232 



HARRIS HAWTHORNE WILDER. 



are for the two hands, the designation at the reader's left being 

 the left. 



Aside from the various interdigital patterns, which occur in 

 about three fourths of the cases (36 out of 48), and in one case 

 (third) are practically universal, there will be noticed the re- 

 markable result in the case of the two most prominent patterns, 

 thenar and hypothenar; the former, a somewhat rare pattern, 

 which occurs in only about 4 per cent, of the white race, is present 

 here in 10 out of the 12 hands (83.3 per cent.), while the much 

 commoner hypothenar, occurring in 20 per cent, of hands of the 

 white race, and found also in both hands of the father, is actually 

 present, aside from a rudiment, but once in the 12 (8.3 per cent.). 

 Now as the father has both thenar and hypothenar patterns upon 

 both hands, and as the mother has neither, it would suggest that 

 possibly the thenar region may be here controlled by the male 

 parent, and the hypothenar by the female. 



As the thenar pattern is usually so rare, its almost universal 

 occurrence in this family is without doubt due to direct inheritance 

 from the father. For more careful examination the cases are here 

 figured. The usual, or typical, thenar pattern is a double one, 

 like that of the father's left, or G's left, with two loops turned 

 away from each other, but with the loops themselves in contact. 

 Morphologically the small, upper loop is in reality the first 

 interdigital, while the lower loop is the thenar proper. This 

 family, however, although the typical form is not wanting, shows 

 a strong tendency to suppress the upper, or first interdigital, 

 loop, and in some cases to modify the lower, the course of .de- 

 generation following two lines, as follows: 



Series i.W, left, F, right; V, left, C, right. 



Series 2.W, left, M, left; V, right, E, left. 



Only upon two palms out of the 12, M, right and E, right, is a 

 pattern entirely lacking in the thenar region. 



