Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/507

* HAIKLESS DOG. 455 HAIR-SPRING. the body and a tuft at the tip of the tail. In East India the mountaineers of Coimbaton use a dog they call the 'polygar' in the chase of the bear and wild boar, which is wholly destitute of hair. It is fierce and unmanageable except by its keeper, and in this respect dillcrs from all other known hairless dogs. In Central Africa there is a naked dog of greyhound type, about 14 inches tall and with a slender body about 22 inches long, and much retracted in the flanks. A few hairs are found near its tail, around the mouth, and on the legs. Its skin is black. Eeng- ger gives reasons for believing that when America was discovered by Europeans a hairless dog was domesticated, which was distinct from the hair- less dog found preser-ed in the ancient Peruvian burial-places, described by Tschudi under the name of 'Inca dog.' Other hairless dogs exist in the Philippine Islands, the Antilles, and the Bahamas. A large naked dog is figured by Cla- vigero as one of the indigenous animals of ancient Mexico. In the native language it was called by a name translated into 'servant dog.' Tlie small edible dogs of the Mexicans, which the Spaniards spoke of as 'very tender and delicate food,' un- doubtedly were the puppies of this breed. Their Indian equivalent title was 'sucker.' because, doubtless, they were taken from their mother to be eaten before they had ceased to nurse. Hairless dogs, called 'Mexican hairless,' are often shown in the pet-dog classes at the dog shows. They are very like shaved black and tan terriers, but lack the keen eye of that dog. They are mostly of a blue or brownish color, entirely devoid of hair except a few straggling single ones here and there on the body and tail, and some- times a small tuft on the head. The skin, as a rule, is wrinkled, and generally harsh to the touch. HAIR MANUFACTURES. The diiTerenee between hair and wool is that the surface of the former is smooth and hard, while the latter is covered with little projections so that it can be felted easily. The hair of animals is woven into fabrics, made into brushes, and used as a,stuffing for upholstery. Horsehair is woven into hair- cloth (q.v. ). It is also twisted into thick yarn, and woven into sacking in the ordinary way, in Anatolia and Rumelia. Cow-hair is used in large quantities by masons to bind plastering to- gether. It is also worked up into a rough yarn, and is woven into carpets in Germany ; and in Norway is made into socks by the peasants. Pier's hair is similarly employed in China; and among the natives of the Hudson's Bay Territories dog's hair is used for the same purpose. The goat's hair of Tibet and Persia, and the camel's hair used in weaving, belong rather to the true wools, and will be treated of under Wool. The shorter kinds of horsehair from the manes and tails, also cow-hair and the softer kinds of pig-hair, are twisted into ropes, which, after being boiled and then thoroughly dried in an oven, are pulled to pieces. The hair retains the twist given it, and is then used for stuffing seats of chairs, etc. Brushe.s of Hair are of various kinds ; some are made of the stiff hairs from the backs of pigs, and others are made of the soft hair of the camel and other animals. The hairs for the first kind are usually called bristles. They are chiefly used in the manufacture of hair and clothes brushes, tooth and nail brushes, house-sweeping brooms, the larger kinds of painters' brushes, etc. The second kind are chiefly employed in the manufacture of the fine brushes or hair pencils used by painters and artists. Tlie best bristles come from Russia. Besides the camel, hairs are yielded for this purpose by the badger, sable, goat, dog, etc. See Brush and Broom. HuMN Hair is sometimes emjjloyed for orna- mental purposes, as chains and artificial flowers, but its principal use is to supply natural deficien- cies, and for this purpose it is made up into wigs, toupees, and switches. See Wig. The greater part of the hair used in Great Britain and the United States is imported through French dealers, who collect it from the peasant girls of Holland and Germany, as well as from the various departments of their own countries. The light colors are usually obtained from the former countries, and the dark shades from Brittany. This does not arise irom the cir- cumstance that these countries yield the finest heads of hair^ but because the poverty of the people cause its sale to be a matter of importance. The girls sell all but the front hair, and then wear a handkerchief or coiffc to hide their shorn locks. At the annual French fairs regular meet- ings are arranged, where the purchases are made. The average price for a full head of hair is about $2, though $5 or more is sometimes paid for an extra fine head. HAIR-POWDER. A pure white powder, made from pulverized starch, scented with violet or some other perfume, and at one time largely used for powdering over the head. The fashion of using hair-powder came into vogue at the French Court during the reign of Charles IX. (end of the sixteenth century). Those who had dark hair >ised violet, blonds used iris. During the two succeeding centuries it was largely used in Eng- land, France, and other European countries by both men and women of the higher and middle classes. Even the wigs during the age of Louis XIV. began to be filled with it. To make the powder hold, the hair was usually greased with liomade, and accordingly the fashion was ex- tremely troublesome. In England an act of Parliament fixed that the fine dust of which the ])owder was composed should be made from starch alone. In 179.5 a tax of a guinea (after- wards £1 3s. 6d.) was put on the use of hair- powder, and at one time yielded £20,000 per an- num, but it had the efi'ect of causing hair-powder to fall into general disuse. The French Revolu- tion, which tended to simplify fashion, hastened the return to natural and unpowdered hair. At the present day powder continues to be used by some of the footmen of the nobility and higher ranks as part of their livery; and occasionally, at piiblic or private bals costumes, ladies and gentlemen still appear with their heads pow- dered. The tax on hair-powder was done away with in 1869. At the time of its abolition, it was paid by about 800 persons, and yielded a revenue of about £1000 a year. See Hairdress- ING ; Wig. HAIR-SEAL. Any seal not a fur-seal. IMore especially, however, the term designates the typi- cal, or true, seals of the family Phocidae. See Seal. HAIR-SPRING. See Balance and Balance Spring; Watch.