Putting aside the ordinary Combs of our European civilisation, such as are given in the illustration, there are many others which are modified according to the use which they have to fulfil.
The simplest is the Comb of the celebrated Amazon regiment of Dahomey. This is nothing but a slight skewer of ivory, some ten inches in length, and amply sufficient for arranging the short woolly lumps which do duty for hair on the head of a true negro. One of these very primitive combs is in my collection, together with an undress costume of the Amazon in question, and both being very much suited to each other. The comb being a simple skewer, the dress is only a few thongs of leather, but they are both equal to the requirements of their wearers.
As much time would be lost in combing the hair with a single skewer, especially when that hair belonged to any but the pure negro races, a simple but obvious improvement was introduced. A number of skewers were lashed together side by side, with their ends a little diverging, and thus was formed the germ of our present Combs.
As to the varieties of the Comb, they are simply endless; and whether they are intended, in the form of the Currycomb, to smooth the harsh coat of a horse, or, as a small-tooth Comb, to search the hair of the young, they are all based on one principle.
It is really curious to see how often two men, who cannot possibly have seen each other, will hit upon the same idea, not only simultaneously, but often in the very same words. So it is with regard to the Comb. In no two parts of the world can the natives be more opposed to each other than is the case with Fiji and Western Africa; yet I possess specimens of combs from both countries, made on the same principles, and so exactly in the same manner, that, except for the coarseness of the African Comb, it would be almost impossible to distinguish between them. There is but a slight difference in the size and shape of the two combs, and yet nothing can be more distinct than the characters of the two nations.
I have also a Japanese Comb of the most ingenious construction. It is made of wood, and cut exactly like our double ivory small-tooth comb; but it is furnished with a curious kind of handle, consisting of a flat piece of wood with a deep longitudinal slit, into which either side of the comb fits; and so beautifully is it made, that when it is fitted upon either side of the comb it looks as if handle and comb had been cut out of the same piece of wood.
The Fijian Combs are much after the same fashion as those of Western Africa, except that, with the artistic nature of their kind, the Fijians, instead of merely lashing together the numerous spikes of which the comb is made, employ a variety of patterns, and seem to luxuriate in the exuberance of artistic spirit which can make hundreds of combs, and no two of them alike.
On the left hand of the illustration are two examples of Natural Combs which are well worthy of notice. The upper one is a foot of the common Garden Spider (Epeira diadema), which has been several times mentioned in this work in connection with different subjects.
Every one who has watched the life of one of these creatures must have noticed how often its hairy body becomes clogged with little bits of its own web, and how dexterously it releases itself from such encumbrances. The figure in the illustration shows how this can be done, the strangely formed foot acting at the same time the part of comb and brush. It will be seen that the curved spikes of the claws act as a comb, while the bristle-like hairs discharge the duty of a brush.