Abstract
THE observation that halo-hairs from lambs 2–4 months old showed a waved, crenate cuticular scale pattern not previously described in sheep, and not shown by halo-hairs taken at birth, suggested that the scale pattern had been drastically changed by weathering, Halo-hairs which had developed the crenated scale pattern stained much more readily with methylene blue than did those with smooth scale margins, indicating that gross scale damage may be a factor in the greater affinity for dyes shown by weathered wool.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Wildman, A. B., The Microscopy of Animal Textile Fibres (Wool Indust. Res. Association, Leeds, 1954).
Appleyard, H. M., Guide to the Identification of Animal Fibres (Wool Indust. Res. Association, Leeds, 1960).
Kassenbeck, P., Première Semaine International de la Textile, Barcelona (1959).
Hausman, L. H., Amer. Nat., 54, 496 (1920).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
BURNS, M. Effect of Abrasion on the Cuticular Scale Pattern of some Mammalian Fibres. Nature 195, 512 (1962). https://doi.org/10.1038/195512a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/195512a0
This article is cited by
-
Fleece Evolution in Domestic Sheep
Nature (1964)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.