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HAIRS

825

HAKLUYT

The hairs are flexible, horny threads; the part which projects beyond the surface of the skin is called the shaft; the portion imbedded within the skin is the root, which at its lower extremity is expanded into a hollow knob called the hair-bulb; this fits over the hair-papilla. The hairs are inserted obliquely into the skin and the follicles are connected with small muscles, also obliquely placed, the contraction of which under the influence of cold, fear or other causes raises the hair. The shaft is composed of an outer layer, a middle layer oi modified cells and a central core with minute air-cavities. As the hair grows from the |||lb, the outer cells lose their protoplasm and become flattened scales; under the microscope the hair shows wavy lines where these scale-like remnants of cells fit together. The individual hairs have a certain length of life, and are shed and replaced. The human hair is not shed periodically, but a Constant shedding and replacement is going on as regards hairs of the scalp and the beard. The color of hair is due to coloring matter or pigment, and is modified by the air-vesicles contained within the shaft. The cut end of straight hair is circular in outline and that of curly hair is elliptical. Different kinds of hair can be distinguished both by texture and by microscopic examination. The hairs of the sloth, mink, seal, sheep or goat have each a different feel and a different appearance under the microscope. The causes of loss of haim or baldness are various and imperfectly understood; it is supposed to be due to contraction of the mouth of the hair-follicle and insufficient nutrition to the hair; these conditions are doubtless influenced by the presence* of bacteria. The theory of hair-restoration isfto remove the bacteria, expand the mouth of the hair follicle and stimulate the hair-papilla to new growth.

Hairs (in plants), outgrowths from the epidermis. A hair may consist of a single elongated cell or of numerous cells, sometimes branching profusely, as in the common mullein. Sometimes it ends in a knob, consisting of a single cell or a group of cells called a gland, which has the power of excreting a sticky substance, giving the plant a clammy feeling. Such gland-bearing hairs are called glandular hairs and are possessed by many plants. The hairy coverings of plants serve a variety of purposes, helping them to resist cold, drouth, intense sunlight,undue -wetting etc.

Ha^kla. See HECLA.

Haiti (hd-t^or Hayti (mountainous country), called by Columbus Hispaniola, formerly a French colony but now an independent republic, occupies the western portion of the island of San Domingo, between Cuba and Porto Rico, which, next to Cuba, is the largest of the West Indian

islands. The area of the republic is about 10,204 square miles, with a population of a little over two millions, chiefly negroes and mulattoes. The island is traversed by many ranges, but the valleys are green and fertile. There are no active volcanoes on the island, but earthquakes are frequent.

Government and Exports. The republic has a president at its head, and a senate, house of representatives and four heads of departments. Its exports are mainly coffee, cocoa, logwood, mahogany and cotton; of its imports about two thirds come from the United States.

Cities. The capital, Port-au-Prince, has a population of about 100,000 mostly colored. The other towns and their populations are Cape Haitien (30,000), Les Cayes (12,000), Gonaives (13,000) and Port de Faix (about 10,000). The language of the people is mostly a debased (Creole) French, the religion being chiefly Roman Catholicism.

History. Haiti was discovered by Columbus in 1492. A few years after the discovery of the island, its inhabitants were wiped out by the cruelties of the Spaniards, and their places filled by negro slaves as early as 1505. Then the settlement of the buccaneers on the island of Tortugas caused the western part to be ceded to France in 1697. In 1797 began the internal wars between the whites, blacks and mixed races, besides the revolt against France and French rule. Touissaint L* Ouverture, a negro who until he was 40 years old had been a slave, was the hero of the struggle and proved himself a states-marL In 1801 France attempted to regain Haiti, but in 1804 Dessalines proclaimed himself emperor of Hayti. In 1825 the Dominican republic, formed by the union of French and Spanish Haiti, was recognized by France. General Hippplyte became president in 1889, who has since been succeeded by General Tiresias Simon Sam (elected 1896) and later by General Nord Alexis. Several lines of steamers (German, French and Dutch), connect the ports of Haiti with New York and with Hamburg and other European ports. There is a railway from Cape Haiti to Grande River (15 miles), whence a line is to be constructed to Port-au-Prince. From this port is another line to Lake Assuei, which is 28 miles in length and is to connect the capitals of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. See SANTO DOMINGO and Hayti or the Black Republic by St. John.

Hakluyt (hak'loot), Richard, a distinguished English geographer, born about 1553 and died 1616. He was educated at Oxford and there became famous as a lecturer on the science of cosmography. In 1589 he published his great work The Principal Navigations, Voyages and Discoveries of the English Nation. Made by