisthophalacrosis from the Greek words omaQe and cpaXanpoDGiS meaning, respectively, behind or back, and bald- ness; and the whole used to denote baldness beginning at the occiput, or back of the head. Ophiasis, from the Greek cxpiaGiZ, meaning a bald place, of serpentine form, at the back of the head; it is used to denote BALDNESS. 137 baldness extending in serpentine lines from the occiput to the ears. Atrichia, from the Greek a primitive, meaning without, and QpiB, hair, is a term used to denote the absence or deficiency of hair from the whole body, or from parts of it. In man this is not a usual condition of affairs; though the author has seen one case where there was entire absence of hair from the whole body; it was in a middle-aged man. The party had had a full head of hair until six or seven years of age, when he was taken with a severe fever, remaining out of his head for a long period of time. When he recovered, his hair began to come out in patches all over his scalp. Remedies were tried in vain to induce a new growth, and before he reached the age of sixteen his scalp was completely bald. When eighteen years of age, being then in India, he was again taken with fever; when he recovered from this his eyebrows, and the hair upon his arms, legs and body began to come out, and to this day (he is now about forty-five years of age) there has not since been a vestige of hair-growth. There has been nothing of the kind in his family, and his children (three in number) have as fine heads of hair as is usually seen upon persons of their age. Cottle gives a case of a family of four sons and five daughters, that were otherwise healthy and well developed, where, hir- sutically, they were arranged thus: The 1st, a boy, had nor- mal hair and in abundance; the 2d, a boy with woolly hair; the 3d, a boy with woolly hair; the 4th, a girl, completely hairless ; the 5th, a girl with woolly hair; the 6th, a girl with normal hair development; the 7th, a girl with woolly hair; the 8th, a boy with normal hair in normal quantity; the 9th, a girl with scant woolly hair. The woolly hair in all these cases was short and extremely fine. The parents had normal hair, and the 138 ALOPECIA VULGARIS. children, having reached middle age and married, have not transmitted their peculiarities to their offspring. In some instances, from disease, there will be a total loss of hair, but these cases will be spoken of under another head in this chapter. The term Atrichia should be limited to the con- genital want of hair, in its application. Some races of animals are particularly noted for the wanting of hair upon their bodies, as the Mexican dogs, also the African dogs and hogs, and a species of horse found in Little Thibet. This last is quite remarkable, as, usually, hairless animals are dwellers in tropical regions. No hair follicles are found in the skins of these ani- mals. Sometimes, after a few years of this absence of hair, the follicles will produce a few fine, stunted hairs over the bald places; the condition of affairs is then known as Oligotrichia, from the Greek words oAiyoS and dpi^, genitive form rpz^o?, meaning, respectively, " fewness," and " of the hair." It is said that this congenital lacking of hair occurs con- jointly with a lacking of proper dental development. This, contrasted with the fact that the teeth are either poorly or latently developed in the cases of polytrichia, or individuals covered with hair, would also seem a little singular. There is, no doubt, an intimate connection between the growth of the hair and the teeth; but why the result should be exactly the same under such opposite conditions, as regards the teeth, is yet unknown to physiologists. I. Alopecia Vulgaris. Description. This is the form of hair-loss seen, usually, in young adults, or those just reaching middle age; if in the aged, it may occur in those whose hair has not previously turned ALOPECIA VULGARIS. 139 gray; if turned gray the loss of hair would come under another head, that of Senile Alopecia, which is described further on. As a rule, the light-haired individuals, from the fact that their hairs are finer, and hence more numerous to the square inch of surface, are more prone to the loss of their head-cover- ing than dark-haired persons. The hair usually begins to come out on the combing or brushing of it; finally, it will be found on the clothing in quite free quantities, showing there is pretty free involvement of the follicles of the scalp. _ It is generally of the phalacrosis variety ; it is usually seen in our busy, young business-men, or in an overtaxed mother, or in a young lady of delicate constitu- tion. The reason that ladies are not more generally subject to this annoyance is, undoubtedly, owing to the physiological fact that their bodies are less freely supplied with hair, and hence there is more hair-forming material furnished the scalp than in men. Another reason is that they are less subject to business worry, and do not heat their heads up continually with hats devoid of ventilation; the air gets more freely about the scalp and the roots of a woman's hair than man's, from the fact that they less frequently cover their heads. As a rule, a bald-headed father transmits his peculiarity only to his male offspring; whereas women, so afflicted, rarely trans- mit hairless tendencies, though they do other bodily malforma- tions, to their offspring. It is also a noteworthy fact, too, that the tendency to baldness develops earlier in the life of each succeeding generation than the one preceding; thus, if the father was bald at thirty-six, the son will be pretty sure to be so at thirty-four, and so on. Pinkus, in Virchow's Archives, has paid this subject minute attention. He divides hair into two groups; 1st, the Spitz- haare, or that which is pointed, and has not been cut / this does 140 ALOPECIA VULGARIS. not exceed two inches in length. Such hairs are of slow growth, and remain from four to nine months, and are usually found at the scalp-borders. 2d, The Scheeren-haare, or that which has been cut (represented by the long hair of women), and which usually remains in the follicles from two to four years, that being the average life-time. ISTow, a ratio of daily loss of the Spitzhaare, compared with the Scheeren-haare, of from one to eight, is abnormal when the average length of the head hair is five inches; hence, by counting the hairs combed or brushed out daily, and separating the Spitzhaare from the Seheeren-Jiaare you can get the amount of capillary defluvium present, in a given case, and can, by comparing the two kinds of hair, know whether the defluvium is in excess of normal. In a case where the fallen hairs were counted for eight days, it was found that from the healthy side of the head 108 were lost; on the diseased portion, 227 came out in the same time; on the healthy side the portion of Spitzhaare was one to four; on the diseased side, as one to one. Furthermore, it will be found in Alopecia Vulgaris, that the hairs, as regards their diameters, decrease in size; also that the skin becomes paler, and apparently of less thickness. Causes. These are multitudinous. Sometimes it may be owing to abuse in dressing the hair, as crimping it too tightly, burning it with curling irons, or the use of irritating coloring matters, and the like; or it may be due to the " old age" of the hair itself; for hair, as well as man, has its time of ripen- ing, age, and death. When it becomes fully developed, and its life matured, it becomes contracted just above the bulb, and falls out; the life germ, of course, remaining to fill the emptied follicle with a new hair at no distant time. Among the more usual exciting causes can be mentioned disease, enervating habits, mental worry, and loss of normal nerve nutrition. The worry of ALOPECIA VULGARIS. 141 the accountant over his books, the merchant over his sales, the lawyer over his cases, the physician over his practice, the min- ister over his charge, all these are prominent factors in the cause of Alopecia Vulgaris. The reason is that there is not sufficient blood brought to the papilla of the hair-shaft, and hence the cell formation, at the root of the hair, is not rapid enough to keep the hair follicle properly distended, so as it can perform its proper office of moulding the cells to the formation of a proper shaft; hence, at this interval, whether marked by ill-health or not, the follicle, through its circulary compressing fibres, strangles, or cuts in two, the mass of soft hair-cells, just forming into a hair-shaft, and the hair falls out as the result. Often there is a little bulb seen at the end of the hair, after it has been subjected to this choking off process; this has led some observers to say that the root has been thrown out; but this is not the case; were it so, then there would be no regrowth of the hair, for when the root is once destroyed, hair-life can never be regenerated in that follicle. (See page 25.) The loss of hair following fevers, and other debilitating dis- eases, takes place in much the same manner; and as the result of the weakened state of the forming papillae, the regrowth is apt to be of different color or shape; after a time, though, when the hair-forming organs regain their usual vigor, the normal color is usually wont to return. Loss of hair, through head neuralgias, as is common to many of our ladies, is in the same manner. The proper amount of blood is not carried to the new cell-forming papilla, it is also vitiated, and the nervous excitement, indicated by pain, causes a reflex contraction of the skin about the follicle, and hence the hair is girdled, and so falls out. Doubtless the change in color of the hair, through excitement, occurs from the same cause. When the excitement is calmed a normal blood circulation and 142 ALOPECIA VULGARIS. nerve action ensues, hence the normal color-cells are secreted in their normal abundance, and, as a result, the color is restored. I believe the physiological action of the two to be similar, differ- ing only in degree; if continued long enough, loss of hair would be the result. I have a patient under care now, a young married lady, with uterine disease, where the hair becomes very gray on the second morning following an attack of this head pain — at the top of the head — but in a day or two returns to its normal color (brown). If the pain were continued long enough I doubt not that the final result would be local baldness, through the malnutrition of the follicles. In proof of this I cite the follow- ing case: Nayler gives an instance of a lady, in middle age, suffering from headaches, radiating from the temple to the crown, who had a total loss of hair over the seat of pain. In six months, after the neuralgia was cured, the hair grew rapidly again, though it was white in color; this gradually changed, however, to its normal hue. Syphilis is also a well-known cause for the loss of hair, though it is not the common cause, as is often asserted. For centuries the loss of hair following this disease was not noticed; thus, Brassa (1533) writes that " venereal symptoms have been observed which render it doubtful whether the disease is declining, or whether it has changed its character. The first of these symptoms is the falling off of the hair. One cannot help laughing at seeing men without beards, eyebrows or eye- lashes." Francastor (Venice, 1546) writes this concerning the loss of hair in syphilis: " A circumstance which has astonished every- body is the falling off of the hair of the head and of the body," and yet syphilis had been known over a thousand years before Francastor's time. ALOPECIA VULGARIS. 143 The great anatomist, Fallopius (after whom the Fallopian tubes are named), writing in 1574 says: "During the last forty years there was no falling out of the hair; but it commenced about thirty years ago," that is about the year 1544. In syphilitic alopecia the hair begins to come out over the temporal regions, afterwards upon other parts of the body, if the system is pretty thoroughly under the constitutional influ- ence of the poison. The condition of the hair bulbs, if exam- ined, will be similar to that previously given in this chapter; sometimes you will find, in addition to the narrowing of the intra-follicular portion of the shaft, a deposit of fatty, granular matter about the bulbous portion ; this is mostly fatty detritus, from the broken down epithelium of the follicle, and the new- forming, but unhealthy, hair-cells. Of course the use of a microscope is needed to make such a minute examination, for to the unaided eye nothing abnormal may be detected. Parturient women are another class prone to attacks of alopecia; and I have very frequently seen such losses of hair occur concomitantly with an ulcerated or inflamed uterus. The headaches, of neuralgic character, probably have much to do with the loss of hair in these subjects, for headache, especially that of a heavy burning weight, though sometimes of a throb- bing character, at the top of the head, or at the back of the head and neck, is almost a constant accompaniment of an irritated uterus; in fact, a pain here, of the character indicated, is a pathognomonic sign of uterine disease. After the uterine irritation was cured, the headaches have ceased, and, conse- quently, the hair has returned. The hair is apt to be dry in these cases, the ends to split up, and the scalp to be scurvy, all owing to the faulty nervous action in the parts; for with per- verted nervous action you can never expect a proper blood supply to any part of the body. The hairs, then, are literally 144 BALDNESS. starved, by a slow process to be sure, and hence drop out, or become stunted, rough and brittle in their growth. Dr. Douglass, of this city, gives me this brief history of two such cases: "The first, Mrs. D., aged 28; mother of four chil- dren; usually healthy; has always menstruated regularly and easily; she also has short and easy labors. From childhood she was subject to itching spots upon the head, followed by com- plete loss of hair in these places. It grew in again, sometimes lighter in color, but returned to its original color subsequently. When her first child was born she had a full head of hair, but three months afterwards lost it all; and it has never returned, now seven years, except in small tufts of dark-colored hair upon the top of her head. The balance of the scalp is entirely bare. " The other case is that of Mrs. F., married, aged 34; mother of one child, aged seven months. Previous to marriage, which took place seven months before her child was born, she held a good position, in a very wealthy family, as cook. He attended her in an easy, short labor, but was much struck at the great mental distress she evinced from her child being born two months sooner than the neighbors expected. She felt her posi- tion acutely, and expressed to him, though a stranger to her, her extreme anguish. She continued to fret about her shame, and, in three months from her labor, she lost every hair from her head. When he examined her at six months from labor, she had a fine crop of snow-white hair, about half an inch long, upon the scalp. Previously her hair was very thick, long and dark- colored. Her eyebrows and lashes have also nearly disap- peared, and, where returning, are pure white and very fine. She is a large, healthy woman, and has always enjoyed the best of health." This is somewhat similar to the case given at the bottom of page 119. Heart disease, or aortic disease, is another cause of this ALOPECIA VULGARIS. 145 variety of alopecia. The physiological reason is clear enough, as the proper blood supply is interfered with; in fact, the whole system suffers. It has also been noticed that the nails, organs in every way similar to the hair, have been shed after the plug- ging of the brachial artery by an embolus; it is also reasonable to suppose the hair would have been similarly lost, had any of the scalp arteries been similarly stopped, unless collateral circu- lation had been quite thoroughly established. This would have resulted in local or circumscribed baldness, and which will be more thoroughly treated of in the following section. Violent grief, fear, or other nervous excitement, may also pro- duce a loss of hair. The change of color to gray is undoubtedly the first step in this process. Nerve injuries, as by gunshot or sabre wounds, are also other causes for the loss of hair from the parts to which the nerves are distributed. Indeed, Von Barensprung regards alopecia as a nervous lesion. In a case reported of concussion of the brain, following a railroad injury, where there were some hemiplegic convulsions and delirium for some six weeks, and for a year or so there- after a persistent headache, the patient suddenly, one morning when shaving, had his beard fall out; this was soon afterward followed by the total loss of hair from his head, chest and body. Yoigt has also shown that the loss of hair in old persons follows a general order or route, keeping closely upon the track of the distribution of certain of the cutaneous nerves. Steinruch has also shown, by experiments upon rabbits, that when the ischiatic nerve is severed, no growth of hair takes place upon that limb. Ravaton gives a case of amaurosis of one eye, from concussion of the head, followed by a total loss of hair upon that side of the head. A curious case of complete alopecia is reported in the Gazette 146 ALOPECIA VULGARIS. des Hopitaux. A girl, aged seventeen, who bad always enjoyed good health, had one day a narrow escape from being crushed, by a floor giving way beneath her. She was very much fright- ened, and the same night began to complain of headache and chills. The next morning she felt restless, and had irritation of the scalp. During the following day she steadily improved, with the exception of the irritation. Afterwards, when comb- ing her hair, she noticed that it came out in great quantities. Five days later she had lost all her hair. Her general health was good. The patient remained bald, and was still so when seen, two years later, by the reporter. An English officer, aged thirty-six, healthy in other ways, fell a victim to sunstroke in India, and shortly after an attack of slight cold, he lost his beard, eyebrows, eyelashes and hair; the skin of the body becoming almost transparent. After lightning-stroke the hair is apt to be shed. Bouden relates an instance where a vessel was struck, and the captain, M. Rihouet, was severely injured therefrom at the time. The next day, when he went to shave, his beard all came out, instead of being cut off by the razor, and never returned. Soon the hair of the scalp followed, then the eyebrows, eyelashes, and the hair from the rest of the body; the following year the nails from the fingers were shed, though those on the toes were not affected. Sir Benj. Brodie gives an instance of two bul- locks, spotted white and red, that were struck by lightning, in different storms; and it is remarkable that in both cases the red haired spots escaped injury whilst the white hairs were all con- sumed (see page 114). Possibly, to this same fact, as recorded on pages 113 and 114, this old jangle owes its origin: If a horse have " One white foot, buy him; Two white feet, try him ; Three white feet, deny him; Four white feet, and a white nose, Take off his hide, and throw him to the crows." ALOPECIA VULGARIS. 147 Treatment. This is as varied as the causes are various. Yet, as the thinning of the hah* follows a more or less vitiated con- stitution, the first thing to be done is to build that up by tonics, the most important of which are the ferruginous preparations. The circulation in the scalp has become sluggish, hence this is to be stimulated; and the hair, what is left, must be put under strict hygienic relations, for which see chapter upon that subject. When the tendency to early baldness is found to be inherited, it will be less amenable to treatment than any of the other forms of this variety of alopecia, and our prognosis should be rendered accordingly. If it is found that the loss is dependent upon syphilis, this should at once be treated constitutionally, and the treatment be kept up for six months or a year. This should only be attempted under the supervision of a competent physician. Proper local stimulants should also be applied to the scalp, using some one of those given further on, or something similar to them; this done, a full return of hair can be expected in a few months. If alopecia follows a fever, proper local treatment will gen- erally, with tonics internally, prove successful in inducing a new growth, as the hair papillae, except in ulcerative skin troubles, are not destroyed. So, too, as regards a loss of hair from uterine troubles; if these are relieved, then the hair will soon fill the follicles with a new, and oftentimes, a more vigorous growth. As regards a loss following nerve injuries, or shock, as those cases detailed on page 145, not much hope can be entertained for a new growth. Still, treatment might be attempted. Coming now to the more general class, as those who have no special disease, or lesion, except a gradual failing of the systemic powers, and where the hair comes out freely on brush- 148 ALOPECIA VULGARIS. ing or combing,' I would offer the following as a proper line of treatment: If you are an accountant, take fewer hours at your desk, more in the open air; the hair makes a good barometer (in truth, aneroid barometers are made from hair) for the state of health, as well as of the atmosphere, and when you thus find it being progressively shed, look carefully to your occupation, to see if that is not the cause. If you are indoors a great deal, get in warmer friendship with your gun, rod and line, and horse, or even take a relaxation trip. Don't wear your hat in the counting-room, or store; go bare-headed as much as you can, and have your hat a ventilated one. If you are using tobacco excessively, put the breaks on there; be temperate in all things, and above all secure a good night's rest; court sleep, "Tired nature's sweet restorer That knits up the unraveled sleeve of care." There is nothing like good, sound sleep to recuperate the nervous system, for this is the system that is first out of order when the hair begins to fall. Leave your figures in your office; don't take them to bed with you to dream over; or if you are an inventor, or writer, don't make your bed-room your study- room, or your meal-time a convenient time for straightening out that kink, plot, or ledger discrepancy. Take three full hours every day to eat your breakfast, dinner and supper in, and a mile walk after each,' if possible. All this done, and if yet you feel tired and exhausted, go to some physician who will look your case over for you, and see what organs are still at fault. The bowels should be kept regular, and for this purpose there is no remedy less harmless, or more to be depended on, than one of the Rhamni, thus: 1$. Fl. ext. rhamni Purshianaa (cascara sagrada), vel (or) FU ext. rhamni frangulae (buckthorn bark), § ij (2 ounces). Syrupi simp, (simple syrup), Aq. cinnamomi (cinnamon water), aa. (of each) 1 j (1 ounce). M, S. Dessertspoonful before breakfast, or three times a day if necessary. ALOPECIA VULGARIS. 149 Instead of this, oil, epsom salts, rhubarb, seltzer or Hunyadi water might be employed. As tonics, Peruvian bark and iron are among the best. The following is a very common pre- scription with me: R\ Tr. cinchonae comp. (compound tr. cinchona), |ij (2 ounces). Ferri citratis (citrate of iron), 3 hj (3 drachms). Tr. nucis vomicae (tr. nux vomica), 3 iss {1)4 drachms). Vim Xerici (sherry wine), \ iij (3 ounces). M. Teaspoonful one-half an hour after meals. Besides, the head should be kept in as cleanly and hygienic condition as possible; for this read the chapters upon Dandruff, Seborrhoea and Hygiene of the hair. Among the many local applications that could be given, the following I have found to prove of great value: R. Tr. cantharidis (tr. Spanish fly), 3 ij (2 drachms). Tr. nucis vomicae (tr. nux vomica), § ss (^ ounce). Tr. capsici (tr. capsicum), 3 j (1 drachm). 01. ricini (castor oil), 1 iss (1^£ ounces). ■ Aq. cologniensis (cologne water), § ij (2 ounces). M. S. . Liniment. To be applied with a piece of sponge, night and morning, after brushing the hair. If the oil is an objectionable feature, as it is with some, bay rum (spr. myrciaB) may be substituted. Cocoa oil and coco- oleine also make good substitutes. A preparation of arsenic, given internally, is also of great benefit in most of these cases. It should not, however, be pre- scribed indiscriminately. The following makes a very eligible mixture, combining all other tonics with it: R. Liq. potassii arsenitis (Fowler's solution), 3 iss (1}4 drachms). Ferri citratis (citrate of iron), 3 ij (2 drachms). Tr. nucis vomicae (tr. nux vomica), 3 j (1 drachm). Tr. cinchonae comp., q. s. ad f iv (enough to make 4 ounces).. M. S. Teaspoonful three times a day, after meals. The following, recommended by Tilbury Fox, is an excellent application for the scalp, though a little strong: 150 ALOPECIA VULGARIS. R\ Tr. cantharidis (tr. Spanish fly), 1 j (1 ounce). Aceti destil. (distilled vinegar), § iss (1^ ounces). Glycerini (glycerine), 1 iss (1]4 ounces). Spr. rosmarini (spirits rosemary), 5 iss (1V£ ounces). Aquae rosae (rose water), q. s. ad § viij (enough to make 8 ounces). M. S. Lotion. To be well rubbed into the scalp, night and morning. Prof. Erasmus Wilson recommends the following: R\ Lq. ammonias (spr. hartshorn), Chloroformi, Ol. amygdalae dulcis (sweet almond oil), aa. (of each) 1 j (1 ounce). Spr. rosmarini (spr. rosemary), 5 v (5 ounces). This is to be rubbed into the roots of the hair, after brushing the scalp. Undoubtedly it is too strong for most scalps, and it will need to be diluted about one-half, before applying. Cologne water, or rose water, may be used for this purpose. Dr. Pincus suggests the following treatment in the first stage, of premature baldness. (This stage is recognized by a daily loss of under fifty hairs, by diminished sensibility to pressure, and, after a time, by commencing hardness and immo- bility of the scalp) : a solution of caustic potash, one part to five hundred of water, or fifteen grains of the bicarbonate of potash to an ounce of water. Two or three drachms of this solution is to be rubbed into the scalp from three to five minutes daily. After a time this may be done every other day, and then only once a week. If this is continued for a year or more, he avers, the baldness is arrested, and, in some cases, the lost hair is fully restored. Or the following is also a useful lotion: R\ Liq. ammonii acetatis (spr. Mindererus), § ij (2 ounces). Ammonii carb. (carbonate of ammonia), 3 ss (}4 drachm). Glycerini (glycerine), 1 ss {% ounce). 01. ricini (castor oil), 1 ss (J^ ounce). Spr. myrciae (bay rum), I v (5 ounces). M. S. Lotion. Apply to roots of the hair, night and morning, with sponge, after brushing thoroughly. BALDXESS. 151 The following is also another very good lotion: R. Tr. iodinii comp. (compound tr. iodine), 3 ij (2 drachms). Tr. cantharidis (tr. Spanish fly), 3 ij (2 drachms). Spir. myrciae (bay rum), § iss (1^ ounces). Aq. cologniensis (cologne water), § ij (2 ounces). M. S. Apply to the bald portion of the scalp twice a day. Pomades are sometimes ordered, but I do not like these, as a rule, as they mat the hair together more than lotions, and make it too greasy for the comfort of the user. Still, the following, when these features are not objectionable, will be very useful: B. Tr. iodinii (tr. iodine), 3 ij (2 drachms). Pulv. cantharidis (powdered Spanish fly), 3 ss Q4 drachm). Acidi tannici (tannic acid), 3 j (1 drachm). 01. bergami (oil bergamont), gtts. xx (20 drops). Vaselini (vaseline), I ij (2 ounces). M. S. Apply to the head night and morning In oriental countries falling out of hair is prevented by the use of an ointment consisting of the bruised fresh bulbs of Asphodelus bulbosus, or of garlic, mixed with gunpowder. An infusion of the small leaves of the lemon or orange tree, in red wine, has likewise proved serviceable, about twenty grains of tannin having been added to the quart of this aromatic wine. What has been said regarding the medical treatment of alopecia in men, is equally applicable to the cases occurring in the opposite sex. Ladies, however, must forego the use of the crimping pins and curling iron, as well the use of bleach- ing or coloring agents. The hair should be done up loosely or suffered to hang down undressed. As the Manillians have the longest, blackest and most glossy hair of any nationality, and do not bind or curl it tightly to the head, but allow it to fall back behind, in its own natural looseness, it follows, then, if our ladies would wish to preserve their hair as long as possible, that they should imitate the Manillians in this 152 ALOPECIA VULGARIS. custom. The tonic systemic treatment is just as necessary in their cases as in the cases of men, and the preceding formula?, are as good as any. Out-door exercise should also be regularly taken; if family cares are crowding too closely upon them, a trip to the sea-side will be beneficial. Worrying or fretting over any matter only makes the fall of the hair worse, hence all this should be avoided as much as possible. Good, healthy, plain food only should be taken; eating of sweet- meats, late hours at the ball-room, and kindred enervating practices, should be abandoned, and a stay of eight hours in bed be taken each night, till the system becomes recuperated. In cleansing the head and hair, as it should be done every week or ten days, in summer time, less often in winter, there is nothing better than the yolk of an egg, beaten up in a little water, and rubbed thoroughly over the scalp and through the hair on a bit of sponge, and then the whole rinsed with warm water, and dried by pressing between cotton or linen towels. The ends of the hairs, if they split/ should be trimmed off an inch or so and thus kept back until this tendency is overcome. In brushing the hair, only a soft brush should be used; but this used carefully will be found to bring a warm glow to the scalp, and thus materially aid recovery; for it is the aim of the whole treatment for alopecia to quicken the sluggish circulation in the scalp. Electricity applied, with proper care, to the scalp by means of a wet sponge, one of the poles of the battery being placed at the nape of the neck, will also be found of service in stimu- lating the nervous action, and thus increase the amount of blood sent to each hair follicle, and its papilla. The loss of the hair through any of the parasitic or inflam- matory diseases, or dandruff, will be treated of in the chapters specially devoted to these subjects, as this does not properly come under the head of Alopecia Vulgaris. ALOPECIA CIRCUMSCRIPTA. 153 II. Alopecia Circumscripta (circumscribed baldness). Description. This form of hair-loss is denoted by bald (more or less circular) patches seen in the hair or beard. It should not be confounded with the disease known as tinea alopecia, described in a following chapter, as this is a very different dis- ease. The tinea alojDecia is a parasitic disease; the loss of hair being due to a vegetable growth, and is contagious; whereas, in alopecia circumscripta the loss is due to a nervous lesion, in most cases, and is not contagious. In this class should be placed the Ophiasis (from the Greek ocpiaffiS meaning serpen- tine or snake-shaped) of the ancients, and which is so graphi- cally described by Celsus (B. C. 30) thus: "That which, from its likeness to a serpent, is called ophiasis, begins at the back part of the head, and with a width of not over two lingers' breadth ; from here it creeps up behind the ears, and, sometimes, even up to the forehead, where the two heads are joined together." "Oftentimes," he says, "this form disappears with- out any treatment, though some gently scarify them with a knife; others anoint them with an escharotic, mixed with oil; especially that of burnt paper. Others apply turpentine or resin with thapsia." Celsus recommends close shaving of the scalp, as he thinks this bares the roots of the hair, and then he rubs sulphate of copper over them. This disease is more often seen in women, especially the ophiasic variety, than in men; the probable cause being that they are more susceptible to perverted nervous influences. Headaches are more common with them, and, in the majority of cases, these are but symptoms of other nervous derangements. It is frequently seen in children of from five to ten years of age; from a record of the cases kept at the hospital for diseases of the skin, in London, it was found that out of every sixteen 154 ALOPECIA CIRCUMSCRIPTA. cases presented, thirteen cases were females, even at this early age; of the cases from ten to fifteen years of age, two cases in females were met with to one in males. It is quite frequently seen to succeed some of the eruptive diseases of childhood, and sometimes accompanies ascarides in the rectum. The appearance of the bald spots is that of an atrophy, or shrinkage, of the skin; it appears thinner than normal, and of a shining white color; the follicles are so shrunken as to appear absent; sensibility is also diminished ; no special pain attends the course of the disease, and local anaemia is so marked that only quite severe friction, or strong irritants, will induce a healthy glow in the diseased parts. If the bulbous portion of the hair is examined miscroscopi- cally, it will be found attenuated, instead of rounded out full with an abundance of newly formed hair-cells; the hair itself will be harsh and dry, and easily knotted and broken. Treatment. Constitutional treatment will often be found necessary; if the menstrual functions be not properly performed, they must be at once set right; if uterine irritation is the cause, or a prime factor, in the head neuralgias, this must receive its proper local and constitutional treatment. If in children worms, or choreic symptoms, are present, these must be gotten rid of ; if constipation is present, the presciption given on page 148 will prove of great value. Proper hygienic rules should be adopted; in fact, everything tending to build up the general health is of service. The bark and iron tonic mentioned on page 149 will also prove of service here. Some of the emulsions of cod-liver oil, especially that com- bined with the hypophosphites of lime and soda, will be useful. As a local treatment, painting the bare patches with the pure tincture of iodine (iodinii tinctura) twice a day, till irritation ALOPECIA CIRCUMSCRIPTA. 155 is set up, will be of good service; tincture of Spanish fly (tinctura cantharidis) , applied in the same way, only washed off a half an hour after each application, will also prove a useful stimulant to the bare portion of the scalp, and so invite more blood to the hair, follicles; or, if the trouble prove quite rebellious, a blister of the officinal cantharidis emplastrum (Spanish fly plaster), to cover the bald spot, will prove of estimable service. In these cases electricity proves of special value; keep one pole of the battery, usually the positive, at the nape of the neck, and the other, surmounted with a dampened sponge, over the bald spots for two or three minutes at a time; then change the positive pole to the back of each ear, alternately under it and in front of it, and also over the eyebrows, keeping it at each point for two or three minutes; by so doing you cover the origin of most of the external cutaneous nerves of the scalp. Of course but a mild current can be used, as it will else give too much pain; still, the sensation should savor somewhat of the painful in order to get the full effect of the battery. Either the Faradic or constant current can be employed; a change from one to the other will also be bene- ficial. Acetic acid is sometimes of value, if painted on the bare places and kept there till stinging is produced, when it can be washed off with a bit of sponge and warm water. This should be applied every day or two. Carbolic acid, similarly applied, though no washing off is necessary, unless the extent of surface be large, will also be useful. A superficial exfoliation of the cuticle will follow this, if used undiluted, though this will only be beneficial. The officinal unguentum hydrargyri oxidi rubri (red precipitate ointment) is also a good stimulating appli- cation. 156 ALOPECIA SENILIS. Prof. Wilson has also recommended friction of the following liniment, to the bare places, daily: I£. Linimenti aconiti (aconite liniment), " ammonias, " camphorae, " chloroformi, aa. 1 j (of each 1 ounce). M. S. External use. After the downy hair begins to grow out from the follicles of the bare places (usually in from four to six weeks), it should be kept clipped short for a time, and less severe irritants then used locally to the patches. Any of the lotions spoken of on pages 91, 125, 126, will then be in order. The phenomenon of seeing the bald patches being covered with a new growth of hair, while new bald places are forming, is sometimes seen in this disease. III. Alopecia Senilis. Description. This is the name of the form of baldness seen in aged individuals. It is sometimes termed calvities, and is due to the general wasting of all the vital functions; it is especially marked by a shrinking, or atrophy of the scalp. The hair first becomes gray, before a loss of this kind occurs, the commencing point being at the top of the head. In old people the fat cells are lessened in size and number, especially those that are placed subcutaneously;- the shrinking of these accounts, in great part, for the atrophy of the skin in such individuals; as a result of this the circulation is lessened, the scalp becomes dry and the hair follicles shrunken, or even entirely obliterated. Treatment. Little, I am sorry to say, can be done to cure this complaint. Preventative measures, however, when the hair begins to fall out, may be of a good deal of service in delaying the final loss of the comate covering. As the chief ALOPECIA SENILIS. 157 direct cause of the complaint is a diminution of blood supply to the hair papillae, and follicles, its free circulation about the hair roots should be encouraged in all ways possible by the use of stimulating embrocations and frictions to the scalp. A soft brush should be used, night and morning, upon the scalp, before it is applied. As a continuous dressing the lotion given on page 149, without perhaps quite so much oil, should follow the use of the brush. The stronger lotion, mentioned on page 140, could occasionally be employed with benefit. As the loss of fatty tissue is another common accompaniment of old age, the adoption of a diet suitable for the production of fat should be encouraged. Good roast beef, the fat to it, soups made with the marrow left in the bones, and even pork- fat are all good fat makers when eaten; so, too, the starchy grains and vegetables. Healthy, out-door, exercise should also be regularly taken. Yet, it must be remembered that in spite of all treatment and hygienic measures, the hair will come out sometime, since it is as natural for it to grow old and pass away as for the human body to grow wrinkled and aged, and ripe for the tomb. For "Age comes like snow, As still, and carves each careworn line ; Its wrinkles on the brow will grow,— The hair with silvery threads will shine ; The eyes their brightness lose,— the hand Grow dry and tremulous and thin ; For Life, alas, is quickly spanned, And Death its gates soon closes in." CHAPTER XIII. COLORING, OR DYEING, THE HAIR. General Remarks. When it is found that the measures recommended in the preceding chapters are of no avail in checking the appearance of gray hairs, the aid of dyes is sought, by many, to hide this tell-tale story of " How long with Time we've been." From time immemorial hair-dyeing has been practiced (though some have ascribed its origin to Medea), not only to cover up the whitening, tell-tale hairs of Age, but even to give a new cast of color to the head-covering that Nature has given us. The ancient Greeks and Romans sanctioned it; for the saintly Tertullian, of Carthage, had occasion to reprimand his flock because " they were continually engaged in giving their hair a lighter color." St. Jerome, living a couple of centuries later, wrote that "the people dye their hair red." JElian inci- dentally refers to the same coloring process, when he speaks of the beauteous blonde tresses of Atalanta, in saying that they were " yellow, not produced by any womanly art, but altogether natural." Solomon, so Josephus says, was the first to bring into notice golden hair, for he had the hair of his pages powdered with gold. And the Musselman, likewise, deems it almost a sacred duty to dye his hair and beard a reddish-yellow color. The satirical Martial (A. D. 40) writes thus to his friend Latinus: " You ape youth with your dyed hair; and you who were but recently a swan, have suddenly become a crow ! But COLORING, OR DYEING, THE HAIR. 159 you cannot deceive every one; Proserpina knows the hoary head you are, and will snatch the mask from you." To a lady friend the same satirist once^ wrote, sending a true golden lock with it: f " Your hair, Lesbia, indeed the golden hue hath taken; But I send a genuine lock, to prove your dye mistaken." It is also reported that when the gray-haired sculptor, Miron, sued for the hand of the beautiful Lais, and was refused, he supposed his white locks were the ground for his unacceptable pleading; so next day he appeared with them dyed to a raven black, and pressed his suit anew, only to be laughed at for his silliness with, "How can I grant you to-day what I refused your father yesterday." Venice, especially mediaeval Venice, has done more towards dyeing the hair than any other nationality. It was nothing unusual to see a black-eyed beauty on the balcony, with a crownless hat, letting the sun bleach out her hair as it lay disheveled over the brim. To Dye Hair Black. It must not be supposed that any of the dyes given on the following pages can be used indiscrimi- nately, or with little or no caution. Most of them are poison- ous, and have to be used with great care. Daniel Turner, writing over a century ago, says: "In the use of coloring, staining and dyeing of the hairs, and indeed in all the other administrations about them, great care is to be had of the brain, lest while we are busy about adorning those excrementitious parts (as reckoned by some) of the body, we bring some inconvenience or detriment to the more noble resi- dence of the soul placed underneath." Referring to the phrase " excrementitious parts," as just used, we find that it was a common view among our earlier ancestors to deem the hairs really an excrement from the body; this is 160 COLORING, OR DYEING, THE HAIR. the view that one of the characters of Shakspeare took of it, for in "Love's Labor Lost," act v, we find this : " For I must tell thee it will please his grace, by the world, sometimes to lean on my shoulder and, with his royal finger, thus dally with my excrement, my moustache." I do not really recommend the use of these various dyes, even in the many cases of early blanching of the hair; as, to me, the sight of gray hair is not unpleasant. I rather like gray hairs; they are, in the aged, the emblems of wisdom; they remind us of hearts that have been steadfast amid all external changes and friendships, and which time and circumstances have not changed or weakened. Almost all the so-called hair-dyes, which should more properly be called paints, depend upon the action of minerals for their blackening process. All of the patent right ones, with hardly an exception, contain lead in some form. A few varieties are made up of iron alone; these are absolutely harmless; those containing sulphur, or nitrate of silver, can be used so exces- sively as to be productive of hurt; yet, I think their dangerous- ness has been overrated, when they have been used in moderate quantities. Bazin, in speaking of hair-dyes, says they are of two kinds; one, as galls, infusion of nux vomica or pomegranate, is almost inoffensive, though uncertain and unstable in results; the other, whose base is lime, silver, lead, iron or sulphur, is successful in results, though dangerous for employment. I think the author has somewhat overstrained the point in considering the iron and sulphur ones as dangerous; the other ones may be, if used imprudently. Browne has said that "soot mixed with grease will make hair as black and full of dust as any collier's sack," and this was one of the dyes the earlier Greeks made use of, to change COLORING, OR DYEING, THE HAIR. 161 their blonde locks to those of darker hue; afterwards a solution of galls, iron or other metallic bases was employed. The Romans made use of putrefied leeches, boiled in wine, for the same purpose. The Mussulmans of India use the black sulphurets of lead and antimony, and the oxide of iron occasionally, for producing a black color of the hair, but more commonly the far-famed henna, a preparation from the Lawsonia inermis. The henna-paste is applied thoroughly to the hair, from the tips to the roots, left on for an hour or so, and then it is washed off. The hair is then seen to be of a dark red. Another preparation, or paste, made from the indigo plant and water, is applied, and is then washed off after remaining on for three or four hours. After this the hair is well oiled; and it is said that the jetty blackness resulting from this procedure is difficult to be surpassed. This is really one of the best and least dangerous of the hair dyes that could be used. Dr. Tholozan, the physician to the Shah of Persia, in describing this operation, says: the coarse powder of the leaves of the henna (Lawsonia) is mixed to a paste with hot water, and this is applied, assisted by hot air, thoroughly to the hair and beard, the same previously having been cleansed, with soap and water, from all oily or greasy material. This is allowed to remain on from one and a half to two hours, when it is washed off. The resulting color is a fine orange red, which is particularly handsome when white hair has been so treated. This reddish tint is changed into a black by the means of a preparation called reng or rang (from the Indigofera argentea) ; this is also a sort of a paste, and must remain a couple of hours on the hair; when washed off the hair is found to be of a rich, lustrous jet black. Perfectly white hair is not quite so dark colored as darker hair so treated. The skin, which has been colored by the operation, as well as the hair, can be washed 11 162 COLORING, OR DYEING, THE HAIR. clean by the use of soap and friction; this, however, does not injure the color of the hair, and it retains its dark color for a long period of time. The old preparation recommended by Paulus JEgineta, and venerable because of its age, is the expressed juice of the green shell of walnuts. As this is liable to spoil, unless some preser- vative is mixed with it, a few drops of the oil of cloves, and an ounce or two of alcohol might be added to a pint of the juice. It is to be used by freely sponging upon the hair. It is more of a " restorer " of the color of the hair than a dye proper. The following iron preparation will be found useful to darken the hair, and it has also the advantage of being non-poisonous: R\ Ferri sulphatis (sulphate of iron), 3 j (1 drachm). Alcoholis (alcohol), 5 j (1 ounce). Rosmarini ol. (oil rosemary), gtts. xij (12 drops). Aquae purse (pure water), O ss Q4 pint). M. and apply frequently to the hair and scalp. This preparation has another advantage, that of being of use when dandruff is present upon the scalp. By leaving out the oil of rosemary and alcohol, and putting in equal parts of water and cologne-water, a very eligible preparation is formed. A wash very similar to this is a great favorite among the fashion- able Parisians. The following is said to give a good and natural-looking dye, free from the caustic action of silver salts and the poisonous effects of lead compounds. Two preparations are needed : No. 1. R\ Bismuthi citratis (citrate of bismuth), I j (1 ounce). Aquae rosae (rose water), I ij (2 ounces). Aquae destil. (distilled water), I ij (2 ounces). "Alcoholis (alcohol), 3 v (5 drachms). Ammoniae (ammonia), q. s. (sufficient). M. S. Apply in the morning thoroughly to the hair. COLORING, OR DYEING, THE HAIR. 163 No. 2. R. Sodii hyposulphis (hyposulphite of soda), 3 xij (12 drachms). Aquas destillatae (distilled water), 3 iv (4 ounces). M. S. Apply in the evening thoroughly to the hair. Instead of waiting so long as this, the preparations could be applied, if necessary, an hour or so apart; but the morning and evening alternate application is usually found the best. This dye is based on the chemical action of the reduction of the hydro- sulphate of soda by bringing it in contact with the citrate of bismuth, the result being a formation of the sulphate of bis- muth. As red and blonde hair contain sulphur in excess of the other colors, we know why such hair retains its color longer and better than hair of other hue. Nitrate of silver (lunar caustic) is probably as generally used as any of the salts of the metals (unless it be the acetate of lead) for producing a change in the coloring of the hair. Usually the strength of the solution is from five to ten grains of the silver to the ounce of water, as in the following: R. Argenti nitratis (nitrate of silver), grs. x to lx (10 to 60 grains). Aquae destillatae (distilled water), 1 ij (2 ounces). M. S. Apply to the hair, wetting it thoroughly. Then let dry slowly by evapo- rating in the sunshine, or heated room exposed to the light. If time is of importance, the darkening of the silver solu- tion can be hastened by applying the following solution a few moments after the nitrate of silver is used: R\ Potassii sulphureti, 3i to vj (1 to 6 scruples). Aquae destillatae (distilled water), 5 ij (2 ounces). M. This will make almost an instantaneous change to a black hue, if the silver solution has been first used. Where there are only streaks of gray here and there upon the scalp, a single application will be all that is required, till the hair is grown out quite a distance, so that the portion nearest the follicles 164 COLORING, OR DYEING, THE HAIR. will need color-dressing again. The objection to this dye is that it stains the scalp and hands as thoroughly as it does the hair. To avoid this, great care should be used to protect the scalp, and gloves should be worn upon the hands during the application. A brush will probably be found the most conve- nient applicator. The ordinary lead preparations are made up of the sugar of lead, ten to twenty grains to the ounce of water, as follows: R. Plumbi acetatis (sugar of lead), grs. xl (40 grains). Aquae destillatae (distilled water), % ij (2 ounces). M. Apply this to the hair thoroughly, and when about dry apply a solution of the sulphide of ammonium, about one-fourth the strength of the British Pharmacopoeia solution. The objection to the last compound is its very unpleasant odor. It gives, though, an excellent brown or black color to the hair, according to the strength of the solutions employed, and does not stain the scalp. The mercuric dyes are best represented by the following: R. Hydrargyri chlor. cor. (corrosive sublimate), grs. xij (12 grains). Aquae rosae (rose water), 1 iv (4 ounces). M. S. Poison. To be used with great caution and externally. If there are any abrasions on the scalp this solution should not be employed, as enough of it might be absorbed to produce deleterious results. It is best applied to the hair by means of a brush dipped in the solution, and then thoroughly brushed through and over the hair. When it has become dry the fol- lowing should then be employed: R. Sodii hyposulphis, § j (1 ounce). Aquae (water), I ij (2 ounces). M. S. Apply externally. The same brush should not be used for making both applica- tions. The solutions can be applied, one at night, and the other COLORING, OR DYEING, THE HAIR. 165 in the morning, for a few days, then once or twice a week, until the desired result is obtained. This is quite a slow acting dye. In the use of any of the above dyes, or indeed any of the following, the hair should be thoroughly cleansed from all oleaginous material; this may be done by washing in toilet- soap suds, or by the free use of bay rum and cologne water, and then drying. After the dye is once " set," oil, cocoa-nut is the best, should be applied as a dressing to help bring out the color and gloss; also to prevent too much drying of the hair. Brown Hair Dye. Sometimes plumbic acetate and sulphur are combined together in one -and the same solution, of the strength of the following: F*. Plumbi acetatis (acetate of lead), 3 ss Q4, drachm). Sulphur sublimati (flowers of sulphur), 3 3 (1 drachm). Aquae, liv. M. S. Shake well and apply night and morning for a week or so, then decrease the frequency of the application, gradually, to once a week, or once in two weeks. This is a slow dye, yet one that answers fairly when there is not much grayness to the hair. It also is a very mild prepara- tion. The deposit left upon the skin can be easily brushed off when it becomes dry. Like all of the lead dyes it acts best upon hair of a reddish tinge, though gray hair is turned to a brownish color by it. Its effect upon light hair is to give more of a dark brown tint to it. The following also makes a very good brown, and the tint can be darkened, as the fancy may desire, by a continued appli- cation of the two preparations: 1$. Cupri sulphatis (sulphate of copper), grs. xvj (16 grains). Aquae destil. (distilled water), 1 iv (4 ounces). 31. Apply thoroughly to the hair, and when dry or nearly dry use the following: R. Potassi ferrocyanidi, grs. xvj (16 grains). Aquae destillatae Cdistilled water), I iv (4 ounces). M. Apply by means of sponge or brush. 166 COLORING, OR DYEING, THE HAIR. This last solution is poisonous, if swallowed in any quantity, and hence should be kept out of the reach of children; indeed so should all dyes. It does not stain the skin, and simulates, very closely, the normal brown coloring given by nature, when applied to gray hair. The following will also give a very good dark brown, and even black, if applied frequently enough: R. Argenti ammonio-nitratis (ammonio-nitrate of silver), 3 j (1 drachm). Aquas destillatae (distilled water), 1 iv (4 ounces). M. Care should be had not to bring this into contact with the skin any more than possible, as it will stain it. Its application should be followed, when the hair becomes dry, with the follow- ing: ]$. Acidi pyrogallici (pyrogallic acid), 3 ij (2 drachms). Aquae destillatae (distilled water), § iv (4 ounces). M. Apply by means of sponge or brush. The permanganate of potash may be used to give a light brown color to the hair; it should be used of the strength of from ten to forty grains to the ounce of distilled water. It makes but little discoloration of the skin, and is perfectly harm- less. The brown color can be deepened, and even changed to a black, by using, alternately with the permanganate solution, the solution of pyrogallic acid just mentioned. To dye the hair red. This is usually on the plan of bleach- ing a darker colored hair down to this color; though sometimes a true coloring principle is desired, as when gray, or light blonde hair is sought to be darkened to this color. The least harmful of all the dyes is the Persian henna before described (see under the heading of black hair dyes). It is said that red hair was not known to the old inhabitants of England, until the country was invaded by the Saxons and COLORING, OR DYEING, THE HAIR. 167 the Danes. The Danish soldiers, prior to the Norman conquest, who were quartered in England during the reign of Ethelred II. (968), had red hair. The second son of William, Duke of Normandy, who conquered England at the battle of Hastings, and who succeeded to the crown, was called Rufus on account of his red hair. Ossian, in his poems, scarcely mentions any beautiful man or woman without clothing them with a cranial covering of reddish hue. The ancient Gauls also manifested this predilection for red hair. The Turks, it is said, like red- haired women, and the Tripolitan ladies aid in this coloration with vermilion. Some of the central African tribes manifest a similar fondness. The ancient Teutons also prized this same coloring for the comate material, and the great historian Pliny has given us one of their favorite receipts for pomatum; it is composed of tallow and ashes, similar to that the Roman ladies used to bleach their hair to a blonde color, the difference being only in the degree of blanching. Martial, in speaking of the same, says it was made from goat's tallow and the ashes of beechwood, and was used to " change the color of German wigs in order to give them instead a color of flame." In later times the same locality has been noted for its hair or Hessian (from the county, Hesse) soap. The ancient Britons increased the brightness of their red locks by bathing them in water in which lime had been dissolved. Auburn hair is hair having a tinge of red, and this stage is sometimes reached in bleaching dark brown hair down to that of a yellow, or blonde hue. A strong infusion of saffron, to which has been added some carbonate of soda, if followed by an application of lemon juice or vinegar, will give a reddish yellow hue to dark-colored hair. Bronzonette, whatever that may be, it is said, will, with the 168 COLORING, OR DYEING, THE HAIR. aid of spirits of wine, give a crimson coloring to the hair. Thirty drops of the bronzonette to a couple of drachms of alcohol, is the usual amount taken. As the color begins to pale, a new application of the alcohol will revive it consider- ably. Some of the salts of antimony are also made use of, as the ordinary tartar emetic, in hair dyeing. Thus: R. Antimonii etpotassii tart, (tartar emetic), 3 3 (1 drachm). Aquae purae (pure water), I ij (2 ounces). Acidi tartarici (tartaric acid), grs. v (5 grains). M. Apply with sponge to the hair. Care must be taken that the scalp is not much wetted with this solution, lest enough become absorbed to vomit the indi- vidual. Its application is to be followed with a solution of ammonic sulphide, one part to four parts water. This works the best upon light-brown hair. Yellow or " blonde " dyes. The action of all compounds to produce this color are on the bleaching principle; it is some dark-haired beauty that sighs for the light, golden hair of the blonde, in the vain hope that she may even yet outrival the lovely Ariadne, the Homeric Helen, or the Horacian Pyrrha, that usually makes use of these blanching agents. Blonde hair was the hair that Roman and Grecian heroes wore, that Roman and Grecian poets sang of; and ancient warriors loved to behold upon the heads of their fair mistresses. Poppsea, the second wife of Nero, and one of the most profligate women the world ever knew, was eminent for the unrivaled beauty of her hair, which was of the color of amber, and the emperor cele- brated it in song; she first introduced the toilet mask to the Roman ladies, and bathed only in asses' milk (of which a train of 500 always followed her in her travels for this purpose), so that the fairness and softness of her skin might be preserved. COLORING, OR DYEING, THE HAIR. 169 Milton sang also of Eve as one whose " loose tresses were of flowing gold." Virgil, in Nam, quia nee fato, merita nee morte peribat. ******* Nondum tiliflavum Proserpina vertice crinem Abstulerat, tells of the golden (yellow) hair that Dido wore, and which Proserpine had not yet clipped from her head. Sometimes, when the brunette belles, of ancient Rome, could not get a satisfactory golden hue to their cranial covering, the aid of the wigmaker was invoked, as the caustic Martial pithily hints at in one of his satires: " The golden hair that Gallas wears Is hers— who would have thought it ? She swears 'tis hers ! and true she swears, For /know where she bought it." Ovid also relates that the wig-makers at Rome were accus- tomed to buy up the spoils from the heads of the Germans taken in battle, and make them into perukes for the fashionable dames of ancient Rome to wear, in order to hide their darker- hued tresses. The Emperor Verus, who lived about 175 after the time of Christ, had such a fondness for this colored hair that he used to, after the manner that Solomon treated his pages, sprinkle his own hair with gold dust, so as to still further increase its yellow brilliancy. The Roman ladies used a very impure kind of soap, that made from ashes and goat's fat mixed, for blanching their locks. A town in Germany— for the Germans are by nature blondes, or a light-haired race — called Mattium, used to furnish this substance in balls to the Roman cosmetic-vendor, and hence the common name for "the article was "mattic balls." Akin to this is the " potash treatment " so much in vogue with us to-day, 170 COLORING, OR DYEING, THE HAIR. when maidens will persist in washing their dark-colored tresses with strong soap suds, or a weak solution of caustic potash, and then expose themselves to the sun. The blanching of the hair is obtained by this method, and is perhaps the least harmful of any, though more slow in its action than some. However, it is some form of chlorine or sulphurous acid, or nitric acid that is now most made use of for bleaching the hair. These agents work more rapidly than the alkalies (potash or soda) and are not so apt to injure the texture of the hair; they are used by our wig-makers to blanch the locks they are making up for sale. A weak solution of the nitro-muriatic acid, as it combines both nitrogen and chlorine, is the better agent to employ. The strength of this will need to vary as the occasion may require; but starting with the weaker solution, whose strength can be increased after a time, frequently applied, will be the safer way; you must remember that in one sense you are killing the hair, that is its color, and hence caution is needed. A solution, somewhat as follows, would be well enough to start with: R\ Acidi nitro-muriatici diluti, 3 iv (4 drachms). Aquae, 1 iv (4 ounces). M. Apply by means of a sponge, and dry in sunshine, or by the aid of hot irons. It will not injure the skin. The officinal aqua chlorinii, chlorine water, might also be used in the same manner as the lotion just given to fulfill the same purposes. As harmless, though perhaps not quite so effectual as some of the other dyes spoken of, is the following wash: After washing the hair thoroughly with a solution of alum, the strength not important, bathe it with a tea made of the annotta (the ordinary cheese-coloring product), in which a little com- mon baking soda has been dissolved. This application has to be made a number of times before much change is noted in the COLORING, OR DYEING, THE HAIR. 171 color, as it is very mild. If each application, when dry, is fol- lowed by a washing with vinegar, or water soured with lemon juice, the color will be deepened somewhat. It is only appli- cable for very light hair, as it contains no "bleaching" agent. Stannic chloride, with a mordant of amnionic sulphide, will also turn the hair a yellow color, through the bleaching agency of the chlorine and sulphurous acid that is present in the two lotions. So also will the application of a solution of plumbic acetate, followed up with a mordant of potassic chromate. All of these bleaching agents, if used excessively, are apt to leave the hair crisp and dry, or even to extend their ravages farther and so destroy the existing growth entirely. The ancients well knew this, for Ovid, in an elegy upon his mistress, who had suffered the loss of a beautiful head of hair, through this vanity, says: "I have always said 'Do leave off doctoring your hair'; but now you have no hair left that you can dye. It used to reach down to your ankles; and was it not so fine, like the slender thread that the spider weaves, or the gauzy veils the Seres wear, that you hardly dared to dress it ? Its color was not black, nor yet golden, but a mixture of them both, like the tall cedars of Ida when stripped of their bark. Your own hand has been the cause of the loss you now mourn, for you poured the poison upon your own head." And this is about the fate that our modern ladies may expect to overtake their heads of hair if too much dyeing or bleaching be attempted. . CHAPTER XIV. PITYRIASIS. DANDRUFF, DANDRIFF, DANDRIFFE, DANDER. Derivation. Pityriasis is derived from the Greek word rtirvpa, meaning bran. Dandruff, from the Anglo-Saxon words tan and drof, mean- ing itch- dirt. Hippocrates, the " father of medicine," was the first to give this troublesome complaint a name, selecting the Greek term just given; this was done from the close resemblance of the scales to wheaten bran. He, however, did not recognize the various diseases producing this symptom, as seborrhoea, psori- asis, eczema and tinea, which are referred to in separate chap- ters farther on. Cause. The causes of dandruff are various; it is most com- monly produced, when not dependent upon inflammatory or parasitical scalp trouble, by systematic negligence of the scalp. It may also arise from the use of rancid or irritating pomades, hair-dyes, and the too frequent and too severe use of the fine- comb. As a rule, this article of the toilet, the fine comb, should be used only for the same purpose that a hunter uses his traps — to catch game; for the fine teeth scratch off the epithelial covering of the scalp, thus leaving the corium, or true skin, exposed, and subject to irritation. The comb also irritates the hair follicles and the sebaceous glands, thus causing them to throw out more oleaginous material than the hair or scalp needs; this results, finally, in a disease of both the skin and DANDKTJFF. 173 follicles, the former producing a rapid exfoliation of the scarf- skin, and the latter, an over-abundance of sebaceous material. As a rule when dandruff is first noticed, there is no disease proper of either follicle or skin; but through the inattention of the patient the head may become dirty, not being properly brushed or washed, and as a result the dried-down sebaceous material will unite with the exfoliating epidermal scales, dust from the room or street, the linen, cotton or woolen fibres loosened from the clothing, and the whole will then be thrown off in these branny scales that give rise to the name dandruff. In nomenclature the Anglo-Saxons were about right in giving the complaint the name of "itch-dirt." When this is allowed to go too far, a positive disease may be induced, and a loss of hair will be the result. It is pretty hard to draw the exact dividing line between dandruff, as I have considered it in this chapter, and the disease of the follicles, known as seborrhcea or stearrhoea, which is treated of in the following chapter, and which is due to an inflammatory condition of these little glands. In most scalp diseases dandruff is a symptom ; hence it may be hard for the sufferer with this cosmetic trouble to tell if it be due to his self- negligence, or to a disease; still, if the scalp has been neglected for any length of time, and the following hygienic treatment does not speedily arrest the falling of the scales upon the clothing, he may be pretty well assured that something more than mere uncleanliness of the scalp is the cause of his com- plaint. Treatment. This is, as above intimated, rather hygienic than medical, and for which the reader is referred to the chapter upon this special subject. Sometimes, though, a dressing of bay rum applied to the scalp and hair, will be found grateful. If moderately used it 174 DANDRUFF. will be beneficial rather than harmful, and will assist in keep- ing the scalp clean. You had better avoid oily dressings, rely- ing mainly upon the hair follicles to furnish this material for keeping the skin soft and the hair pliant. The following extract I take from an old book, published in 1634, whose title is given on page 106. It shows how our earlier ancestors regarded the trouble. This extract was printed in the old style black letter, though the body of the work was printed in roman type: Of the Causes and Remedies of Dandruffe of the Head. " I will briefly declare the filthinesse of the head called in Latin Perrigo, in English the dandruffe of the head, the which is, when that at the kembing and scratching of the head, cer- taine white scales, as it were branne, f alleth off from the head, and lyeth very thick among and under the hayre. " The cause of this Dandruffe cometh by abundance of fleg- maticke humors, commixt with the blood, the which daily and hourly by incessable sweating, evaporateth and issueth out of the pores in the skin that covereth the panbone, and as fast as it issueth forth, dryeth on the outter superf acie of the skin, and there remaining and gathering together, becometh every day more and more, thereto greatly keeping the forrest of hayre which covereth, harboureth, and retayneth such superfluities, more in those places than in any other, where no hayre grow- eth (most commonly they that have blacke hayre have more store of Dandruffe than others). This humor suffered overlong to reigne on the head, destroyeth and corrupteth the rootes of the haires, making them to fall off in great plenty, and specially in kembing. And although this superfluity be not cleanely, yet notwithstanding it shall be no wisdome for me to teach, ne any other herewith encumbered to learne how to stop it, for feare DANDKUFF. ■ 175 of further inconveniences: but only I counsell you once in ten dayes, at the least, to wash and scoure the head cleane with good lye wherein let be steeped in a linnen bag, of Annis seed, Commin, dried Rosemary, Fenegreke. and rinds of Pomegran- ates, of each like much: and beware that after washing of your head yee take no cold, before the head be perfectly dryed. " And whereas some say, that they which use oft washing of their heads shall be very prone to headache: that is not true but onely in such, that after they have beene washed, rolled up their haire (being yet wet) about their heads, the cold whereof is dangerous to bring them to Catarrhes and poses, with other inconveniences. Whereof all diligence must be had, that the head may be exactly well dryed with warme cloathes, whilest the head is yet hot of the washing, and then never feare any inconveniences, but rather convenience and commodity: and let this be done also fasting in the morning, or else one hour before supper, or five hours after supper. This oft washing shall purify the skin of the head, and steadfast the haire from falling, leviate and lighten the head, with all the senses therein contained, and greatly comfort the braines." CHAPTER XV. SEBORRHCEA CAPILLITII. OVERSECRETION OF THE SEBACEOUS GLANDS. Synonyms. Pityriasis, Acne sebacea, Tinea furfuracea, Stearrhoea, Dandruff. Derivation. From the Latin word sebum, meaning fat, or suet, and the Greek verb psoo, meaning to flow. So called because the fat flows out of the sebaceous follicle where the disease has been produced; also the Latin capittitium, meaning the hair. It will be noticed among the synonyms that the word that entitles our previous chapter has been retained here. This is owing to the fact that many authorities fail to make the dis- tinction between the two complaints. But I think I have made myself clear to you on what I consider the essential difference between the two complaints, viz., that the former, dandruff proper, I have considered to be not a disease, but the result of improper attention to the scalp; whereas the latter, or the com- plaint .under consideration, though it has as its effect an exag- gerated case of dandruff, is a positive disease, an irritation, or inflammation, if you please, of the hair follicles. Cause. The cause or causes are, primarily, similar to those which may cause the simpler complaint, dandruff. In fact, when the irritating causes there named, page 172, are at work, the result is, undoubtedly, either seborrhea, or an eczema of the scalp (see a following chapter). The morbid secretion of a seborrhcea may occur on other portions of the body than the scalp; or it may exist as a gen- eral disease; that is, one affecting all the sebaceous glands of the body, wherever found. As a rule it is oftenest seen in 0VERSECRETT0N OF THE SEBACEOUS GLANDS. 177 children, or in the aged, though it is not at all uncommon in adult life. The reason that infants are more subject to it than adults is that the sebaceous glands are more active in early life. In old age it is due to the changes in the glands themselves, for they then produce a larger amount of the sebaceous material than in early life. In females, suffering from menstrual derange- ments, it is also quite a common accompaniment of their other troubles, the head being the chief sufferer in the reflex ail- ments from the irritated uterus. Syphilis also produces its quota of seborrhceceous patients; the force of the virus being evidently spent on the sebaceous glands in this class of suffer- ers. When occurring in middle life, or as the effects of syphilis, a loss {effluvium capillitii) of the hair is pretty sure to follow,. Diagnosis. From the general symptom, dandruff, common to most scalp diseases, it is easy to mistake this trouble for eczema impetiginosum and lupus erythematodes. As the former is a fre- quent result of a long standing and illy treated Seborrhcea, you frequently have the two diseases, Seborrhoea and eczema, com- bined in the same person; for the retained masses of sebaceous material undergo decomposition, and a red, moist, eczematous irritation of the scalp ensues. Still, as a rule, the two can be easily differentiated by remembering that in Seborrhoea the skin, beneath the scales of dried sebaceous matter, is pale and shows no, or but little, irritation; also that itching is not a very promi- nent symptom; further, that the disease does not extend beyond the hairy parts, and that the neighboring lymphatic glands of the neck remain unaffected, and that the skin is not swollen. From lupus e., it can be known by remembering that Sebor- rhcea does not have its masses, or scales, firmly clinging to the sebum in the follicle; that there is no loss of substance about the follicular mouth; that there is no swelling or infiltration, of the adjacent skin. 12 178 0VERSECRETI0N OF THE SEBACEOUS GLANDS. From psoriasis it can be distinguished as follows: in infants psoriasis is not seen; in adults, psoriasis preserves the circular form of its masses of scales, so that the borders of such patches are markedly semi-circular; furthermore, psoriasis attacks the scalp secondarily; that is, it is first seen on the legs and arms, their extensor surfaces. From pemphigus foliaceus it can be distinguished by remem- bering that in Seborrhcea there is no excoriation; that there is no hanging of large lamellae of detached epidermis, and that there is never any raising of any little blisters upon the skin (bullw), which afterwards become purulent and then dry down into yellow crusts. Treatment. As a rule you can pretty confidently expect to cure this disease, especially in children, and in cases connected with menstrual derangements. The syphilitic and aged cases are less amenable to treatment, though all these rebellious cases can be materially benefited. The first step in the treatment of a case is to have the scales and crusts of sebum completely removed, and with as little irritation to the scalp as possible. This can be best done by soaking the diseased portion in free applications of sweet, or cod liver oil. When the crusts have been sufficiently softened by this process — it usually takes some twelve hours in inveterate cases — the whole can be washed off with ablutions of warm water and Castile soap. In the milder cases this treatment, combined with some mild astringent wash to the scalp, as cold green tea, or four or five grains of tannic acid to the ounce of water, will be all that is required. Should, however, the crusts return pretty freely, after this treatment, then something stronger may be needed in the line of treatment. Probablv an alkaline wash stronger than the one of Castile soap may be beneficially applied at times, as for instance that made from 0VERSECRETI0N OF THE SEBACEOUS GLANDS. 179 potash soap (sapo viridis) or green soap. Ordinary "soft soap," when made from clean fat, might be substituted for the "green soap," which is the potash soap of the pharmacy. A more elegant preparation of the "green soap " can be made by combin- ing it with cologne water, as, for instance, the following formula: ]$. Saponis viridis (green soap), § ij (two ounces). Aquae cologniensis (Cologne water), 1 ij (two ounces). Misce et cola (mix and strain). This preparation can be applied to the diseased surface of the scalp, rubbing it in briskly for a few moments, then washing it out thoroughly with warm water, following with a douche of cold water, to constringe the over-distended sebaceous folli- cles. The officinal unguentum zinci oxidi (oxide of zinc oint- ment) or unguentum acidi tannici (tannic acid ointment) of the pharmacy may then be applied, to farther control the infiltra- tion of the skin and follicles. If there should be much infiltra- tion, then the officinal unguentum iodinii compositi (compound iodine ointment), or the unguentum hydrargyri iodidi rubri (red iodide of mercury ointment), might be advantageously employed; or, if preferred to be used in the liquid form, the following wash of mercury might be ordered to be used once or twice a day: 1$. Hydrargyri chlo. cor. (corrosive sublimate), grs. ij (two grains). Aquae destillatae (distilled water), f ij (two ounces). Misce (mix) S. Poison. A wash might also be employed of the persulphate of iron, for a strong astringent, using a drachm of Monsel's solution to the ounce or two ounces of water. As the constitution may be at fault in many cases of Sebor- rhcea, it is well to look to that, and in strumous cases cod liver oil, combined with iron, the hypophosphites, arsenic, etc., should be ordered; the first two, oil and iron, in some form being indicated in most cases. The oil can be obtained at the shops 180 HUMAN HORNS. pleasantly emulsified; that with the extract of malt being one of the most useful combinations, especially if any dyspepsia be lurking about the individual. Cornua Humana — (Human Horns). Description. Closely allied to the subject- matter that we have been considering, is the growth of horn- shaped substances from the hairy and mucous portions of the body. I have seen these horn-like excrescences several inches in length. One old lady that I now recall, had one projecting from above her left eye to the length of three inches. In the British museum there is one preserved that is two and one-half inches in circumference and eleven inches in length. Figure 25 gives the representation of one that was six and one- half inches in length, and which grew from the side of the head. Fig. 25. HUMAN HORNS. 181 In an old book, by Increase Mather, the following paragraph is found: " A man has an horn growing out of one corner of his mouth, just like that of a sheep, from which he has cut seventeen inches, and is forced to keep it tied by a string to his ear, to prevent it growing up to his eye." An old French lady is reported (1776) as having had a pair of horns, and when broken off, by accident, gave one to the king of France — surely a royal gift! This one was two inches in circumference and nine inches in length! She had shed hers three different times, the same as do deers theirs in their moult- ing season. In the New York Repository, for 1820, a case is given of one that was fourteen inches in circumference at its base and had three branches to it. This is, without doubt, the largest ever recorded. In 1844 Erasmus Wilson succeeded in making a collection of ninety cases of these excrescences {vide Med.- Chir. Trans., vol. xxvii), and found that forty-four occurred in females and thirty-nine in males; the other seven were not sexually stated. Out of this number forty-eight were found on the head, four on face, four on the nose, eleven on the thigh, three on the leg and foot, six on the back, five on the glans penis, and nine on the trunk of the body. Old age seems to be a predisposing cause, all the cases I have seen have been in individuals passed middle life. Of the forty- eight cases above recorded as occurring on the scalp, thirty- eight were above middle life, several were over seventy, and one was ninety-seven. Out of the lot of ninety, three were on young persons and three were on infants. Causes. The predisposing cause I have just given, viz., old age. If there be any other special cause it must be in a 182 HUMAN HORNS. perverse and increased secretion from the sebaceous follicles and glands. Any continued irritation or injury seems also to be an exciting cause for their growth; suppressed menstruation has also been looked upon as another exciting cause. On examination it has been found that the horns closely resemble, chemically, as well as in their looks, the horns of animals, and the spurs of fowls. Their roots consist of a vascu- lar, lardaceous tissue, similar to the matrix of the nails; some- times, however, they seem to be the growth of the papillae. A great number of epithelial elements, similar to those of the scarf-skin, are found in them; the cells, however, are somewhat larger and possess nuclei. Their growth is quite slow; from three to eight years is usually the time they are in process of cellular construction. Treatment. There is but one measure that should be com- mended, and that is the knife. The diseased gland and follicles should be thoroughly dissected out and then there will be no return of the excrescence. Sometimes it is necessary to paint the cyst wall, or matrix, thoroughly with tincture of iodine, in order to be sure of destroying all perverted cell-action of the formative membrane, or hypertrophied papillae. CHAPTER XVI. ASTEATODES AND ALLOSTEATODES. SCANTY, AXD ABNORMAL FOLLICULAR SECRETION. Synonyms. Morbus pilaris; Xerosis; Xeroderma. Derivation. From the Greek a primitive, that has the influ- ence of a negative, and the Greek Gtsap ^meaning fat ; altogether, no fat, or a deficiency of the sebaceous secretion. See page 185 for Allosteatodes. Cause. It is impossible to assign just the influences that will produce this trouble, the effect of which is to render the skin harsh and dry, liable to crack, as well as to prevent the issuing of the hair shaft from its follicle. From the fact that the secretion is scanty, it is extremely liable to crust over the mouth of the hair follicle, and thus prevent the hair's exit. The result of this is to make a bending of the point upon its shaft, and, as the hair continues to grow, a redoubling of the shaft occurs again and again, until quite a lengthy hair may be coiled up in the little follicle, thus causing a slight swelling, or pimple, just beneath the scarf skin where this occurs. More or less itching, if not positive localized inflammation, is sure to follow this imprisoning of the hair within its follicle. As a rule it is seen in badly nourished people, the aged, and in children affected with hereditary syphilis. You can fre- quently see it upon the hands of washerwomen, cooks, and the like, who have their hands much in soapy water, which neutralizes, at once, the softening influence of the sebaceous matter secreted on them. On the head, of course, these causes cannot exist. The more severe disease xeroderma, of Fox and Wilson, 184 NARCOSIS FOLLICULORUM. hardly belongs to this treatise, though the complaint here considered seems only to differ from it in degree. There is the same dryness of the skin, only it is more marked in xeroderma, and a positive thickening of the epithelial elements takes place; then too, the disease xeroderma is more general over the body, and is much more rebellious to' treatment. Treatment. Usually this is very simple. Nature suggests her own remedy at once — the finger nail. As soon as the cap is removed from the follicular mouth, the imprisoned hair at once escapes, and hence the irritation is removed. A free use of soap, occasionally with the brush mornings, will more easily overcome the obstruction. See the chapter devoted to the hygienic treatment of the hair. If, however, preternatural dry- ness should still remain, a few drops of cocoa oil, coco-oleine, rectified beef's marrow, or bear's oil, may be used as a scalp- dressing till the glands are brought into a more healthy state. An ointment, as follows, may prove of much service : R\ Ung. hydrargyri nit. (citrine ointment), 3 iij (three drachms) . Ung. benzoini (benzoated lard) 3 v (five drachms.) M. S. Apply twice daily. The dryness of the skin can be best overcome by the use of some oily dressing. The camphor ice, cold cream, etc., of the shops, answering the purpose very well for the hands and body. For the scalp, the dressing mentioned on page 125 might be employed. The disease NARCOSIS FOLLICULORUM is a chronic inflammation of the hair follicle, and is so inti- mately connected with Asteatodes that it may be as well con- sidered here, as an asteatodic result certainly follows the course of the complaint. Diagnosis. Frequently the presence of gray hairs, in circum- scribed spots, will be the first thing that calls your attention to ALLOSTEATODES. 185 the complaint; this may or may not be followed by the falling out of the hairs at these points. The hair always has a floury or powdered look. It is impossible to keep the hair cleansed of these little whitening particles; if the brush is used too vigorously, then the hair comes out in handfuls. The dried sebaceous material can be seen around the follicular mouths, the scalp and skin also partaking of a common harshness and dryness. From the inflammatory process going on within the follicle, the normal secretion of the sebaceous glands is inter- fered with, and hence the oleaginous material is not thrown out in proper quantities to lubricate the shaft and scalp. It is most frequently seen in women and children. In the former it is undoubtedly induced by the unhygienic dressings that the hair is subjected to, such as close crimping, curling, etc. Treatment. If any of these " close crimpings " have been indulged in, a more rational method of dressing should be at once adopted. All other treatment necessary will be found under the head of Asteatodes. ALLOSTEATODES. Derivation. From the Greek a\\ol y meaning other, and Greap, fat; altogether, other fat, or an altered condition of the sebaceous secretion. Diagnosis. This is very easy, as it depends upon the altered color of the normal secretion of the hair follicles. When yel- low, it is called seborrhoea flavescens / when black, seborrhoea nigricans. When the secretion is altered in quantity, it may be either a case of Asteatodes, when it is less than normal, or Seborrhoea when it is secreted more profusely than is normal. Treatment. This is similar to that already detailed for Seborrhoea, or for Asteatodes, according to which of these diseases it may most resemble. CHAPTER XVII. ECZEMA. MILK CRUST. Synonyms. Scall; Tetter; Dandruff. Derivation. From the Greek £x-£siv ? meaning to boil out, to effervesce; is an eruption of small vesicles upon the skin. It will be noticed that dandruff is again spoken of because it is one of the most prominent symptoms of the complaint, though dandruff proper is far from being similar to the rebel- lious disease under consideration. Causes. Similar to that off dandruff and seborrhoea. Usu- ally the Eczema follows a prolonged attack of dandruff or seborrhoea; the two former, through personal negligence, almost surely lead to the latter. The Plica Polinica of the Poles is an exaggerated form of this personal negligence of an Eczema of the scalp. Formerly it was considered a disease per se; but it is not so; the knotted, matted and filthy condi- tion of the hair being due to the fact that the scalp and hair are not cleansed of the discharge from the Eczema, or sebor- rhoea, or both combined; this accumulates in quantity, retain- ing with it the dust, filaments, etc., from the air and clothing of the patient, and so gradually hardens down into a mass of decomposing, gluey-like, foully-smelling material, imprisoning the hairs with it. Of course combing then is out of the ques- tion; and so this state of affairs goes on from bad to worse, the mass furnishing harboring place for lice and spores of fungi, until a loathsomeness is developed that one would hardly believe possible among civilized races. MILK CKUST. 187 Though the Poles have furnished the generic name for the disease, it is by no means confined to them. All the nations of northern Europe, whose habits are not overcleanly, are fre- quent subjects of the complaint. I have also seen it in our American families, where the charge of uncleanliness could hardly be brought upon the parents. The family physician, not understanding the nature of the trouble, had forbidden the proper use of those means calculated to keep the scalp and hair cleansed, and the result was a condition of affairs that would astonish one. Of course hair in this matted condition only keeps up and intensifies the irritation of the skin, and finally' induces, from this irritation, the death of the hair itself. Diagnosis. Eczema is a vesicular disease, accompanied by more or less infiltration or swelling of the diseased integument; gradually the vesicles or papules become hardened, and crusts or scales of a yellowish hue are thereby formed. When these crusts are removed a red (inflamed) base is seen, which may be either dry or moist; the former giving us our "dry tetter," the latter our " wet tetter." The disease, in all its stages and forms, is accompanied by almost intolerable itching, or burn- ing, or both combined. Attempting to ameliorate this symp- tom by scratching is only to enhance the trouble. To contra-distingush this complaint from pityriasis or sebor- rhea, see the chapters upon these topics. As a rule, however, the three diseases are united in the one individual at the same time, hence the symptoms of the three will be hopelessly com- mingled. The plica Polinica is but an advanced and neglected stage of Eczema, and is sufficiently easy to be diagnosed by the description of it just given. Treatment. Usually the complaint is a curable one, though the relapses are frequent, and it is oftentimes rebellious against the usual line of remedies used in these cases. As a rule, how- 188 MILK CRUST. ever, it occurs in weakly, strumous children, hence a constitu- tional treatment of cod liver oil, iron, iodine and arsenic is demanded; the two former especially being indicated, and they can be pleasantly combined in the form of an emulsion, so that the young will make but little objection to taking them. If the bowels are not regular, attention should be paid thereto, giving oil, or epsom salts, as a cathartic, and the solution of citrate of magnesia, mornings, as a laxative, till the tendency to constipation be overcome. Oftentimes the torpor is due to a lack of proper nervous stimulus to the coats of the intestines; in these cases the following will be found of benefit: R\ Tr. nucis vomicae (tinct. nux vomica), 3 j (one drachm). Tr. belladonnae (tinct. belladonna) 3 ss, (half drachm). Fl. ext. ergotae (fluid ext. ergot), 1 j (one ounce). Fl. ext. glycyrrhizae (fluid ext. licorice), 1 iv (four ounces). M. S. Give of this a teaspoonful after meals to a child ten years of age; one- half teaspoonful to a child of five years of age. If the digestion is not good, this should also receive atten- tion. If acidity prevails, it should be corrected by some of the alkalies; as harmless as any is the ordinary baking soda, giv- ing as much as you can hold on the point of a knife (two or three grains), to a child of five years, after meals. If dyspep- sia, or non-digestion of food is present, a three-grain powder of lactopeptine, or five grains of. saccharated pepsine, combined with the soda, will be all that is usually required for a child of five years. Local Treatment. Here there is also quite a diversity of plans to be followed; but I have usually found a mild treat- ment superior to a harsh one. The following is what I have usually adopted, and, from experience, I have had no reason to change it very materially. Night and morning, after cleansing the scalp thoroughly with Castile soap-suds, and rinsing with warm water, I apply MILK CRUST. 189 some mild ointment, the ceratum simplicis (simple cerate), or even oleum olivse (olive oil), for the first few days, till much of the severe inflammatory action is relieved; then, after this, I make use of the following unguent, applying it pretty freely, after each morning and evening scalp-washing: IJ. Picis liquids (tar), I j (1 ounce). 01. betulse albas (oil white birch), 3 j (1 drachm). Adipis (lard), § j (1 ounce). Cerati simplicis (simple cerate), 3 j (1 ounce). M. Ft. unguent. The amount of tar is variable: in some verv severe cases I 7 do not use as much; in milder cases I use more in the same prescription. Constitutions seem to be differently affected by the tar and white birch oil, hence you have to watch it pretty closely, for a day or two, and if it occasions too much irritation, then the amount used in the prescription must be materially lessened. But usually the cases will bear it well in the pro- portion given. It smarts, if the skin be much broken, for the first few applications, hence, in young children, you have to take this into consideration; but this soon passes away. The relief from that severe, almost intolerable itching is so marked, on the .first application, that it goes far to assuage the little patient's resistance to subsequent applications. You need not be afraid to put it well over large tracts of the inflamed scalp, indeed over the whole head, if the skin be not much broken, fissured or cracked, in cases that will bear the tar, so far as fearing any poisonous effect from the tar is concerned. I have frequently applied it over nearly the lohole body in children afflicted with a general eczema, and with no deleterious conse- quences, save that of momentary pain at the instant of appli- cation. In the great majority of cases this treatment for a few 190 PLICA POLINICA. we^s, ending up with a milder ointment of the tar and white birch oil, and finally with the simple cerate or oil again, will be all that will be required; especially when it has been accom- panied with the proper internal use of tonics and blood-build- ing remedies. It should be borne in mind that the ointment will stain the clothing; hence I always advise cloth caps to be worn over the head, day and night, and a piece of oil silk to be used to protect the pillow. In some severe cases an oil silk cap will be found of service in depleting the infiltrated corium, by the continual sweating it keeps up; this is especially useful at the beginning of the treatment, especially if the crusts are hard, and firmly attached to the hair and scalp. Soaking them in oil, as recommended in the chapter on seborrhcea, combined with the oil-silk cap, will be found oftentimes useful. You' should use only the gentlest force, at first, in detaching the debris that gathers %'in the form of crusts and scales upon the head in this disease; let the oil and soap rather dissolve it down, then rinse it all away with effusions of water. The scalp 'should know now experimentally of the "milk of human kindness," if it never knew of it before. PLICA POLINICA. In case Plica Polinica should be a complication, the best way is to clip all the hair involved off close to the scalp, so as to remove the whole mass of decomposing sebum, etc., at once. By using sharp scissors this can be done nearly as closely to the scalp as by razor. But by no means have this shaving attempted, as it only afflicts needless pain upon the patient, and you gain nothing over the close and careful scissoring. Bear in mind you have an intensely inflamed surface to deal with. Of course, if the microscope shows the hairs and their follicles to have become parasitically infected, then, for a time, harsh PLICA POLINICA. 191 measures, as epilation, and the application of parasiticides is indicated, and your treatment must be varied accordingly. But these, so extreme, cases are rarely met with in our coun- try, hence the more conservative treatment is usually indicated. Sometimes, if the case is quite rebellious, an alternative treatment is called for. It is well known that medicines, given internally, will, when long continued, apparently lose their customary efficacy; in the local application of them the same phenomenon is noticed, hence by alternating the above tar and white birch oil ointment, with one of astringent properties, much time may be saved. Thus the officinal ointment of tan- nic acid, or one of gallic acid, of the strength of a drachm of the acid to the ounce of simple cerate, combined with the glandular alterative, iodine, in the amount of ten or twenty grains to the ounce, may be employed. The officinal white precipitate ointment (unguentum hydargyri ammoniati), or the citrine ointment (ung. hydarg. nitratis) — this last diluted Avith simple cerate, if much surface is to be covered — will also be found of use to stimulate the cutaneous glands. Red pre- cipitate ointment (ung. hydarg. oxidi rubri) also diluted, say with seven parts of lard, will be found of service if there is but little abrasion of the cuticular surface. After employing these various "resolving" ointments for a while, then return to the tar and white birch oil ointment, and it will seem to work with new efficacy. Cases may be found where, from some idiosyncrasy, this treatment may even prove too irritating, and so defeat the result sought. These cases are, however, rare. When such are found, after the crusts are thoroughly removed by the oil inunctions, a hot water treatment (being careful to always use soft water, as hard water contains substances irritating to an eczematous surface), may be for a time instituted; that is, 192 PLICA P0L1NICA. keep the parts well fomented for a few days, till the more acute symptoms are abated. To these hot (100° to 112° Fahr.) water dressings, a few grains of alum, sulphate of zinc or cop- per, or acetate of lead may be added; say, not to exceed the strength of from ten to fifteen grains to the pint. Sometimes a little bicarbonate of soda, added to the water, will be found a grateful application. Then an ointment of oxide of zinc (the officinal ung. zinci oxidi) may be applied, or the common linimentum calcis, made of equal parts of lime water and linseed, or sweet oil. After a time stronger astringents may be used in the ointment base. If the pain is, at any time, very severe, the sulphate of morphia may be incorporated in the body of the ointment or wash. Powders will sometimes be found of service in these cases; though they are open to the objection of aiding in the forma- tion of crusts. These are the simple lycopodium powder, oxide of zinc, starch, etc.; or these various powders may be combined with camphor and some astringent, as: ty. Camphorae (camphor), 3 ss (half drachm). Alcoholis (alcohol),' q. s. (sufficient quantity). Zinci oxidi (oxide of zinc), 3 j (1 drachm). Amyli (pure starch), § j (1 ounce). Misce (mix) S. (label). Dusting powder. When glycerine is not irritating to an individual's skin, the following lotion will be found an eligible preparation: fy. Acid hydrocyanici dil. (dilute Prussic acid), 3 j (1 drachm). Bismuthi subnit., 3 ij/2 drachms). Aquae rosae (rose water). Glycerinae (glycerine), aa. (of each) % ij (2 ounces). Misce (mix.) The green soap lotion spoken of in the chapter on Seborrhoea will also be found of benefit in certain rebellious cases; espe- cially those of long standing, where there is much cellular infil- PLICA POLIXICA. 193 tration of the skin. Sometimes a blister of cantharides plaster, applied to a thickened and indolent eczematous scalp-surface, will be found to increase its healing wonderfully; or course the hair must be closely shaven in these cases, and the blister must not be left on long enough to destroy the papillae of the hair. Carbolic acid, the strength of one drachm to the ounce of simple unguent, will also be found an efficacious application. I have sometimes combined it with the tar ointment, in place of the white birch oil spoken of previously in this chapter. All of these cases of Eczema of the hairy surfaces will be found to tax the patience of both the patient and physician, from the frequent relapses to which they are liable, unless the time of treatment is prolonged beyond the time of absolute healing; hence it is well to keep pretty close watch of the patient for several weeks, or months even, after the disease has, to all appearances, been successfully overcome. 13 CHAPTER XVIII. SYCOSIS MEOTI, Acne and Rupia Syphilitica. FALSE BARBER'S ITCH. Synonyms. Mentagra, Sycosis barbae, Acne mentagra. Derivation. ~2vkgdgi1 meaning a tig-like excrescence, and menti "of the chin;" a fig-like excrescence of the chin. Cause. This, at present, is not definitely known. Hebra thinks it may be due to a premature development of a new hair in the follicle before the old one has fallen out. Other dermatologists look upon it as caused by a disproportion in the diameter of the hair-shaft and the follicle, w 7 hich, by its over-dis- tention, causes inflammation of the follicle. There is no doubt that prolonged exposure to heat or cold, combined with the irritation from shaving with dull razors, has much to do with the development of this disease. A dull razor is, perhaps, the commonest cause of all, for, drawing inordinately upon a hair of the beard, it will partially loosen the hold of the root from the papilla, thus allowing a minute extravasation of blood, and inducing, consequently, a circumscribed inflammatory action at the base of the follicle; this repeated frequently, as the shav- ing is demanded, finally leads to the inflammation of the whole follicle and the contiguous integument. Diagnosis. A pustular inflammation of the hairy portion of the face, of the eyebrows, and of the hairy mucous membrane of the nose, w T ith a hair piercing each pustule, are its anatomical characteristics. It begins with a feeling of fullness and of heat in the parts, soon followed by pain. The root of a hair, from an FALSE BARBER'S ITCH. 195 affected follicle, when drawn out, is found swollen from the amount of pus-cells infiltrated in its fibrous and medullary por- tion, and also from over-supply of hair cells, formed by the irritated papilla through excess of blood supply. At first this condition is confined to small and sharply circumscribed por- tions of the face producing hair; but as the disease advances, instead of single pustules here and' there, with reddened and infiltrated bases, the nearest ones coalesce so that you may have three or four follicles partaking in the formation of a common abscess. The discharge at this time is apt to be pro- fuse and somewhat watery, the pus being quite thin, in this respect resembling an eczematous discharge, although never so abundant as seen in this last-mentioned disease. From this discharge crusts are formed, the. watery element being evapor- ated, which give a loathsome look to the party afflicted. It will be necessary to distinguish this complaint from the parasitical one, which it quite closely resembles; this, of course, can only be done by the use of the microscope. If the fun- goid growth is found, it settles the diagnosis at once. For farther points of difference between the parasitical and non- parasitical sycosis, or mentagra, the reader is referred to Chap- ter XXIII. Eczema is another disease with which this complaint might be confounded. But in eczema you have that profuse watery discharge, with intolerable itching, to help in a differential diagnosis. When, however, the patient is seen only in the " crusty " stage of Sycosis these symptoms are not so promi- nent; you have to rely on the history of the case somewhat, also remembering that eczema extends to hairless portions of the face or neck, whereas Sycosis does not. Still, there are stages of the complaint when the two diseases are so closely com- mingled that it is impossible to make a distinction between 196 FALSE BARBER'S ITCH. them, the eczema following closely upon the Sycosis, as a result of its ravages. The treatment, however, would be almost the same in these aggravated cases, hence an error in diagnosis here, so far as benefit to the patient is concerned, would be of no special moment. Acne is another one of the diseases with which this trouble may be confounded, in its earlier stages; but when it is remem- bered that acne is a much milder disease, is seen mostly in patients at the age of puberty, and that there is much less dis- charge, and much less skin infiltration, it can be readily distin- guished. Impetigo is another so-called disease that is apt to be mis- taken for Sycosis. Impetigo does not produce baldness as does Sycosis, and then, too, it is rarely seen on the face, then the crusts are thin, soft and readily loosened from their base, which has not that "eaten" appearance of Sycosis. The pustular stage of eczema is really what has been denominated impetigo by most authorities. Rupia syphilitica is another disease to be differentiated; a history of previous exposure to the specific contagion, with secondary symptoms arising therefrom, will be sufficient to put one on his guard in making a distinction between the two. The crusts in rupia are much thicker, conical in fact, and when removed have a specific ulcer at the base. There is not so much general irritation of the skin, swelling and engorgement, as in the complaint in question. Treatment. The old doctors, Aetius, Paulus iEgineta and Celsus, recognized this disease, but their method of treatment was not one to be generally commended. The first thing to be done is to remove the crusts. This is best accomplished by macerating them in olive oil, and then remove by washing with soap. This done, the hairs should be FALSE BAEBEK'S ITCH. 197 pulled out from the diseased follicles, for when diseased the hairs themselves become sources of irritation, from their increased size, and so but " add fuel to the flame." It is usu- ally not a very painful operation to remove the diseased hairs from their follicles, as nature has already, through a process of suppuration partially, if not entirely, detached them from their papillae and inner follicular membrane. A pair of tweezers is the handiest thing to use in this little surgical procedure. Sometimes patients may object to this, on the ground of fear that the hair will not be renewed. But they can safely assure themselves that this is the only way to preserve the growth of their hair, for in this operation you remove, as in parasitically diseased hairs, only diseased tissue; the papillae, or hair-building portion, remaining alive and intact, unless the inflammatory process has been of so long standing as to destroy both the hair and papillae. After removal of the crusts and diseased hairs, and much swelling or infiltration is noticed in the skin, a short period of poulticing will be in order, the cataplasma lini (ordinary lin- seed meal poultice) being as good as any. The ordinary appli- cations to be made afterwards being some sulphur, iodine or mercuric ointment; thus: R\ Sulphur precip. (flowers of sulphur), 3j (1 scruple). Iodinii (iodine), grs. x (10 grains). Ung. zinci oxidi (oxide of zinc ointment), § iss (l^j ounces). M. S. Apply twice daily to the affected parts. Or— R\ Hydrargyri ox. rub. (red precipitate), grs. viij (8 grains). Cerati simp, (simple cerate), 3 j (1 ounce). M. S. Apply twice daily. Should the parts not readily respond to this treatment, it would do no hurt to try the parasitical one, for fear that the 198 ACNE. disease really might have the cryptogam as its cause. In this case the sulphurous acid application, described in the chapter devoted to Tinea, or parasitical, Sycosis, would be the best to use. As the disease advances toward cure milder ointments might be used, as the unguentum diachyli albi, or unguentum zinci oxidi (oxide of zinc ointment), spread to the thickness of a knife blade on a piece of old linen, and then applied. Should the general health suffer, then this should be attended to as the symptoms may demand. ACNE. There has undoubtedly been a stereotyped error in the spell- ing of the name of this disease, as it comes plainly from the Greek au/xr/ (acme); the old Greeks thought the disease occurred only at the acme of the system, hence its name. Diagnosis. This disease is an inflammation of the sebaceous and hair follicles, caused by the retained sebum, or proper excre- mentary material of the follicle. We can have three stages of this complaint: 1st. That of simply retained secretion with no inflammatory action, a comedo or little plug then being formed. It is then known as acne punctata. 2d. That of inflammatory action in the follicle, but with no infiltration or swelling of the integument. It is known as acne vulgaris, or acne simplex. 3d. That of inflammatory action in the follicle, with infil- tration and swelling of the integumentary structures. It is known as acne indurata. These three stages of acne may be seen upon the face of the young adults of either sex. It commences about the time of puberty, and may be quite rebellious to treatment. It is seen ACXE. 199 more frequently upon the breast and back than upon the face, and is rarely upon the latter without having previously been upon the former. The reason that it attacks those just reach- ing puberty is that at this time of life the hair and sebaceous follicles are in their most active condition. The young man, who is most frequently afflicted with this cosmetic trouble, is then just " growing his beard," one full of promises, may be, so it is kept continually encouraged by the irritating razor. Irritating cosmetics, as face-powders, face-washes, etc., are also equally common causes. So, too, sudden changes from a high to a low temperature, or vice versa. The hyperemia induced by this irritation only helps on the active state of the already over-active glands, and soon the sebaceous material loses its proper consistency and it is retained. Meanwhile the sebum-forming glands are still throwing out an abundance of excretory material, through the increased afflux of blood to the parts, and so a bad matter is constantly made worse, until, finally, a small point ulcerates, and this allows a free discharge of the retained, and often decomposed, fluid. When the dis- ease becomes quite general over one portion of the body, the points of inflammation coalesce, and you get the indurated condition — acne indurata. In these last two stages the disease much resembles Sycosis Menti, just described, and impetigo. For discussion further upon this you are referred to page 196. It may be well to mention again that acne is very rarely seen in those wearing beards; it is before the beard begins to be of much growth that it is chiefly witnessed. Treatment. For the treatment of the second and third stages the reader is referred to that given for eczema, and to that recommended for Sycosis Menti. For the first stage to that given for seborrhoea, which the disease greatly resembles, and 200 IMPETIGO. is so classed by some authors. It may be well to add that when these hard pimples form they should be opened with a fine cambric needle at the top, so as to allow the escape of the imprisoned sebum; after this is done, washing with soap, with a shampooing process, followed by brisk rubbings with a coarse towel, will be found to favor a free discharge of the obnoxious contents of the follicular cyst, thus saving an ulcer- ative process (one leaving little pits or scars) upon the face. As a lotion some slightly astringent one, as the following, may be recommended: 3$. Acidi tannici (tannic acid), 3 iv (four drachms). Glycerinse (glycerine), §j (ounce). Aquae rosee (rose water), § j (one ounce). Spr. myrciae (bay- rum), 1 j (one ounce). M. S. Use freely. As a dressing at night, the officinal oxide of zinc ointment (unguentum zinci oxidi) might be smeared over the face, or this ointment combined with some astringent, as the following: 1$. Unguenti zinci oxidi, § ij (two ounces). Acidi gallici (gallic acid), 3 ij (two drachms). Potassii iodidi (iodide of potash), 3 ij (two drachms). The diet should be seen to in most of these cases; an abstemi- ous one being generally followed. Cathartics, among the best being the Hunyadi water, or the ordinary epsom salts, taking a dessertspoonful in a half teacup of cold water before breakfast, and diuretics are also required in a certain class of plethoric cases. IMPETIGO. Diagnosis. What is ordinarily known as impetigo is really, in most cases, but a pustular form of eczema; yet as most authorities upon skin diseases have retained the name, I have also done so. As to the diagnosis and treatment of the trouble RUPIA SYPHILITICA. 201 sufficient information has been given in the chapters upon Eczema and Tinea Sycosis. RUPIA SYPHILITICA. Diagnosis. This complaint, when fully developed, can hardly be confounded with Sycosis. The scales, or crusts, are too isolated, and are, also, so prominently conical; then, too, they are found on other portions of the face than where the beard is found; neither are they confined to the hair follicles, when found among the eyebrows or beard. The history of the patient will plainly point to an infection months before. The treatment of this complaint is not in place in this treatise, and should be undertaken, as indeed all the severer forms of the diseases of the hairy portion of the head, only by a competent practitioner. CHAPTER XIX. DERMATOPHYTE DISEASES IN GENERAL. VEGETABLE PAEASITIC DISEASES. Derivation. The term dermatoj^hytic, as used to denote vegetable parasitical skin diseases, is derived from the two Greek words, depfxa, skin, and ipvrov, plant; meaning skin- plant, in its noun-adjective use. Description. Chemically we find that these fungi contain no starch or chlorophyll, but that they abound in nitrogenous elements. This is characteristic of all mycological growths. The algae, their allied vegetable forms, contain a substance that changes to blue on the addition of a soluble iodide, thus showing the presence of a substance similar to starch. They are all microscopical growths, some of them needing the highest powers to bring them out well. They are found to consist of: 1st. The mycelium ; these are fine, hair-like filaments that form, as it were, the roots of the fungus, as represented in the cut. Sometimes these are pointed, resembling more a long, narrow-linked chain. The contents of these mycelial threads are generally granules and cells, though usually these are not very abundant. The threads interlace each other frequently, so much so that it is hard to follow a single one, for any great distance, without getting it con- fused with its fellows. They are usually about the diameter of a red blood-corpuscle. They are also fre- VEGETABLE PARASITIC DISEASES. 203 quently subject to quite prominent enlargements, as is seen in figure 26. These bulb-like growths on the mycelial threads are known as macro-conidia. 2d. The hyphen ; this is an upwardly-shooting growth from the mycelium, which it resembles in size, and every way, save that the jointings are, at times, more prominently marked. It serves the purpose of a stem on w T hich the conidia may ripen. 3d. The conidia; these are the bodies that are generally called spores; they are usually seen united together in chains (sjjoridia), as at d in the cut; though w r hen fully "ripe," each becomes detached from the other. They are very small, usually not over the one-four-thousandth or the one-five-thou- sandth of an inch in diameter. Each, spore has a composite structure, having outer and inner coats inclosing a fluid body. Frequently they may show" a nucleus and granular matter; sometimes they may be constricted at the middle. Though these may be popularly called seeds, yet they are not such in a strictly scientific sense; they are more properly bidbs, as they are not produced by any sexual function, there being no sexu- ality, apparently, in the plants. Being so small, they are very light and float easily in the atmosphere. This is the chief form of contagion for these cryptogamic growths. Air from a room where many favus patients have congregated will yield these sporules in abundance; hold a piece of cold glass — so mois- ture will condense upon it — for a short time above the head of a patient afflicted with these parasitic diseases, and, on micro- scopical examination, it will be found to have been frequently visited by these cryptogamic bulbs. 4th. Stroma ; these consist of a large number of very small cells, much smaller than the conidia, with which the ripened conidia and macro-conidia seem to be filled. Leastwise, I look upon them as being the fruit of a ripened conidium, and 204: VEGETABLE PARASITIC DISEASES. being discharged from the same through bursting of the parental coatings. Growth. These plants are produced by the mycelial threads, or conidia, getting upon fertile ground; by this I mean upon persons living in dark, damp dwellings (for heat and moisture are the two prime factors favoring mold-growths of all kinds), and whose habits are not over-cleanly; also by getting upon the bodies of persons whose health is broken down, the skin thereby being impaired, and hence more easily penetrated by the mycelial threads sprouting from the conidia, or from the transplantation of the threads themselves. The plants also thrive upon abraded surfaces of persons in good health, the heat of the body, moisture from the serum poured out, and the easy access to a hair follicle, through the denudation of the scaly layer of the epithelium, favoring the cryptogam's speedy growth. The reason why more people are not afflicted with these parasitical diseases, as myriads of spores capable of fruiting are constantly in the air of the affected regions, is that soap and frictions, from clothing and towels, and the like, are destructive to their growth, through the mechanical process of constantly brushing them from our bodies, and breaking off the hyphens when ready to send out their conidia and sporidia. The disease is, then, propagated by actual contact with an afflicted individual, which results in the transplantation of the mycelial threads, conidia or stroma; or by means of the spores (conidia or stroma) in the atmosphere; or the spores being conveyed to the individual by means of the clothing. There is another source, other than our fellow men, and our domestic animals, from which we may take these vegetable parasitical diseases, and that is from the conidia from the com- mon mould of decaying vegetables. The penicilium glaucum, VEGETABLE PARASITIC DISEASES. 205 or the common white mould, which is figured upon page 202, seems fairly to be the progenitor of most of our other moulds, and, when favorably transplanted to our skins and hair follicles, will develop info some one of the cryptogams which we find infesting these localities. Leastwise, the different varieties of vegetable moulds are interchangeable; the resulting variety, after transplantation, being due more to the conditions of the soil to which it is transferred than to the fungi from which it was derived. So, too, the parasites from our hair follicles, if transferred to decaying vegetable matter, will take on a form of growth characteristic of the mould fungus of the plant on which it thrives. Halliere and several others have found the parasite from favus (the achorion Schonleinii), when trans- planted to slices of apples, lemons and other succulent plants, as well as to albumen and blood, to produce the veritable peni- cilium just described. Then, too, it is well understood that several of our skin vegetable-parasites are interchangeable among themselves; hence it is no more than fair to suppose the near kinship of all animal and vegetable fungi. Effects. The effects of these different cryptogamic growths on our bodies are specifically given in the several following chapters. In general, though, we find them producing great irritation of the skin, drying up and splitting of the hairs, or the total uprooting of them, with, finally, permanent baldness and shrinking or cicatricial hardening of the skin. Accompanying these various stages are constitutional disturbances calling, frequently, for a prolonged use of sedatives or tonics, or both combined. Diagnosis. This, excepting in a general way, can be made only by a careful microscopical examination of some of the debris from the affected locality. In making this examination 206 VEGETABLE PARASITIC DISEASES. care should be used lest we be misled by some of the physio- logical elements to be found in the same locality. The crust, or hair, should be placed under as favorable a con- dition as possible for examination. If a crust} 'a small portion should be soaked in a little ether, so as remove all the fatty particles, and then to this, after drying, add a small quantity of water, so as to soften it well down; then remove to the glass slide, and cover with the thin glass. Be as chary of manipulation as possible, for you are otherwise apt to break the mycelium and chains of conidia. If a hair, it should be plucked from a diseased follicle, and soaked in ether, to remove all fat cells, then receive a wash- ing, and then be covered with diluted liquor potassse, so as to render the hair-cylinder transparent. It should be handled carefully, and as little pressure as possible should be used in getting it ready for the microscope. In making the examination you have to remember, 1st. That the conidia may be mistaken, when seen singly, for blood discs, fat cells, the granular matter of pus, or the free nuclei of epithelial cells and the granular matter from the same. You make your differentiation by the use of reagents, which have no effect upon the conidia. Chloroform, ether, or alcohol dissolves fat cells, and render epithelium transparent. Ammonia will dissolve pus cells, and will but slightly affect the conidia, the only effect being to render them a little more transparent. Crusts, hair, fat, pus and epithelium are dissolved in a hot potash solution. Then, too, conidia are constant as to size, being smaller than a blood-disc, whereas fat cells vary a good deal in their size. The most common error will be to diagnose an epithelial cell, in a state of fatty degeneration, as a cell invaded by stray sporules. 2d. The mycelium may sometimes be mistaken for filaments VEGETABLE PARASITIC DISEASES. 207 from the clothing, though this would be hardly possible if it were well developed. Then, too, a hair may become roughened so that one of the slivers might be, at first, taken for a myce- lial thread, or a broken hyphen; then the imbrications of the hair scales, as seen on page 34, have much the appearance of mycelial threads running in a zigzag course across the diameter of the hair-cylinder. This can be differentiated by the use of liquor potassse, which has no action on the cryptogamic growth. 3d. The stroma, or breeding cells from the conidia, may be present and overlooked, from the fact that a high enough power is not employed. Still, an eighth objective, with ordi- nary handling, will show them nicely. Then, too, they may be mistaken for fat granules; but the action of ether upon fat will be sufficient to diagnose them from the fatty particles. Again, these, or the conidia, may be j^resent in so small a quantity as to render the examination unsatisfactory. In this case, give the plant a little growing season, as a few days sojourn in a little glycerine and water, and then examine again. Ordinarily, it will be found to have increased rapidly in size and in the number of its elements. Treatment. In general, we have to aim to kill the parasite, and the quickest Avay to do this is by the aid, in the severer cases, of strong parasiticides, preceded by epilation of the dis- eased hairs. This last process, the plucking out of the diseased hairs, may be objected to on the part of the patient, fearing lest they will not come in again. You can assure him, though, that all fear on this score is groundless, unless the disease has gone so far as to destroy the hair papillae; in this case the hair will have already been shed. A Russian physician, Stroganor, has paid special attention to the rejuvenation of hair, after its epilation, and these are his conclusions: 1. Hairs epilated usually break off before the 208 VEGETABLE PARASITIC DISEASES. bulb is reached, and very rarely at the junction of the bulb with the papillae. 2. When the hairs are broken off at the papilla?, that is with the bulb completely extracted, young pigment cells are found at the surface of the papillae on the third to the fifth day after epilation, and by the end of the third to the fifth week have filled the follicle completely, but it is some time thereafter before the hair is completely formed. On the contrary, when hairs are removed, the bulb remaining, the rejuvenation is much more rapid, and if the bulb, not a por- tion of the shaft, is left, the process of renewal is still more rapid. CHAPTER XX. TINEA TONSURANS (ringworm of the scalp). Synonym. Herpes tonsurans. Derivation. From the Latin tinea, meaning a moth or wood- worm; and, tonsurans, from the verb tondeo, meaning to clip, shave, or cut. Description. This contagious scalp disease belongs, ordi- narily, to the period of childhood. It is a local, and not a con- stitutional disease; hence, the health of the patient is not usually affected. As it is a vegetable parasitical disease, it must, of course, find more fertile ground for its development in those of vitiated constitution, and those dwelling in damp and not over-cleanly apartments, and whose personal habits are not of the neatest. It is a contagious disease, spreading by contact, as well as by the means of sporules conveyed through the air. Hence, when in asylums and retreats, and boarding-schools, all the inmates are apt to be affected. Cause. This disease is produced by the trichophyton (Opii;, hair, and q)vrov, & plant, "a hair plant ") tonsurans, meaning as above given. The name was first given it by Malmsten. The filaments (mycelia) of the fungus are made up of a concatenated series of elongated cells, holding granular matter; these are very limited in number, the great bulk of the fungus consisting of spores. These exist in great numbers, and permeate the hair shaft, hair bulb, hair follicle and epidermis. The mycelial threads run lengthwise of the shaft, 14 210 RINGWORM OF THE SCALP. displacing the fibres of the fibrous portion, and are especially prolific at the root, as more moisture is there. Conidia and spores are, then, given off profusely, and this gives the swell- ing seen in the hair shaft of a diseased specimen. Figure 27 gives a good microscopic view of a hair- shaft permeat- ed with this fungus. The spores, which are seen in such vast num- bers, are very minute, being but the g^Vo- to the -g-J w of an inch in diameter, and are frequently nucleated. Sometimes, when a suspected hair is placed under a microscope, the fungus is not discovered; in these cases some reagent, as a weak solution of liquor potassas, should be dropped upon the speci- men, when the sporules will become quite visible. Figure 28 shows a hair just beginning to become affected with the disease. A mycelial thread is seen standing off from the hair bulb, surmounted by the conidia and fruiting spores, with groups of fruitful spores upon the hair cylinder itself. The "seeds" of the fungus are these little spores, which may be conveyed by the wind or clothing from one head to another; Fig. ar. RINGWORM OF THE SCALP. 211 Fig. 28. they, the spores, lodging upon the scalp of their new victim, find means of sustenance between the loose epi- thelial scales of the scarf- skin, or in the hair folli- cles, and hence soon take root and grow. Persons afflicted with Tinea Tonsurans, usu- ally have other " ring- worms " (herpes circi- n a t u s) ontlie body. The two diseases spring from the same parasite, but the conditions of its growth being different on the body, there finding a poor supply of hair follicles, etc., it does not reach so perfect, or mature, if you please, develop- ment as when on the scalp. The tAvo diseases, though, are quite readily interchangeable. Diagnosis. The hair, in spots varying in size from a half- inch to two inches in diameter, becomes dry and harsh, and lusterless, and finally either breaks off or falls out. On exam- ining the skin of these bald places, a fine, branny, scaly dandruff is noticed, that is easily removed. Sometimes a slight vesi- cular eruption is noticed during the first stages. There is a certain amount of itching present, owing to the irritation of the continually-growing fungus in the hair follicle. When- ever, therefore, upon the scalp this " stubby " condition of the hairs, in spots, with a furfuraceous desquamation, is seen, some of the diseased hairs and epithelial scales should be at once subjected to a microscopic examination, in order to determine 212 RINGWORM OF THE SCALP. positively if it be not a parasitical disease that is affecting the scalp. The stumps of the hairs left in the follicles, if bent, show no inclination to return to their ordinary erect position. The hair follicles are also slightly enlarged and pointed, and the cuticle proper may be reddened, or of an ashy gray color. If there has been much irritation with the nails, or other irritants, an eczematous condition may be added to the symptoms com- mon to Tinea Tonsurans. Treatment. This really divides itself into three heads: 1st, The prevention of the growth of the parasite, by altering the soil so as to render it less favorable for production. 2d, The destruction of the parasite proper. 3d, The relief of the symptoms consequent upon its visitation. The first is met by removing the child afflicted to more healthy quarters, if his present ones be damp and musty, a con- dition favorable for the development of all fungi. Then give him good, nourishing food, in which fatty substances may pre- dominate, for, as a rule, children subject to this disorder shun fatty articles of food; if need be, order cod-liver oil, sweet cream, beef marrow, and the like, for it is the pale-faced, lymphatic child that is most often subject to this parasite. Appetite is apt to be impaired, and the bowels somewhat torpid in these cases, hence these should be attended to by the administration of proper tonics. As good as any is the following: ^. Tr. cinchonae comp. (compound tincture of cinchona), 1 ij (2 ounces). Syr. rhei (rhubarb syrup), I j (1 ounce). Ferri citratis (citrate of iron), 3 ij (2 drachms). Syr. limonis (syrup of lemons), 3 vj (6 drachms). M. S. Teaspoonful, in a little water, just before meals. If digestion is impaired, a formula like the following would be indicated: RINGWOBM OF THE SCALP. 213 1$. Elixiris pepsinae, strych. et bismuthi (elixir pepsine, strychnia and bismuth), §ij (2 ounces). Extracti malti (extract of malt), § ij (2 ounces). M. S. Teaspoonful one-half hour after meals. As the disease is communicated by " mangy " animals, if a cat or dog be about the premises that is thus afflicted, it is best to make way with it at once. The second indication is met by the use of parasiticides of various kinds. But, first of all, do not trust the cure to the application of domestic remedies; more hurt, than good, arises from this treatment, as a rule. The hair should be closely cut over the diseased portions of the scalp, and for some distance around; it is not necessary to have the scalp shaved. Epilation, if the case be very severe, should then be made of all the diseased hair stumps and hairs. If this should be so very painful, the scalp, unless badly irritated, might be lightly blistered (of course, not covering a large extent of the scalp surface at any one sitting), which will render the process more easily to be borne. It is really essential that this epilation shall be thoroughly done, in rebel- lious cases, as each diseased hair, or stump, is fertile breeding- ground for the spores (seeds) of the parasite. In milder, and more recent, cases this epilatory process is not so urgently indicated. Of course, from the brittleness of the diseased hairs, this will be a somewhat tedious process, as many of them will break off close to the scalp. In such cases, wait a week or so until the hair has grown out again, when renew your efforts. Even though you do not remove all the diseased hair, you need not be discouraged, for although you remove but a portion of a shaft each time, the aggregate amount of all the shafts removed lessens, vastly, the amount of diseased breeding sur- face left. After this process of epilation has been gone 214 RINGWORM OF THE SCALP. through with, the application of the parasiticide is in order. This may be the "potash soap," previously spoken of, which may be allowed to dry on and left for a while, or vigorous frictions of the alkaline spirit of soap (page 179), might be employed, if the case be not a severe one. The mercuric bichloride wash is also another favorite with many jDracti- tioners; this may vary from four to twenty grains of the bichloride of mercury to the ounce of water, or ointment, in strength. As it is very poisonous, care must be had that it is not applied too freely to abraded surfaces. My favorite remedy is carbolic acid, combined or not with tr. iodinii, as the case may demand, as the following: R\ Acidi carbolici (carbolic acid), 1 ss Q4 ounce). Glycerinss (glycerine), §j(l ounce). M. S. Local. Apply this daily with thorough friction, if need be, for a few days. If iodine is to be used, then add to the above: Tr. iodinii, 3 ij (2 drachms). By Tilbury Fox, the following has been highly recommended; it is known as "Caster's salve" in England: fy. Iodinii (iodine), 3 j to ij (1 or 2 drachms). 01. picis liquidse (oil of tar, colorless), % j (1 ounce). M. S. External. Six applications are said to be sufficient. As a dressing for the patient to use daily, the following might be recommended: R\ Sodii hyposulph. (hyposulphite of soda), ^j (1 ounce). Liq. potassas (liquor potassa), 3 ij (2 drachms). Olei olivse (sweet oil), § ij (2 ounces). Aquse (water), 1 iv (4 ounces). The soda to be dissolved in the water first, then the oil, to which the potash has been added, to be slowly added to the RINGWORM OF THE SCALP. 215 water, the whole being well shaken together at the time of mixing and at each time of using. If a few drops of oil of rose, or oil of sandal wood, be added to the olive oil, it makes quite a nicely perfumed dressing. This is to be applied once or twice a day. A weak carbolic acid solution, with a little oil added, is also a good daily dressing. The oil is quite an important ingredient, as it prevents, in a certain measure, the free distribution of the spores about the apartment in which the patient lives, thus lessening the chance of giving the disease to others. After the fungus has been destroyed, which can only be told by the continued use of the microscope during the treatment (for oftentimes it occurs that a hair may outwardly be as pliant and robust as ever, yet the microscope will detect the tricho- phyton seeds in its roots or shafts), then you can turn your attention, if you have not already done so, to the building up of the hair-formative powers of the scalp. If there is yet much infiltration of the scalp, then the oil of birch and tar ointment (page 189) is to be applied for awhile. Friction is an important element of cure in ringworm cases, since an infil- trated condition of the skin is often left as a result of the long continued irritation of the disease. For tonics to stimulate hair-growth you need but follow the directions given on pages 91 and 149, supplementing the cold water douche with the cantharidal dressing there recommended. Note. Tinea Kerion, of some authorities, I take to be but a state of Tinea Tonsurans where the hair follicles have been inflamed, through uncleanliness, over-use of domestic remedies, or even by the over-officiousness of an incompetent physician. In these cases the diseased places on the scalp become tumefied, through the local infiltration of the integument, a glutinous fluid exudes from the follicle, and the neighboring lymphatic 216 RINGWORM OF THE SCALP. glands of the neck may, or may not, be swollen. The treat- ment is to let the parts rest for a time, if they have been over- treated, then apply the remedies as indicated previously. Epilation is necessary in this stage of the complaint; as, by removing the hair bulb, you take off the pressure from the sensitive and inflamed follicle. CHAPTER XXI. TINEA FAVOSA. HONEYCOMB EINGWORM OF THE SCALP. Synonyms. Favus, Scall. Derivation. From the two Latin words, tinea, meaning a moth or wood-worm, and favus, a honeycomb; so called because it was at first believed to be an animal parasite; and secondly, because the crusts somewhat resemble honeycomb. Cause. A vegetable parasite known to mi- croscopists as Achori- on Schonleinii. As conducive causes, there may be men- tioned, bodily filthi- ness, and damp, dark Fig. 29. apartments. It occurs mostly in children, chiefly those of a strumous habit. The parasite was first discovered in the Favus crusts by Schonlein in 1839; later in the hairs by Gruby and Wedl. It consists of the spores, figure 29, and mycelia usually found in all of these parasitic fungi; the spores being about the size of the red blood-globules, or 3^ o- °f an inch in diameter. Sometimes the spores are. united together in concatenated chains f'r^i'P'f Fig. 30. more or less 218 HONEYCOMB RINGWORM OF THE SCALP. branched. Oftentimes there is a stroma of very small sporules present — much smaller than the spores just described. Probably these are the " fruiting sporules " sown by the bursting of a spore ripe with seeds. Figure 30 is a microscopical view of a split hair shaft, showing the formation of these concatenated spores and mycelia in the fibrous and cellular stroma of the body of the hair. Diagnosis. The peculiar shape of the crusts is almost pathog- nomonic, and hence the microscope is only needed, in the majority of cases, to confirm an opinion formed by an ocular inspection of the diseased surface. The crusts form about the mouth of a hair duct, the hair-shaft piercing the centre, and are, at first, about the size of a mustard seed. As the disease advances, they enlarge to the size of a half dime, become hollowed out, upon their upper surface; in other words, are cup-shaped. Their color is a sulphur yellow. The odor from them has been likened to that from cat's urine, or the odor of mice. When a crust is raised from its bed a cup-shaped cavity is left in the skin, which has been the result of absorption by the constant pressure above, and may or may not be ulcerated. If of long standing, cicatricial structure seems to fasten the little pits to the aponeurosis (fibrous covering) of the cranial muscles. On turning the crust over, it will be found to present a convex surface on its under side. The crusts, usually, are placed singly upon the scalp, though sometimes two or more may coalesce. Though usually found upon the scalp, they may be found on various hairy portions of the body. There is always more or less of an itching accompanying the disease. To distinguish it from impetigo (a crusted tetter of pustular origin), you have to remember that Favus has no discharge, and that impetigo has no cup-shaped crusts. The hair that penetrates a Favus crust is always stunted in H0XBYC03IB EIXGWOBM OF THE SCALP. 219 growth, is harsh, brittle, dull in color, easily broken or extracted from the follicle. This is very reasonable, from the fact that a vegetable parasite feeds upon the follicle and papilla that should furnish the hair its supply of nutriment, and then the parasite also invades the body of the hair itself, there pro- ducing disease and decay. When the crusts are to be examined microscopically, they are to be softened in a little water, or glycerine, and then a portion of this pulp put under the object glass. Care should be used to put the covering glass lightly over the specimen, so as not to break down the spores, or to hopelessly entangle them in the sebaceous matter of the crust. When the hairs are to be examined, they are first to be macerated in a weak solution of caustic potash — say one part to ten or fifteen of water — then washed with pure water, and mounted for examination with the same care that is used in mounting the crusts, when, with a good glass, the fungus can, if present in the specimen, be quite readily detected. (See page 206 for differentiation of the para- site from normal tissue.) Treatment. This is a disease that should be seen to early, as when it is of long standing a total loss of the hair is the result. The first thing is to remove the crusts, and this is done by means of oil macerations, followed with soap, as described in previous chapters, especially on Seborrhoea. When this has been done thoroughly, and the scalp has been cleansed from the oil and soap, the whole diseased surface is to be epilated. Every diseased hair left in its follicle is a source of contagion for all the rest of the head, hence the sooner the f ungating mass is gotten rid of the better. Usually this is not a very pain- ful operation. It is done by the use of tweezers, pulling out a single hair at a time. As the hairs are quite brittle, from the ravages of the fungus within their shafts, it follows that they 220 HONEYCOMB EINGWOEM OF THE SCALP. frequently break off near the skin; hence seize them with the tweezers as near the scalp as possible. If the pain induced by their extraction is too severe, it can be allayed, somewhat, by the application of the ether spray. If the disease is not of too long standing, you can safely promise a return of the hirsute growth. After the hair has been thoroughly epilated, then the appli- cation of some parasiticide will be necessary. Probably car- bolic acid is as harmless to the general system as anything, and is usually pretty successful, hence should be tried first. The following will make a very eligible preparation in case the acid is not used clear: * 3$. Acidi carbolici (carbolic acid), Glycerine (glycerine), Aquas puras (pure water), aa. (of each) 3 iij (three drachms). M. S. Apply thoroughly over the diseased surface once a day for a few times. To be used by the physician. As a dressing to be used by the patient, with which compresses may be kept wet and applied to the part, is 1$. Acidi carbolici (carbolic acid), 3 ij (two drachms). G-lycerinae (glycerine), § j (one ounce). Aquae rosae (rose water), I viij (eight ounces). The potash soap, either pure or in the form of an embroca- tion, as spoken of in the chapter on Seborrhoea, is also an excel- lent application. If used pure, it is to be used twice daily, then, after drying, to be rubbed off, and the dressing above given is to be applied. Another valuable parasiticide is corrosive sublimate. It may be used in an ointment, as the following: TJ. Hydrargyri chlo. cor. (corrosive sublimate), grs. x to xx (10 to 20 grains). Cerati simplicis (simple cerate), § j (one ounce). M. S. Poison. HONEYCOMB RINGWORM OF THE SCALP. 221 This is to be applied only in the early treatment of the dis- ease and under a physician's advice. If the mercuric bichlor- ide is preferred in solution, the following, a somewhat stronger form than the one just given, might be used: R. Hydrargyri chlo. cor. (corrosive sublimate), grs. xx (20 grains). Acidi muriatici (muriatic acid), 3 ss (half drachm). Alcoholis (alcohol), 3 vij (seven drachms). M. S. Poison. Apply with camel's hair brush. (Should be used only by the physician.) After these measures have been used sufficiently long to insure the death of the fungi, the milder tar and white birch oil oint- ment, spoken of in the chapter upon Eczema, might be employed for a time, especially if there be any infiltration of the corium. Gradually milder ointments may be employed, until, finally, cocoa oil may finish off the case; the point being, in the latter part of the treatment, to merely protect the sensitive skin from the atmosphere, by a coating of oil. Dr. Sawicki recommends the following: R\ Cretae pulv. (pulv. chalk), |j (one ounce). Acidi carbolici (carbolic acid), grs. xlviij (48 grains). 01. olivae, q. s. (enough) to make a pliant mass. Apply over the surface of the scalp, after cutting the hair short and washing the head thoroughly. On the third day following remove the crust, formed from the application, with oil and soapy water, then re-apply. Usually, he asserts, three or four applications effect a cure. Generally there is some constitutional treatment demanded; not that the disease is one of constitutional diathesis, but that it most frequently makes its appearance, as do most parasitical diseases, upon those living in squalid quarters, and who have not been properly fed or nourished. Iron and cod-liver oil will be found the most useful of these constitutional remedies to administer. A change of air will often be found beneficial, and this with cream, when it can be had, or beef marrow, will be found favorable adjuncts to the medical treatment, whether 222 HONEYCOMB RINGWORM OF THE SCALP. local or constitutional. That the disease is a local one should constantly be remembered, so that the constitutional treatment may always be secondary to the local. As a stimulating lotion to the surface made bald by epilation, or the casting of the hair by the natural effects of the disease, the following can, for a while, be employed: R\ Tt*. canthai'idis (tr. Spanish flies), 3 j (one drachm). Tr. nucis vomicae (tr. nux vomica), 3 iij (three drachms). Olei cocois (cocoa oil), 1 ss (half ounce), Aquae cologniensis (cologne water), vel (or) Spiritus myrciae (bay ruin), § ii j (three ounces). Apply this morning and night to the scalp, after a thorough brushing with a soft bristle brush. CHAPTER XXII. TINEA DECALVANS. PATCHY BALDNESS. Synonyms. Alopecia areata; Local alopecia. Derivation. From the Latin tinea, a moth or woodworm, and the verb decalveo, to be or to make bald. Discussion. It is a question of dispute among our derma- tologists whether this disease should be classed among the parasitical ones or not. I am strongly inclined to the parasitical nature of the complaint, judging from my own experience with it, and that of others. Gruby was the first who described a fungus in the hairs of the portion of the scalp so diseased. Kiichenmeister, Malmstein, Robin, Wedl, Bazin, Hardy, Hebra, Hillier, Squire, Godfrey and Fox, also look upon it as of parasitical origin. All admit, though, that there is a form of local baldness without the presence of the parasite, which has been treated of; see page 153. The dermatologists who favor the MO^-parasitical form of the complaint are Neumann, Cazenave, Devergie, Barensprung, Hutchinson, Veiel, Bock and Bulkley. So far as the weight of authority goes, it is plainly in favor of the parasitical origin of the trouble. In the law of experimental evidence, an affirmative goes further than a negative. However, as the treatment of most local alopecias as if of parasitical origin is most successful, it must follow, as a matter of course, that a vegetable growth was then hindering the proper development of the hair. Then, too, the extension of the disease shows plainly its parasitical nature. It begins as a small patch of baldness, not larger than a three-cent piece, 224 PATCHY BALDNESS. the place having previously been subject to itchings and a slight dandruffy exfoliation of the epidermis. From a spot of this size its borders are gradually extended until, as in some cases, the whole cranium has been laid bare. Now, clearly, no nervous trouble, for this is what the authorities that do not favor the parasitical origin of the disease hold it to be, would be so regular in its ravages; neither would the portion of the scalp affected with this nervous malnutrition be so clearly marked out, leaving the closely adjoining hairs as healthy and luxuriant as if no trouble were present in the scalp at all. Then, too, the disease is contagious, as Hillier has clearly proven, from the fact that at Han well, in a school where it first broke out, some forty children, occupying the same portion of the building, were affected, and in these cases the fungus was detected on a careful microscopic examination. Causes. This disease is caused by the vegetable parasite, microsporon (/MxpoZ, small, and (T7ropoZ, a seed) Audouini (a man's name). This is one of the smallest vegetable parasites It is probably owing to the very minuteness of the fungus that it has so often escaped detection. The spores vary from the 2 6 1 - to the -g-oVo" °f an mcn m dia- meter. The mycelial threads are very small also, and are few in number, another ele- ment in the way of easily detecting the parasitical na- ture of the trouble. Figure 31 represents a hair from a spot Flg ' 31 * affected with this fungoid growth with the spores scattered upon the shaft, and a branch- that affect man. PATCHY BALDNESS. 225 ing mycelium. If on first examination, you do not detect the fungus, an artificial feeding of it, as described in the general chapter upon these hyphomycetes, for a few days, will bring it more fully forward, when, with the use of a weak solution of liquor potassse, it may discovered if present. Diagnosis. Circular bald patches upon the head or face (beard), varying in size from a three-cent piece to complete friar baldness, preceded by a stage of itching and furfuraceous desquamation. These spots, usually, are upon one side of the head, though sometimes may be seen equally upon both sides, if there are several bald patches. If the scalp be exam- ined closely a degree of redness, at first, will be seen with the normal number of hair follicles, but with soft downy hairs, and the scalp will not have lost its ordinary sensation. This is contrary to what we find in cases of local baldness from nervous malfunction, for in these the scalj} has lost its ordinary sensibility; it is white and atrophied, and the hair follicles are almost entirely absent; besides this, there is almost always a history of neuralgia in the neighborhood of the spots of bald- ness. Authorities say that the disease is more often seen in girls, and young people. This has not been my experience with it, however. When first affected, besides the itching and dandruff, it will be noticed that the hairs