20 PROCEEDINGS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. 
is less blonde than Germany Denmark and Sweden in the same lati- 
tudes, and in Great Britain and Ireland, though the humidity 
increases, the fairness of the population diminishes as we go west. 
Two explanations of this difficulty besides that of race, which last 
from the point of view of this paper is no explanation at all, have 
suggested themselves to me. One is that, as wind is a tanning agent, 
it may possibly be the case that Ireland is more windy than England, 
and England than Denmark and North Germany. But I have no 
facts to either bear out or overthrow this hypothesis. The second is 
that the fairest type of blonde is produced by the humidity caused by 
evaporation from fresh or nearly fresh water. A glance at the map 
shows that the greater part of the blonde area is low and swampy, 
and that the eastern and fairest part of it derives much of its vapour 
from the half-fresh Baltic Sea. This hypothesis is supported to 
some extent by the case of Mingrelia, the westernmost part of 
Transcaucasia, and the source whence the unspeakable Turk obtained 
the blonde beauties with which he used to stock his harem, the mois- 
ture of this country being derived from the half-fresh waters of the 
Black Sea. 
Ill. By a dry temperate climate I mean one occurring in a 
temperate zone in which the atmosphere is usually dry. Countries 
in which this climate prevails are distinguished from others in the 
same latitude by the greater range of the thermometer. Their 
summers are hot and their winters cold. As a protection against 
the greater heat and brightness of the sun, a less transparent cuticle 
than that which serves the purpose in humid temperate regions is 
necessary. To prevent the too rapid withdrawal ot the fluid contents 
of the capillaries by the dry air a thick epidermis is required. The 
combination of a thick cuticle with a quantity of pigment such as 
will satisfactorily modify the intensity of the sun’s rays will produce 
various shades of yellow and brown. 
A good example of a dry temperate climate is furnished by the 
prairie regions of North America. The aborigines of this district. 
were brown with the exception of the Mandans, among whom a 
curious kind of albinism seems to have been astonishingly prevalent. 
IV.—By a moist tropical climate, I mean one occurring in or 
near the torrid zone, in which there is no dry season. In sucha 
climate vegetation will be luxuriant all the year round, and man 
will live in the shade of dense forests, in a steaming and enervating 
