364 SEXUAL SELECTIOX: MAN. [Part II. 



It is rather difficult to form a judgment how the long 

 hair on our heads became developed. Eschricht 24 states 

 that in the human foetus the hair on the face during the 

 fifth month is longer than that on the head ; and this in- 

 dicates that our semi-human progenitors were not fur- 

 nished with long tresses, which consequently must have 

 been a late acquisition. This is likewise indicated by the 

 extraordinary difference in the length of the hair in the 

 different races; in the negro the hair forms a mere curly 

 mat ; with us it is of great length, and with the American 

 natives it not rarely reaches to the ground. Some species 

 of Semnopithecus have their heads covered with moder- 

 ately long hair, and this probably serves as an ornament 

 and was acquired through sexual selection. The same 

 view may be extended to mankind, for we know that long 

 tresses are now and were formerly much admired, as may 

 be observed in the works of almost every poet ; St. Paul 

 says, " If a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her ; " 

 and we have seen that in North America a chief was 

 elected solely from the length of his hair. 



Color of the Skin. — The best kind of evidence that 

 the color of the skin has been modified through 'sexual 

 selection is wanting in the case of mankind ; for the sexes 

 do not differ in this respect, or only slightly and doubt- 

 fully. On the other hand, we know from many facts al- 

 ready given that the color of the skin is regarded by the 

 men of all races as a highly-important element in their 

 beauty; so that it is a character which would be likely to 

 be modified through selection, as has occurred in innumer- 



no wish to dispute this conclusion ; and we now know from Dr. Brown- 

 Sequard's remarkable observations, especially those recently communi- 

 cated (1S70) to the British Association, that with guinea-pigs the effects 

 of operations are inherited. 



24 ' Ueber die Richtung,' ibid. s. 40. 



