2 9 o THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



otherwise, however, have no distinct kinship with genius since they are 

 low of stature relatively to the fair whites and possess dark eyes. 



Beyond this it may be safe so far to generalize as to declare that 

 individuals of artistic or literary genius in general possess wavy or curly 

 hair, and that even in the case of genius it is not amiss to look for a 

 coarse organization where the hair is coarse and stiff. If, moreover, our 

 data may be relied upon, red and yellow hair rarely accompany genius. 



It must be confessed, however, after all is said, that anything beyond 

 tentative conclusions seem forbidden by the scantiness of the data 

 available upon this subject. The inattention of many biographers to 

 the details of personal appearance is a blighting obstacle in inquiries of 

 this nature, and, even where present in works of biography, the absence 

 of adequate indexes makes the task of gathering this information tedious 

 and painful. The fact, moreover, of the predominance of American and 

 English names, and the presence of names of merely accidental dis- 

 tinction, or of mere eminence instead of genius, hinders the usefulness 

 of the average library as an agency for research of this character, and 

 the want of authentic data as to the physical traits of the average indi- 

 vidual of the several nationalities but adds to the difficulties of the 

 investigator. The all-important desideratum, be it said, is a list care- 

 fully sifted from the catalogue of the world's great names, sufficiently 

 large and discriminating to reduce to the minimum the proportion of 

 names of merely accidental or local note yet gathered by such method as 

 to fairly represent all nationalities. This supplied and the worker fur- 

 nished as to each nationality with reliable data respecting the details of 

 stature and physiognomy of the average individual, research of truly 

 scientific character would be possible. No better list of names, perhaps, 

 could be desired, as a starting point for research, than the thousand 

 names submitted by Professor Cattell in The Popular Science 

 Monthly for February, 1903, as representing the world's most famous 

 persons, carefully gathered as that list was from the biographical 

 encyclopedias of America and Europe, though even as to this list of 

 names the distinction between men of mere eminence and men of true 

 genius would need to be constantly kept in mind. Nothing short, 

 however, of investigation based upon such a catalogue of names — an 

 investigation, it is plain, which only the amplest library facilities would 

 permit — could be productive of results that might be regarded as final. 



In the meanwhile the importance of the subject itself is not to be 

 belittled. As said by Professor Cattell at the outset of the article we 

 have mentioned, " It is now time that great men should be studied as a 

 part of social evolution and by methods of exact and statistical science." 

 This is being done as regards the criminal, and assuredly genius has no 

 less a claim upon the time and talents of our workers. 



