202 THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [September, 



occurred prior to death, and could not have been caused by the fh'e, the 

 action of heat being to coagulate and stop its flow. Owing to the quantity 

 of blood found with the long hair of the head, the natural inference was 

 that the larger vessels of the neck were cut, and the bodies afterwards 

 burned. 



The attention of an expert, called to make a microscopical examina- 

 tion in a case involving a question of crime, is generally directed to- 

 wards determining the nature and source of the material under obser- 

 vation. This is frequently of animal origin. At the very outset we 

 are met by the stubborn fact that no histological tissue is sufficiently 

 characteristic of the particular animal from which it is derived to enable 

 us to determine its absolute source in all cases, and this is not strange 

 when we consider the theory of evolution generally accepted by scien- 

 tists of the present day. Indeed, we could hardly expect to find a 

 morphological tissue which has not its counterpart in mici-oscopic ani- 

 mal or vegetable life. One form naturally blends into another in the 

 development of species, an absolute line of demarcation in histologi-. 

 cal elements being beyond the power of the microscope to determine 

 with our present knowledge. Lawyers, ever mindful of their clients' 

 interests when the evidence is against them, cling to this loop-hole with 

 great tenacity. 



The examination of a supposed weapon should be conducted with 

 the greatest care, and full notes taken of every process in the operation. 

 The weapon itself should be described, with the measurements and notes 

 of all spots or marks which might in any way bear upon the case, and 

 their relation one to another. It is also frequently advisable to make 

 photographs for record and future reference. A thorough search should 

 be made for any hairs, fibres, or other substances, which, if found, 

 should be carefully removed for further investigation, their exact position 

 having been previously noted, and the specimens properly marked to 

 prevent confusion and future complications. Careful investigation of 

 filaments thus obtained, and which are unfortunately frequently over- 

 looked, will oftentimes reveal valuable information otherwise escaping 

 observation. 



Little of value has been written on the subject of hair in its medico- 

 legal relations. Although nearly all treatises upon medical jurisprudence, 

 both in the English and foreign languages, mention the subject, they 

 are largely copied one from the other, and based upon comparatively 

 little original research. While we may not be able to positively deter- 

 mine die source of a given hair or fibre by examination alone, yet, when 

 taken in connection with other information, doubt may sometimes be 

 removed and conclusive evidence established. 



In a recent case occurring in Connecticut a man was found on his 

 barn floor mortally wounded. He remained unconscious until his 

 death. The injuries were a fracture of the skull and several lacer- 

 ated wounds of the scalp, some extending beyond the hair-line well 

 onto the forehead. A murder was suspected and a young man arrested 

 for the crime. A piece of scantling some three feet long, covered with 

 blood at one end, was supposed to have been the instrument used by the 

 assailant. On an examination of the weapon, I found, among other 

 things, a number of minute downy hairs imbedded in the blood. Dur- 

 ing the subsequent trial, the defence set up was that the man had fallen 



