But in other cases, and also in adults, it has appeared
where no communication could be traced or conjec-
tured. The areae gradually enlarge, and sometimes
become confluent, producing extensive baldness, in
which condition the scalp remains many weeks, espe-
cially if no curative measures are adopted. The hair
which begins to grow is of a softer texture, and lighter
colour, than the rest ; and in persons beyond the
middle age, it is grey. ** It is diflScult to trace the
cause of this curious disease. It seems to be some

* CelsuSj and after him some other writers, have described this affec-
tion under the appellation of '* Area." Under this generic term, he
comprises two varieties, called by the Greeks Alopeday and Ophiasis ;
tl}e former of which spreads in irregular patches ; and the latter in a
serpentine form, round both sides of the head, from the occiput. — De
Medicina, lib. vi. cap. 4.
f It is not unfrequent in countries where the inhabitants live chiefly
upon fish; as, for instance, formerly in the Shetland islands, where bald-
ness from this cause was so common, that it was familiarly said, ^ that
there was not a hair between them and Heaven." Sir R. Sibba/d^s
Description of Shetland, fol. p. 25.
