Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1896-07-09
THE SKIN AND rTs CHILDREN.


a Man who Has CSunted the Hairs Of the
Human Head.
There are $4,000 hairs on the human
body. Prof. Charles Stewart, who de-
posed 10 this at the Royal institution re-
Gently, has counted them. He would
not, of course, be particular 20 a hair
or two one way or the other, but this on
the average is the result. The skin has,
therefore, a very respectable family Of
offsprings, for the biologists can show
US beyond all doubt that hairs are after
all only special parts of the skin that
nature has modified in this way in order
TO better protect and keep warm her
highly important works within. The
human skin is a much more complex
sort Of fabric than is properly imagined.
The true skin is right underneath. Yon
can make its acquaintance with the aid
of file or the sharp corner of door
lock. The outer skin or cuticle is really
a continually-renewed shield Of horny
scales, which are the cast-oR dead cells
Of the living layer below. The under
skin is the real business article, full Of
cunning little touch nerves" blood
vessels, 1ymPhatics. sweat glands, fat
glands. hair folIicIes and what not.
The foIlieIes are the pits in which the
hairs are grown. something like celery,
and nature has expended apparently
quite ridiculous amount of care on
these structures. The hair in each cell
is direct growth of the skin. It grows
at the rate of half an inch month. The
coloring matter, as we know, is apt 70
fade and leave us at the mercy of those
who commend fluids which "are not
dyes" Prof. Stewart thinks it quite pos
sibIe that sudden fright may bIanch the
pigment ''in a single night" but how it
= done. since this pigment in most cases
is far away from any visible nervous
control, he fails to see. Some people
have a peculiar sparkling look about
their sandy hair. The professor traces
this TO alterations Of white and col
ored growth. which he finds correspond
with alternate periods of II hours
normal growth. The pigment is, per-
haps. not deposited during the night.
bat is during the day. or vice versa.
Zach particular hair" stands uE
like quilts upon the fretfuI porcupine'
(which. by the way. are also hdiTs) by
virtue of an erector muscle. one end OF
which is fastened TO the bulb of the hair
and the other TO the point near the sur
face of the skin. When the muscle con-
tracts under nervous excitement the
hair is pulled up vertically Git usually
lies a little sIantingwise) The pull"
on the muscles is also seen at the point
Of attachment in the skin, giving rise
to the little dimples which, in conjunc-
ton with the erect hairg, produce the
appearance known as "goosefesh."
Other children of the skin, but only
20 in number, are the nails. These
arise out of sharp folds in the skin, and
arc essentially very tough, horny ma
terial built up from the living skin cells.
much in the same way as hairs are built
up. The growth is at the rate of about
the thirty-secondth OF an inch week.
The nail is fastened to the under skin
ky a peculiar system of locking teeth
While talking about the skin Prof. Stew
art did not overlook the Sweat glands" |
which lie buried in the under skin, ex.
tracing from the blood some 50 ounces |
of 7yatery waste products day. These
pass out through corkscrew passages !
in the outer skin. emerging in the shape |
of the myriad little pores, which we can !
just make out by the aid of an ordinary |
pocket lens. There are about 10000 of /
such openings on the palm of ones |
hand. Prof. Stewart has counted them. |
but again he will not risk his reputation /
for strict veracity on the question of Il /
single pore one way or another. II is /
averages he deals in. feeling. of course. /
that the public are not exacting in such I
matters.-Iondon Graphic.