SKIN COLOUR 181 



whom we j udged to be quadroons . There were rem arkable 

 differences of colour in the three. The eldest, probably 

 fourteen years of age, was quite dark and of a 

 brownish-black hue ; the youngest one, about ten years 

 of age, was much paler, and the difference was sharp 

 and at once obvious ; while the middle one, about thirteen 

 years of age, was perceptibly a shade paler still, and his 

 tint was almost that of a sallow European. The jaws 

 and the hair in all three were quite European, as far as 

 a cursory examination allowed one to judge. Their 

 nurse, on the other hand, while having only a sallow 

 European skin, had hair, eyes, and jaws fully negroid. 

 But the point we desire to emphasize is, that in some cases 

 at least, there is a considerable range of discontinuous 

 variation in the hybrid members of the same fraternity. 

 That is well shown in this case, and in that of Professor 

 Pearson's sambo family. Upon this point more complete 

 and more precise information is wanted. 



But for the present even Professor Pearson's evidence 

 points to the existence of segregation, and not to blend- 

 ing, as the hereditary process at work in the transmission 

 of the skin colour of human hybrids. That is, Mendelian 

 principles are in operation. 



But there exists more evidence than that adduced by 

 Professor Pearson. And it is of a different order. We 

 have, in the remarks we have made, accepted Professor 

 Pearson's evidence that mulattoes never beget individuals 

 with European skins. The tentative hypothesis we have 

 framed is based on that accepted evidence. But can 

 we regard this evidence as complete or final ? It applies 

 to the mulattoes of the West Indies, but does it necessarily 

 apply to mulattoes elsewhere ? Professor Pearson him- 

 self does not regard " the views of his correspondent as 

 conclusive." He says " they deserve great weight," and 

 with that we agree, but we do not think this evidence can 

 be accepted as final. 



Our reasons for this attitude are based upon two 

 facts. We will state them seriatim. On September the 

 24th of this year, we were passing a common boarding 

 house in the south-east of London, when we observed 

 a somewhat big, broad woman standing in the open 

 doorway. She had unmistakably the crimped negro 



