L

33

ward; but if the margin were to be thus folded, a slight point would necessarily project inward toward the centre, and probably a little outward from the plane of the ear: and this I believe to be their origin in many cases. On the other hand, Prof. L. Meyer, in an able paper recently published," maintains that the whole case is one of mere variability; and that the projections are not real ones, but are due to the internal cartilage on each side of the points not having been fully developed. I am quite ready to admit that this is the correct explanation in many instances, as in those figured by Prof. Meyer, in which there are several minute points, or the whole margin is sinuous. I have myself seen, through the kindness of Dr. L. Down, the ear of a microcephalous idiot, on which there is a projection on the outside of the helix, and not on the inward folded edge, so that this point can have no relation to a former apex of the ear. Nevertheless, in some cases, my original view, that the points are vestiges of the tips of formerly erect and pointed ears, still seems to me probable. I think so from the frequency of their occurrence, and from the general correspondence in position with that of the tip of a pointed ear. In one case, of which a photograph has been sent me, the projection is so large, that supposing, in accordance with Prof. Meyer's view, the ear to be made perfect by the equal development of the cartilage throughout the whole extent of the margin, it would have covered fully one-third of the whole ear. Two cases have been communicated to me-one in North America, and the other in England-in which the upper margin is not at all folded inward, but is pointed, so that it closely resembles the pointed ear of an ordinary quadruped in outline. In one of these cases, which was that of a young child, the father compared the ear with the drawing which I have given" of the ear of a monkey, the Cynopithecus niger, and says that their outlines are closely similar. If, in these two

33 Ueber das Darwin'sche Spitzohr, Archiv für Path. Anat. und Phys., 1871, p. 485. The Expression of the Emotions," p. 136.

cases, the margin had been folded inward in the normal manner, an inward projection must have been formed. I may add that in two other cases the outline still remains somewhat pointed, although the margin of the upper part of the ear is normally folded inward-in one of them, however, very narrowly. The following woodcut (No. 3) is an accurate copy of a photograph of the foetus of an orang (kindly sent me by Dr. Nitsche), in which it may be seen how different the pointed outline of the ear is at this period from its adult condition, when it bears a close general re

FIG. 8.-Foetus of an Orang. Exact copy of a photograph, showing the form of the ear at this early age.

semblance to that of man. It is evident that the folding over of the tip of such an ear, unless it changed greatly during its further development, would give rise to a point projecting inward. On the whole, it still seems to me probable that the points in question are in some cases, both in man and apes, vestiges of a former condition.

The nictitating membrane, or third eyelid, with its accessory muscles and other structures, is especially well developed in birds, and is of much functional importance to them, as it can be rapidly drawn across the whole eyeball. It is found in some reptiles and amphibians, and in

certain fishes, as in sharks. It is fairly well developed in the two lower divisions of the mammalian series, namely, in the monotremata and marsupials, and in some few of the higher mammals, as in the walrus. But in man, the quadrumana, and most other mammals, it exists, as is admitted by all anatomists, as a mere rudiment, called the semilunar fold. 35

36

The sense of smell is of the highest importance to the greater number of mammals-to some, as the ruminants, in warning them of danger; to others, as the carnivora, in finding their prey; to others, again, as the wild boar, for both purposes combined. But the sense of smell is of extremely slight service, if any, even to the dark-colored races of men, in whom it is much more highly developed than in the white and civilized races. Nevertheless it does not warn them of danger, nor guide them to their food; nor does it prevent the Eskimos from sleeping in the most fetid atmosphere, nor many savages from eating half-putrid meat. In Europeans the power differs greatly in different individuals, as I am assured by an eminent naturalist who possesses this sense highly developed, and who has attended to the subject. Those who believe in the principle of gradual evolution will not readily admit that the sense of smell in its present state was originally acquired by man as he now exists. He inherits the power, in an enfeebled and so far

35 Müller's "Elements of Physiology," Eng. translat., 1842, vol. ii. p. 1117. Owen, "Anatomy of Vertebrates," vol. iii. p. 260; ibid. on the Walrus, "Proc. Zoolog. Soc.," November 8, 1854. See also R. Knox, "Great Artists and Anatomists," p. 106. This rudiment apparently is somewhat larger in Negroes and Australians than in Europeans; see Carl Vogt, "Lectures on Man," Eng. translat. p. 129.

36 The account given by Humboldt of the power of smell possessed by the natives of South America is well known, and has been confirmed by others. M. Houzeau (“Études sur les Facultés Mentales," etc., tom. i., 1872, p. 91) asserts that he repeatedly made experiments, and proved that Negroes and Indians could recognize persons in the dark by their odor. Dr. W. Ogle has made some curious observations on the connection between the power of smell and the coloring matter of the mucous membrane of the olfactory region, as well as of the skin of the body. I have, therefore, spoken in the text of the dark-colored races having a finer sense of smell than the white races. See his paper, "Medico-Chirurgical Transactions," London, vol. liii., 1870, p. 276.

rudimentary condition, from some early progenitor, to whom it was highly serviceable, and by whom it was continually used. In those animals which have this sense highly developed, such as dogs and horses, the recollection of persons and of places is strongly associated with their odor; and we can thus perhaps understand how it is, as Dr. Maudsley has truly remarked," that the sense of smell in man "is singularly effective in recalling vividly the ideas and images of forgotten scenes and places."

Man differs conspicuously from all the other Primates in being almost naked. But a few short straggling hairs are found over the greater part of the body in the man, and fine down on that of the woman. The different races differ much in hairiness; and in the individuals of the same race the hairs are highly variable, not only in abundance, but likewise in position; thus in some Europeans the shoulders are quite naked, while in others they bear thick tufts of hair. 38 There can be little doubt that the hairs thus scattered over the body are the rudiments of the uniform hairy coat of the lower animals. This view is rendered all the more probable, as it is known that fine, short, and palecolored hairs on the limbs and other parts of the body occasionally become developed into "thick-set, long, and rather coarse, dark hairs," when abnormally nourished near oldstanding inflamed surfaces."9

I am informed by Sir James Paget that often several members of a family have a few hairs in their eyebrows much longer than the others; so that even this slight peculiarity seems to be inherited. These hairs, too, seem to have their representatives; for in the chimpanzee, and in certain species of Macacus, there are scattered hairs of considerable length rising from the naked skin above the eyes, and corresponding to our eyebrows; similar long hairs project

37 "The Physiology and Pathology of Mind," 2d edit., 1868, p. 134. 38 Eschricht, Ueber die Richtung der Haare am menschlichen Körper, "Müller's Archiv für Anat. und Phys.," 1837, s. 47. I shall often have to refer to this very curious paper.

39 Paget, "Lectures on Surgical Pathology," 1853, vol. i. p. 71.

from the hairy covering of the superciliary ridges in some baboons.

The fine wool-like hair, or so-called lanugo, with which the human foetus during the sixth month is thickly covered, offers a more curious case. It is first developed, during the fifth month, on the eyebrows and face, and especially round the mouth, where it is much longer than that on the head. A mustache of this kind was observed by Eschricht" on a female fœtus; but this is not so surprising a circumstance as it may at first appear, for the two sexes generally resemble each other in all external characters during an early period of growth. The direction and arrangement of the hairs on all parts of the foetal body are the same as in the adult, but are subject to much variability. The whole surface, including even the forehead and ears, is thus thickly clothed; but it is a significant fact that the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet are quite naked, like the inferior surfaces of all four extremities in most of the lower animals. As this can hardly be an accidental coincidence, the woolly covering of the foetus probably represents the first permanent coat of hair in those mammals which are born hairy. Three or four cases have been recorded of persons born with their whole bodies and faces thickly covered with fine, long hairs; and this strange condition is strongly inherited, and is correlated with an abnormal condition of the teeth." Prof. Alex. Brandt informs me that he has compared the hair from the face of a man thus characterized, aged thirty-five, with the lanugo of a fœtus, and finds it quite similar in texture; therefore, as he remarks, the case may be attributed to an arrest of development in the hair, together with its continued growth. Many delicate children, as I have been assured by a surgeon to a hospital for children, have their backs covered by rather

40 Eschricht, ibid., s. 40, 47.

41 See my

"Variation of Animals and Plants under Domestication," vol. ii. p. 327. Prof. Alex. Brandt has recently sent me an additional case of a father and son, born in Russia, with these peculiarities. I have received drawings of both from Paris.