190 THE DESCENT OF MAN, 



together any two closely allied forms, is probably the most 

 important of all the criterions of their specific distinctness; 

 and this is a somewhat different consideration from mere 

 constancy of character, for two forms may be highly vari- 

 able and yet not yield intermediate varieties. Geographical 

 distribution is often brought into play unconsciously and 

 sometimes consciously; so that forms living in two widely 

 separated areas, in which most of the other inhabitants are 

 specifically distinct, are themselves usually looked at as dis- 

 tinct; but in truth this affords no aid in distinguishing 

 geographical races from so-called good or true species. 



Now let us apply these generally admitted principles to 

 the races of man, viewing him in the same spirit as a nat- 

 uralist would any other animal. In regard to the amount 

 of difference between the races, we must make some allow- 

 ance for our nice powers of discrimination gained by the 

 long habit of observing ourselves. In India, as Elphinstone 

 remarks, although a newly arrived European cannot at first 

 distinguish the various native races, yet they soon appear 

 to him extremely dissimilar;* and the Hindoo canuot at 

 first perceive any difference between the several European 

 nations. Even the most distinct races of man are much 

 more like each other in form than would at first be sup- 

 posed; certain negro tribes must be excepted, while others, 

 as Dr. Rohlf s writes to me, and as I have myself seen, have 

 Caucasian features. This general similarity is well shown 

 by the French photographs in the Collection Anthropolo- 

 gique du Museum de Paris of the men belonging to various 

 races, the greater number of which might pass for Euro- 

 peans, as many persons to whom I have shown them have 

 remarked. Nevertheless, these men, if seen alive, would 

 undoubtedly appear very distinct, so that we are clearly 

 much infiuenced in our judgment by the mere color of the 

 skin and hair, by alight differences in the features, and by 

 expression. 



There is, however, j\o, doubt that the various races, when 

 carefully compared and Tfleasur^d, differ much from each 

 other as in the texture (4 the hair, the relative propor- 

 tions of all parts of the bQdy,f the capacity of the 



*" History of India," 1841, vol, i, p. 323. Fatter Ripa makes 

 exactly the same remark with respect to (liinese. 



\ A vast number of measurements of Whites, Blacks and Indians 

 are given io the ' ' Investigations in the Military and Anthropolog. 



