The Earth's Shifting Crust by Charles Hapgood - wire of information

230
EARTH'S SHIFTING CRUST
with an oily liquid, protecting it also against desiccation and dis-
integration ... the absence of the glandular secretions puts the
skin in a condition of less resistance well known in dermatology.
It is superfluous to recall that the sebaceous impregnation gives the
fur in general its isolating properties and imparts to each of its
elements, the hairs, its impermeability, thanks to which they resist
with a well-known strength all disintegrating agents, and notably
those which are atmospheric. Everyone knows to what degree the
presence of grease produced by the sebaceous glands renders wool
resistant and isolating, and to what degree the total lack of this fatty
matter lessens the value of woolen goods. . .
.] (325:331-33).
Neuville, then, points out in the foregoing passage both
that the mammoth lacks sebaceous glands and that the oil
from these glands is an important factor in the protection of
an animal against cold. It is probable, also, that protection
from damp is more important than protection
from low tem-
perature. Oil in the hair must certainly impede the penetration
of damp. The hair of the mammoth, deprived of oil,
would seem to offer poor protection against the dampness
of an Arctic blizzard. Sanderson has pointed out that thick
fur by itself means nothing: a lot of animals of the equatorial
jungles, such as tigers, have a thick fur (365). Fur by itself
is not a feature of adaptation to cold, and fur without oil, as
Neuville points out so lucidly, is, if anything, a feature of
adaptation to warmth, not cold.
The question of the importance of oily secretions from the
skin for the effectiveness of resistance of fur or hair to cold
and damp is, however, highly involved. Very many inquir-
ies directed to specialists in universities, medical schools,
and research institutes over a period of more than five years
failed to elicit sufficiently clear and definite answers until,
finally, Dr. Thomas S. Argyris, Professor of Zoology at
Brown University, referred me to the Headquarters Research
and Development Command of the United States Army.
This agency, in turn, very kindly referred me to the British
Wool Industries Research Association. I addressed an in-
quiry to them, regarding the effects of natural oil secre-