140 HARRIS HAWTHORNE WILDER. 



will read 5-8-io-n. In this hand, also, is shown a case of 

 divergent ridges along the course of line A, a common phenome- 

 non, so that by following different ridges the line might be made 

 to terminate almost anywhere along a considerable extent of 

 margin. Following the rule above stated, however, that of 

 carrying a line as far distally (towards the finger-tips) as possible, 

 the line is made to terminate at 5. 



In this way any human palm may be formulated by the use 

 of four numbers, which indicate the conditions so nearly that 

 one cannot be far out of the way if he should try and draw a 

 given palm from the formula alone. This can be easily proven 

 by anyone who knows the system and makes the attempt, using 

 the formula only, and withholding the original print until the 

 drawing is completed. This formula makes no attempt to 

 indicate any features other than the course of the four main 

 lines, yet, in point of fact, the presence of a pattern is sometimes 

 indicated, as in the case of Fig. 2, where the fusion of lines B 

 and C encloses a small area between the middle- and ring-fingers, 

 and makes a looped pattern there a necessity. 



When a large number of formulae are accumulated they may 

 be readily arranged in numerical order, subdividing first by the 

 first number, and so on. For practical purposes, however, it is 

 found better to reverse the entire formula, beginning with the 

 number representing the course of line D, since with this latter 

 there is not only more precision in termination than in the case 

 of line A, but also line D is more variable, and thus furnishes 

 more classes for the first subdivision. Thus the formulae for the 

 two cases here illustrated should read respectively, 4-5 -7 -9 and 

 1 1 10 8 5, the first coming before the second in a numerical list. 



Corresponding to the results of a morphological study of the 

 patterns, which shows them to have first developed on the raised 

 surfaces of the eleven typical pads (Whipple, 1904), traces of 

 this number are to be expected in their proper places. The five 

 apical patterns appear on the balls of the five digits, the center 

 or core of each coinciding with the rounded apex of the raised 

 area. In their most primitive form they appear as concentric 

 circles or ovals, or some modification of this form, limited by two 

 triradii (deltas), the "whorls" of the finger-print system; the 

 reduction of either one of the original triradii transforms the 



