On the Morbid Appearances noticed in the Brains of Insane People. On the Placentation in the Cetacea. By Professor Turner. The author gave an account of the arrangement and structure of the gravid uterus and foetal membranes in Orca gladiator. The paper is printed in extenso in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1871. Notes on the Cervical Vertebræ of Steypirethyr (Balanoptera Sibbaldii). By Professor TURNER. The author described in this communication the cervical vertebræ of the large female Steypirethyr whale stranded at Longniddry in November 1869, an account of the soft parts of which he had given in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1870. Reference was also made to the cervical vertebræ of a large female Steypirethyr stranded at Northmaven, Shetland, in October of the same year, many of the bones of which are in the author's possession. The following are some of the principal measurements of three vertebræ of the Longniddry Steypirethyr: Between tips of transverse processes Transverse diameter of anterior articular surface. 6th C. V. inches. Atlas. Axis. 45 Vertical diameter of neural canal Transverse diameter of foramen at root of transverse process. The transverse process of the atlas was not perforated by a foramen; those of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th each possessed a large oval foramen at the root. The 7th cervical vertebra had only its superior transverse process well developed; the inferior was marked simply by a slight ridge on the body of the bone. In the Northmaven specimen the inferior transverse process of the 6th vertebra was only partially developed, so that it did not join the superior, and the boundaries of the ring were imperfectly formed. The author believed that Steypirethyr was not an uncommon whale on the Scottish coasts. In addition to the two specimens already referred to as stranded in 1869, he had also identified the great whale stranded at North Berwick in October 1831, dissected by Dr. Robert Knox, and the skeleton of which is suspended in the Museum of Science and Art, with this species. Belonging also to this species was a whale stranded at Aberdour in July 1858, which he had been able to identify from the nasal bones, which had been preserved by Dr. McBain. Steypirethyr is apparently the largest of the Fin-whales, and it seems to be very doubtful whether the common Razor-back, B. musculus, ever attains the length of 70 feet. Contributions to the Anatomy of the Thoracic Viscera of the Elephant. By Dr. M. WATSON. ANTHROPOLOGY. Address to the Department of Anthropology. By Professor TURNER. As this is the first time in Scotland that an Anthropological Department has been constituted in connexion with a Meeting of the British Association, and, indeed, as it is only the third time that a department of the biological section has been formed with this title since the first one, which was instituted at the Meeting in Not tingham in 1866, it may not be out of place to say a few words on the object to be fulfilled by this department, on the place which it occupies as a subdivision of the Biological Section, and on the part which it may play in the proceedings of a body like the British Association for the Advancement of Science. First, what signification is attached by men of science in these days to this term Anthropology? The distinguished traveller and naturalist, Mr. A. R. Wallace, who was the first occupant of the chair which I have now the honour to fill, in his introductory address to the Department at the Nottingham Meeting, defined anthropology as "the science which contemplates man under all his varied aspects (as an animal and as a moral and intellectual being), in his relations to lower organisms, to his fellow-men, and to the universe." It is obvious that a science thus defined is most comprehensive in its scope, that it embraces the nature and constitution of man, physically, psychically, and morally; the differences and resemblances between man and other erganisms; his habits and language; his history, past, present, and future. But, we may ask, has the term anthropology always had so wide and comprehensive a meaning as many men of science now attach to it? A brief glance at the history of the term will show us that this has by no means been the case, and that the term has had a variable and progressive signification. With it, therefore, as with so many other terms employed in science and philosophy, it will be needful to ascertain to what school of thought a writer belonged before we can feel assured of the exact signification he attached to it. So far as I have been able to ascertain, the term, under the form of anthropologos, first appeared in literature in the Ethics of Aristotle. It occurs in a passage where Aristotle is drawing a picture of a loftyminded man-"One who will not compete for the common objects of ambition, who will only attempt great and important matters-who will live for his friend alone, will bear no malice, will be no gossip (ouk anthropologos), will not be anxious about trifles, and will care more to possess that which is fine than that which is productive." (Grant's 'Aristotle, 2nd ed. vol. ii. p. 77.) In this passage, Aristotle, who had in all probability coined the term for the particular occasion, employs it in the sense of a talker about himself and others a mere gossip. With him it had a purely personal signification, and was used to express a single phase in the character of an individual man, and not as a term applicable to mankind in general. We have no knowledge, indeed, that the "science of man" had any place assigned to it in the philosophical systems either of Aristotle or any other Greek philosopher. For though Aristotle himself, in a higher degree than any of his compatriots, had taken a far-sweeping survey of science and philosophy, and had acquired an accuracy of conception of man's moral and psychical characteristics such as may fairly be put on a par with the results of modern investigation, yet his knowledge of man's physical nature was crude and inexact. It is undoubtedly true that he both observed, and recorded observations, on various points in human and comparative anatomy and physiology, but these observations, owing to the imperfection of the method pursued, were wanting in precision. Hence, not only with Aristotle and his contemporaries, but so long as the Aristotelian method of inquiry held firm sway over the minds of men, an inexactness and want of precision in observation prevailed, which rendered it impossible to found a true science of anthropology. Nothing, indeed, is more remarkable in the contrast between the ancients and moderns than the comparative weakness of the former in the sciences based on observation, experiment, and collected facts; and in consequence of the greater superiority of the latter in these methods of inquiry, a division and subdivision of the sciences has taken place in modern times, such as would not have been even dreamed of by the ancient Greeks. Early in the sixteenth century, when men began to emancipate themselves from the influence so long exercised by the school of Aristotle, the term appeared again in literature under the form Anthropologeion, a purely anatomical work bearing that title having been published in 1501 (Bendyshe's History of Anthropology,' p. 352); and so late as the year 1784, Professor J. W. Baumer published at Frankfort a treatise on human anatomy and physiology, with the title of "Anthropologia AnatomicoPhysica." By these writers, therefore, the word anthropology was limited to the physical aspect only of man's nature. By another school of thinkers and writers the term was employed to express, not the physical, but the moral and psychical aspects 1871. 10 of human nature, and by some divines it was used in a very special sense to denote that manner of expression by which the inspired writers attribute human parts and passions to God" (Encyc. Britannica). Gradually, therefore, the term has acquired a wider and wider application, until in these days it has been made to embrace the whole science of human nature. Both in this country and on the Continent societies have been established for the cultivation of this science in its widest and most comprehensive signification, and some of the results of their labours have been given to the world in numerous published memoirs on the anatomy, psychology, languages, arts, and customs of mankind, and on the distribution and characteristics of the various tribes or varieties of men which inhabit or have inhabited our earth. We may now inquire what place would be occupied by a subject embracing so wide a range of topics as anthropology in the programme of a scientific body organized on the basis of this Association-of a body which, it must be remembered, was originated, and had pursued a highly successful career, many years before men began to think or speak of a science of anthropology in the sense in which the term is now employed. And, without doubt, the first and most logical step was to pursue the course which the General Committee took at the Birmingham Meeting in 1865, to enlarge the scope of Section D, and by altering its title from Zoology and Botany to Biology, to make it embrace the whole science of organization. Anthropology, therefore, or the science of man, naturally came to be included within this Section, and leave was given to the Committee of the Section to form a special department for the consideration of anthropological papers, should memoirs sufficient in number and importance be presented for perusal. So far, then, as the associating of men together in one section can form a bond of union, all those who work at the elucidation of the facts and laws of organization, whether they appertain to the lowliest plant or animal, or to man himself, find in this Biological Section a common meeting-ground. And, I would venture to submit, it is right that it should be so. For the investigation of the physical aspects of man's nature, which necessarily forms so large a part of our proceedings, demands the same precise method of work, and needs exactly the same training, as has to be gone through by all who aspire to excel either in this or in the other departments of biology. If we look at the history of our subject, and, without referring to living men, recall the names of those who have contributed largely to its progressHaller, Linnæus, Blumenbach, Cuvier, Johannes Müller, William Lawrence, and John Goodsir at once stand out prominently, not only as accomplished anthropologists, but as men well versed in a wide range of biological study. Those who are conversant with anthropological literature will, I doubt not, have little difficulty in calling to remembrance various writings in which errors, not only in the description of objects, but in the general conclusions arrived at from their examination, would have been avoided, if the previous training of the authors had been of a wider nature; if they had fully appreciated the import of the processes of growth and development, nay, even the aberrations from the normal state through pathological changes occurring during embryo, or adult life, to which man is subject in common with other vertebrates. It is, I trust, needless for me to enlarge further on this topic, so that we may next proceed to inquire briefly into the part which an anthropological department may play in the proceedings of the British Association. In societies devoted solely to the consideration of anthropological questions, and acting as independent bodies, such as the Anthropological Institute of London, or the corresponding Society in Paris, all the subjects included within and constituting the Science of man naturally fall within the scope of inquiry, and come under discussion as opportunity offers. But in this department of the Association we have not that complete independence of action which these societies possess. We are only members of a still larger body, and the function which we perform must be duly subordinated to the common good; and owing to our recent introduction into the programme of its proceedings, much of the ground which many would consider we were fairly entitled to cover, has been largely preoccupied by other and older departments. As the physical aspects of our subject are based on anatomy and physiology, many of the papers on the structure and function of the human body and its constituent parts may doubtless be claimed by the Department of Anatomy. To other papers, in which comparisons are instituted between human and animal structure, the Zoologists may consider they have a title. To some extent also the habits of man and numerous important questions of a social nature are discussed in the Section of Economic Science and Statistics. The time when man first appeared on the face of the earth, the formations in which his remains and those of contemporary animals are found, may come under the consideration of the Geologists. As our subjects therefore dovetail so intimately with these other Sections of the Association, questions may occasionally arise whether papers submitted for perusal come more appropriately within their province or within ours. Probably the most satisfactory mode of solving this difficulty would be for the different Sections concerned to come to a common understanding that all papers which treat of the origin, varieties, and progress of mankind should be forwarded to this department. Again, if a separate Ethnological Department or subsection were formed, as has been suggested, or even if ethnological papers were read, as was for so many years the case in the Geographical Section, not only would all these communications on the characteristics of the different varieties of man, or their distribution over the globe, but even papers on comparative philology, and on questions appertaining to the early history of man, and to his primitive culture, in all probability be subtracted from our proceeding. Without doubt, all ethnic questions form an integral part of anthropological study, for ethnology is one of those subjects which form the groundwork of our science; and as it is an axiom that the whole is greater than and includes the part, all these questions naturally fall to be discussed in this department, and should not be divorced from their natural allies. The decision of the General Committee that the ethnological papers should be transmitted to this department was but to restore them to the place they originally occupied in the proceedings of the Association, for in its early years ethnology was a subdivision of Section D. The brief history of this department teaches us that its struggle for existence has been a severe one. It was only after the dissociation of the ethnological papers from the Geographical Section that our proceedings acquired much vitality, and to remove them from us now would be a severe blow to our usefulness. After recommending the Antiquarian Museum to the attention of visitors, Professor Turner concluded as follows:-As the "noblest study of mankind is man," the subjects which come within the scope of our inquiries in this department are amongst the most important in which a body of scientific men can be engaged. Let us approach their consideration with a spirit of due humility and reverence; let our discussions be so regulated that our desire may be, not to attain merely a personal victory in argument, but, if possible, to get at the truth. And if we claim to be called anthropologists, let not men say of us that our right to be so regarded is rather owing to our proficiencies, in the old Aristotelian meaning of the term, as discussors of persons-mere gossips-than to our qualifications as patient and humble students of the great science of human nature. On the Anthropology of the Merse. By JOHN BEDDOE, M.D. &c. The Merse is the low country of Berwickshire. Its ethnological history is pretty nearly that of the county of Northumberland, with certain variations, which have introduced a little more of the Gaelic and Scandinavian elements. The people are stalwart and bulky in a remarkable degree; a number of the pure breed averaged 5 feet 11 inches with shoes, and 199 lbs. with clothes. Their heads are large and well developed. The prevailing physical types may be referred to the Anglian and Scandinavian. The hair and eyes are generally light. The fishermen of Eyemouth are a separate breed; they also are very fair, and resemble Dutchmen or Norwegians. Changes in the food of the peasantry (who are giving up oatmeal and milk) and intermixture of blood, may have an unfavourable influence on the physical development of the next generation. On Degeneration of Race in Britain. By JoHN BEDDOE, M.D. While he allowed that in some classes, and particularly in the upper classes of townspeople, the conditions of life were on the whole improving, and that the operation of the Factory Acts had checked the progress of physical degeneration among manufacturing operatives, the author was of opinion that, on the whole, the agencies tending to promote degeneration were more powerful than the countervailing ones. Among them were the great increase of town population, the relative or even absolute diminution of the inhabitants of rural districts, the increased demand for female and youthful labour, and for labour of a nocturnal or otherwise exhausting kind. He did not think the food of the people improved proportionately with the rise of wages. The disuse of milk among the poor of large towns and some dairy districts was a great evil, and might have to do with the growing deterioration of teeth. England, the richest and most advanced of the four British countries, had been shown by Edward Smith to be the worst fed, so far as regarded the working classes. Dr. Beddoe's opinions were based in great measure on the results of certain weighings and measurements executed by his correspondents in various parts of the country, and he was anxious to add to the number of these correspondents, and to obtain more data of a similar kind. On Le Sette Communi, a German Colony in the neighbourhood of Vicenza. By Dr. CHARNOCK, F.S.A. After referring to theories as to the origin of Le Sette Communi, the author of the paper showed that they settled in Italy temp. Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths. The population amounts to 25,500. The people are principally engaged in breeding cattle. At the present day quite two thirds of them would seem to be neither of German nor of mixed origin, but are pure Italians, and speak Italian. Even the rest of the people (many of whom have intermarried with Italians) bear a greater resemblance to the latter than to the Germans. Dr. Charnock nevertheless noticed many people with fair hair and German features. This was especially the case among the women. The people are simple in their manners, and honest, but are poor, dirty, ignorant, and superstitious. No cases of goitre or cretinism, and no peculiarity of dress were observed. The dialect resembles the Oberdeutsch of the 15th century, and the language still spoken by the mountaindwellers of the Schlier and Tegern. The author made some remarks on the grammar, and the paper concluded with a vocabulary of some of the most important words, and a specimen of the Lord's Prayer, which Dr. Charnock compared with that of Le Tredici Communi. On the Physical, Mental, and Philological Characteristics of the Wallons. By Dr. CHARNOCK, F.S.A., and Dr. CARTER BLAKE. The ordinary Wallons stand in the same relation to Belgium as the Irish peasants do to the "Sassenach" of England. They are usually jovial, good-natured, generous, hospitable, chaste, poor, quarrelsome, and superstitious, like the Irish; and thus evince their Keltic descent. They are tough, rough, and hardy, and make excellent soldiers. The Spanish armies in the Pays-Bas were made up of Wallons. As evidence of their peculiar character, a Wallon will drag a pig from Namur to Ghent, Bruges, or Antwerp, to gain a few sous more than he could in his own district. The character of the people differs somewhat in each district. Those of Liège are very lively, spiritual, and laborious; those of Namur proud and coarse. The Wallons of Lower Pomerania stand even lower than those of Namur. Among the Wallons of Liège, even the women are renowned for their strength, industry, and energy. Like the men, they do the hardest kind of work, as coal-drawing, and towing the Meuse boats; and the Germans style Liège "Hölle der Frauen." The Wallon dialect is rich in metaphors, witty in expression, boldly figurative, and full of onomatopoeias. Generally speaking, it may be said that the Wallon is a spoken, not a written language. The pronunciation differs in different localities; and such are the modifications of accentuation, that almost every village has its own |