Scientific Intelligence — Zoology. 205 



Guanches are described as remarkable for their stature, their extra- 

 ordinary agility and their gi-eat strength. Dr Prichard, in his labo- 

 rious and admirable work, has, in speaking of the Guanches, adopted 

 this description, and Sabin Berthelot, who has written an interesting 

 article on this people, which is published in the " Transactions of the 

 Ethnological Society of Paris," has mentioned authorities and quoted 

 remarkable passages which describe the ancient inhabitants of the 

 Canaries as possessing the qualities just mentioned. 



The casual observation of Guanche mummies had previously given 

 Dr Hodgkin so very different an impression regarding the statui-e of 

 this lost race, that his interest and surprise were excited by these 

 relations, and he was in consequence induced to make inquiries by 

 correspondence with his friends in the Canai'y Islands, and by more 

 accurate investigation of the remains presei'ved in European collec- 

 tions. 



The measurements of eight or nine individuals, males and fe- 

 males, of whom the skeletons are wholly or in part preserved, range 

 from 4 feet 61 inches to 4 feet 6|- inches for the whole height, M'hich 

 exhibits a diminutive stature even for the tallest. Dr Hodgkin 

 does not presume to infer from the facts which he has adduced that 

 the statements of the authors alluded to are erroneous, but he con- 

 jectures that the Canary Islands, like many other parts of the globe, 

 may at different periods have been inhabited by people of different 

 races, even befoi'e the arrival of the Spaniards. The people found 

 by the first Europeans appear to have been of the same family with 

 the Birbirs of Africa, as indicated by language, physical chai'acter, 

 &c. They possessed, however, some characters which distinguished 

 them from the Birbirs, such as the making of mummies and some 

 other customs. The author of the paper suggested the careful in- 

 vestigation of all accessible relics of the ancient inhabitants, the 

 comparison of the Guanche and Birbir languages, in order to detect 

 in the former words distinct from the latter, and a minute reference 

 to original writers, as affording the possible clues by which this eth- 

 nological difficulty may be overcome. 



38. On the Stature and relative Proportions of Man at different 

 Epochs and in different Countries, by W, B. Brent. The average 

 height of Englishmen is placed at 5 feet 7^ inches : the army re- 

 turns, which are likely to give a good idea of the peasantry, range 

 from 5 feet 6 inches te 5 feet 7 inches : the yeomanry, including a 

 higher class, range from 5 feet 1 inch to 6 feet 3 inches. The 

 French conscripts, officially stated, give an average of 5 feet J 

 inches, but Mr Brent, from his own observation, would place the 

 French average considerably higher. The observations made by 

 Prof. Forbes amongst the pupils of his own class in Edinburgh, 

 placed the Irish as the tallest, the Scotch next, and then the Eng- 

 lish. The Belgians appear to be of still lower stature. 



