there are some few perfectly round. Marblings in the interior; no central spot. b. Kole (11). Scarcely any section of elliptical form; the greater number incline towards the wide oval; generally great tendency towards circular contours. Diameters 33:22; 23:17; 25:20; 23:20. Marblings, or very small central spots. c. Bhil (1). Form of sections, either an irregular ellipsis or an enlarged oval. In the first variety there is usually a small central spot; in the second only marblings. Diameters 30: 17 and 20; As regards the form of the sections all the other specimens belonging to the natives of India may be divided into two classes. Either it is the reniform ellipsis with a central spot which predominates, as for instance in a man of Ahmedabad, in a Varouli, and a Kathkouri; or the form is circular mixed with irregular sections, which predominate, as in an individual of Mhar. In this specimen the central spot is seen also in the nearly circular sections. These specimens present on the whole in their sections the two extreme forms. Ordinarily one of these forms predominates in the same head, intermixed with intermediate oval forms. My researches are, however, not sufficiently advanced to shew in such cases the primitive forms and the stock from which they are derived. I can only state the facts. d. Brahman (1). Very regular form of sections presenting a striking resemblance to each other; sometimes an ellipsis, the long borders of which very straight, the small curved, sometimes an oval. Diameters, 22:14; 28: 16. A small central spot well defined, presents the same contours as the section in general. 21. PERSIANS (II). The hair of these two specimens is somewhat thicker, as in the preceding. The forms of the sections are the same; namely, oviform ellipses, but with more equally curved border. Diameters, 30:17; 29:18; 29:20; 26: 17. In one specimen the centre is diaphanous, in the second there is a well defined small spot. 22. ARYANS OF EUROPE. a. Italian (1). Hair chestnut colour. Sections oval, 23: 17; 20: 15; centre transparent. b. Germans (Iv). Hair sombre flaxen, or light chestnut colour; two specimens of males and two of females. The general form of the sections is oval and regular. Exceptionally the borders are somewhat straight, angular or curved. Among a considerable number of sections the flattest is 30: 16, and the most circular 25: 30. The great majority presents the following dimensions: 22:15; 21: 15; 25: 15. In one specimen of the two males, and one of the two females, the centre of all the sections is transparent; in the other of the male it is only transparent in some, and in the second female specimen it is scarcely transparent in any. * c. Lithuanians (11). The colour of these two specimens is of straw-yellow. The sections are oval, with a tendency to the circular form, specially so in one specimen. Diameters, a, 24:19; 27: 20; -b, 28:17; 28: 20; 23: 20. The centre is, without exception, transparent. d. Irish (XLVIII). Excepting a single specimen obtained from a turf-pit, this collection has been formed from living persons by Abbé Domenech. I have subjected all these samples of hair to a double examination; first, to ascertain the variations of the hair in a nation comparatively little mixed, and composed, as history teaches, to a great extent of Aryan elements; and, secondly, to assure myself whether there be an allophyletic stock intermixed with the Aryans. Moreover, accident having placed at my disposal a specimen of hair of great antiquity, its comparison with that of the living might furnish a base for the establishment of what is constant in human races, even in a system of the organism which presents such small proportions. A. The hair obtained from the turf-pit is smooth and reddish-brown. Sections oviform and elliptical: 22:16; 22:15; 20: 15. The centre presents in most cases a small central spot; it is diaphanous in others. B. The other forty-seven specimens may, according to their colour, be divided into three series, of which the first (16) comprises light hair, mostly golden light; the second (16) comprises dark hair, and the third (15) black hair. To spare the reader the trouble of tiresome details, I present a summary of the results obtained by the examination of the sections. And first, with regard to the volume of the hairs, the lighter the colour the finer the hairs, and vice versa. This rule is, however, subject to exceptions; there are three specimens of golden light, the hair of which attains the thickness of the black hairs. As regards the form of the contours of the sections, there is not a single specimen which does not present elliptical or oval sec. tions; but whilst this is the predominant and almost exclusive form in the light hair, there are, on the contrary, in the dark specimens, besides elongated sections, others more or less circular. The irregular contours are rare in the first variety, and very frequent in the second. The light and fine hairs have generally a transparent centre, The cranial type of these two young savants is that of the Slavonian race, both in the cerebral as well as the facial cranium. whilst the black as well as coarse light hair present central spots, at times very large. When now we consider the sufficiently constant form and volume of the hair belonging to the branches of the Aryan family, characters which are to a considerable extent found among the Irish, we can only, as regards the variations, attribute them to the commixture of a foreign element.* The examination of the hair of Basques will confirm this view. It results farther, from this examination, that in the intermixture of races there may be not merely fusion, but a change of characters; at least as regards the hair. The following table, containing the measures of the extreme forms, will support the preceding remarks :: 23. BASQUES. All shades, from flaxen to deep black, are represented in the Basques of the present day. The light colour is preferentially found among those inhabiting the coast and the highest mountains. The average colour of the hair of the Basques is chestnut.f The light hair curls very easily, which is generally not the case with the black. a. Specimen of black hair from a child aged 11; some light coloured hair in the occipital region. All the sections approach the circular form; the most elongated are 25: 20. No central spot. All the sections are oval or b. Adult male with stiff black hair. enlarged ellipses; some are triangular. Diameters, 29: 20; 23: 18; 24: 22; 27: 23. It is evident that these specimens approach both the American and the Turanian, just as the language of the Basques recalls the Iberian origin. We now examine the light hair. *The craniological researches of Mr. Wilde evidently prove that, before the historical epoch, there existed in Ireland, as well as in England, Scotland, France, etc., two different races, the one brachycephalous, and the other dolichocephalous. The Basques are, in my opinion, far from constituting a homogeneous race. I believe them, on the contrary, to be much mixed. The marriages of the ancient Iberians with the Celts have been already noticed by the classical authors. The study of the physical type, specially of the cranium (see M. Broca's collection in the Museum of the Society), confirms these historical data. a. Specimen of light colour inclining to chestnut, wavy, much curled. Sections elongated and oviform, most of them without central spot. Diameters 30: 15;30:20; 25: 15. -- In order to show the effect of the commixture of heterogeneous races, as for instance the Aryan and Iberian, I have examined the hair of two brothers, whose father is a Basque and the mother an Irish woman. The following are the results of the examination :A. Chestnut coloured hair, intermixed with white hairs, slightly curled. Most of the sections are elliptical, narrow, with a diaphanous centre. Diameters - 25:15; 22:17; 22:15. But besides this predominant form, there are circular and triangular sections, &c. These latter sections have sometimes a small central spot. = B. Hair darker and stiffer. The elongated form of the sections is not absent (30:15; 25: 17; 20:15; 20:17); but more than one half of the sections approach the circular form and have a central spot, though it is smaller than in the Basque with black hair.* 24. French. The hair of the French, of which I have examined a considerable number of specimens, presents all the shades and forms found in the series 22 and 23, which is explained by the multiplicity of ethnic elements which compose that great nation. SUPPLEMENT. I.-Examination of the hair in some other parts of the body. 1. Italians.—a. Moustaches. Hair, white and yellowish. Most of the sections are very irregular in form, resembling, for example, a triangle, or the form of the sole of a shoe, etc. These thick hairs attain considerable dimensions; the following are the measurements: 55:30; 48:30; 45:30; 27:25. The central spot is of relative size. In no section is it entirely absent. b. The hairs on the genitals are also very thick; their contours are more regular, though some have very singular forms. In the sections with regular forms, the central spots are relatively small. Diameters 38: 15; 38:18; 38:23. = c. The hairs on the coccygian region are fine, and approach, much more than the preceding, the hair on the head, by their dimensions and forms. Diameters - 23:14; 28: 13. Scarcely any traces of a central spot. = d. The hairs on the chest present, generally, the form of a shoe * Of these two brothers, A represents the elongated cranium of the Celts, despite the Iberian origin of his father; whilst the cranium of B is rounder. That which is the exception in the hairs of some individuals, is the rule as regards the beard. sole; some of the sections are more regularly elliptical. Diameters 38:37 and 36:20. Large central spot. = e. The hairs of the armpit, all with very diaphanous centres, present in their sections more or less regular ellipses. Diameters 30:16; 32:18; 30: 13; 23: 15. = 2. German. The same characters as in the Italian are observed in the hair of the beard and the armpit. The hairs on the genitals present no abnormal form. f. The down on the back of the hand presents in the section the oval form with transparent centre. Diameter = = 13:9. II.-Hairs on the heads of Anthropomorphous Apes. a. Male Chimpanzee. The sections are large between 30 and 23. Their form is generally circular or nearly so: for example, 25: 24. Female Chimpanzee. Hairs somewhat finer. form more rare, approaching rather the oval. 18:14, and exceptionally 25: 16. In both sexes no trace of a medullary canal. The complete circular = B. Male Adult Gorilla. Hairs very thick. The form of the sections rather irregular; partakes of the ellipsis and the oval. Diame37:25; 35:25; 40: 31; in the finest 27: 23. ters = medullary canal is enormously large. The † Young Female Gorilla. Hairs finer. Their sections are either very regular, or with borders, if not angular, at least deviating from the regular curve. Diameters: = 20:15;* 22:16; 17: 10. The medullary canal is small and rarely placed in the centre. 7. Orang-Outang. Sections large and elongated in ellipses, without central spots. Diameters 35:20; 31: 18. = b. Gibbon (Rafflesi). Hairs extremely fine. Sections oval and very regular, without central spots. 15:12; 13: 10. Diameters = 25; c. Cynocephalous Baboon. Besides circular sections there are some elongated, with irregular contours. Diameters of the first of the second 25: 20. Central spots very large and elongated. Résumé. 1. Microscopic examination accounts for the different aspects which the hair of the human races presents to the naked eye. The flatter the hair the more it curls, and the rounder the hair, the more stiff and smooth it becomes. 2. One extreme end of the scale is represented by the Papuas, the * A striking analogy, in early age, with the Aryan race, at least in regard to the diameters of the first two sections. |