PALM AND SOLE STUDIES. 



199 



digital appears as a whorl, as shown in Figs. 15 and 16, the core or 

 center of the pattern is marked by a complete circle, beyond 

 which there are surrounding ridges which assume the usual loop 

 shape, and bear the usual relationship to a thenar. This is 

 certainly not a large or conspicuous pattern, but still answers to 





FIG. 16. Detail of the first interdigital pattern, from the left hand of No. 788, 

 a Smith College student. This pattern here forms a complete whorl, though small. 

 It is the only case yet reported in this position. 



the requirements of a definite whorl. It is to be remembered in 

 this case that it occurs in one of the so-called "better classes" of 

 our own race, and that there is otherwise nothing especially 

 primitive in this individual. 



The case is a bit different in the only case of a thenar whorl 

 which I have seen, as it occurs in a native Liberian soldier, one 

 "Jimmy" Kamo, of the Bande tribe, collected for me by Prof. 

 Frederick Starr (Fig. 17). 



This print is in my possession and although it is very dense, as 

 too much ink was used, it is unmistakable. By treating the print 

 with turpentine, as may always be done in such cases, the sepa- 

 rate ridges can be well brought out. A second case like this has 

 been published and figured by Hasebe (his Tafel IV., Fig. 10). 

 This author states that he has met a thenar in form of a whorl 

 twice, both times in Japanese. 



Hasebe finds the occurrence of any form of thenar pattern as 

 5 per cent, of all palms in both Japanese and Ainos, which may be 

 compared with what I have found in European-Americans, 7 per 



