Salt Lake Tribune | 1906-07-29 | Page 7 | What Mammals Owe to Their Hair

What Mnnixnnls Owe to Their Hair. To the quality of warmth In their hair is attributed the development to su-premacy su-premacy of the hairy quadrupeds, or mammals, of tho world, by Ernest In-gersoll In-gersoll in his "Llfo of Mammals," just issued by the Macmlllan company. Tho fl author sketches as follows the riso of the mammalian race: "Its beginnings were early in the Mesozoic or Secondary age of geologic history, when dry land was gradually rising out of the sens and swamps Into extensive areas, and the cllmato of tho world was slowly cooling. At that time the ruling animals on shore were rep-tiles, rep-tiles, covered with a leathry or scaly hide, and having cold blood. Now when a kind of small creatures arose among IH them whose skin sprouted hairs Instead of scales, It seems to havo profited so much by this novelty that nature en-larged en-larged nncVlmproved on the model. Its IH great advantage was in tho warmth of IH the new covering, which as it became jH perfected Induced a steadily Increasing warmth of blood, and this promoted activity, followed, of course, by ad-vanclng ad-vanclng ability and developing brain. At any rate, beforo long geologically IH speaking wo find that the hairy mam-ma mam-ma Is became numerous, and that the IH reptiles correspondingly decreased, till finally the dinosaurs, pterodactyls, and iH other cold-blooded, sluggish, massive IH land reptiles Jiad died out, and the IH earth was ruled by warm-blooded, ac. IH tive mammals and birds." jH