86 



Darwin, and after Darwin. 



it is also in the human foetus proportionally compared 

 with the adult. (Fig. 19.) In some of the lower herbi- 

 vorous animals it is longer than the entire body. 



Like vestigial structures in general, however, this one 

 is highly variable. Thus the above cut (Fig. 19) serves 

 to show that it may sometimes be almost as short in 

 the orang as it normally is in man — both the human 

 subjects of this illustration having been normal. 



(7) Ear. — Mr. Darwin writes : — 



The celebrated sculptor, Mr. Woolner, informs me of one 

 little peculiarity in the external ear, which he has often observed 



both in men and women .... The 

 peculiarity consists in a little blunt 

 point, projecting from the inwardly 

 folded margin, or helix. When 

 present, it is developed at birth, and, 

 according to Prof. Ludwig Meyer, 

 more frequently in man than in 

 woman. Mr. Woolner made an exact 

 model of one such case, and sent me 

 the accompanying drawing .... The 

 helix obviously consists of the extreme 

 margin of the ear folded inwards ; 

 and the folding appears to be in some 

 Human ear, manner connected with the whole ex- 



FlG. 



20. 



modelled and drawn by ^ , , ■ ,, , 



-, ,,, . ^^^ ternal ear being permanently pressed 



projecting point. 



the 



backwards. In many monkeys, which 

 do not stand high in the order, as 

 baboons and some species of macacus, the upper portion of 

 the ear is slightly pointed, and the margin is not at all folded 

 inwards ; but if the margin were to be thus folded, a slight 

 point would necessarily project towards the centre .... The 

 following wood-cut is an accurate copy of a photograph of the 

 foetus of an orang (kindly sent me by Dr. Nitsche), in which it 

 may be seen how different the pointed outline of the ear is at 

 this period from its adult condition, when it bears a close 



