202 



NATURE 



{June 28, 1888 



to identify these positions with the aid of a pair of com- 

 passes, and he will find that they persist unchanged in Fig. 

 11, though there is occasional uncertainty between cases 

 (1) and (2). Also there is a little confusion in the middle of 

 the small triangular space that separates two distinct 

 systems of furrows, much as eddies separate the stream 



. s2&S!9fc. 





Fig. 9. — Enlarged impressions of the fore and middle finger tips of the right 

 hand of Sir William Herschel, made in the year i860. 



* A ^ 



Fig. 10. — Positions of furrow-heads and bifurcations of furrows, in Fig. 9. 





FlG 11. — Enlarged impressions of the fore and middle finger tips of the right 

 hand of Sir William Herschel, made in the year 1888. 



lines of adjacent currents converging from opposite 

 directions. A careful comparison of Figs. 9 and 1 1 is a 

 most instructive study of the effects of age. There is an 

 obvious amount of wearing and of coarseness in the 

 latter, but the main features in both are the same. I 

 happen to possess a very convenient little apparatus for 



recording the positions of furrow-heads. It is a slight and 

 small, but well-made wooden pentagraph, multiplying five- 

 fold, in which a very low-power microscope, with coarse 

 cross-wires, forms the axis of the short limb, and a pencil- 

 holder forms the axis of the long limb. I contrived it 

 for quite another use — namely, the measurement of the 

 length of wings of moths in some rather extensive experi- 

 ments that are now being made for me in pedigree moth- 

 breeding. It has proved very serviceable in this inquiry 

 also, and was much used in measuring the profiles spoken 

 of in the last article. Without some moderate magnifying 

 power, the finger-marks cannot be properly studied It 

 is a convenient plan, in default of better methods, to prick 

 holes with a needle through the furrow-heads into a 

 separate piece of paper, where they can be studied without 

 risk of confusing the eye. There are peculiarities often 

 found in furrows that do not appear in these particular 

 specimens, to which I will not further refer. In Fig. 10 

 the form of the origin of the spirals is just indicated. 

 These forms are various ; they may be in single or in 

 multiple hnes, and the earlier turns may form long loops 

 or be nearly circular. My own ten fingers show at least 

 four distinct varieties. 



Notwithstanding the experience of others to the con- 

 trary, I find it not easy to make clear and perfect 

 impressions of the fingers. The proper plan seems to be 

 to cover a flat surface, like that of a piece of glass or zinc, 

 with a thin and even coat of paint, whether it be printers' 

 ink or Indian ink rubbed into a thick paste, and to press 

 the finger lightly upon it so that the ridges only shall 

 become inked, then the inked fingers are pressed on smooth 

 and slightly damped paper. If a plate of glass be 

 smoked over a paraffin lamp, a beautiful negative im- 

 pression may be made on it by the finger, which will show 

 well as a lantern transparency. The blackened finger 

 may afterwards b2 made to leave a positive impression on 

 a piece of paper, that requires to be varnished if it is to be 

 rendered permanent. All this is rather dirty work, but 

 people do not seem to object to it ; rivalry and the hope 

 of making continually better impressions carries them on. 

 It is troublesome to make plaster casts ; modelling-clay 

 has been proposed ; hard wax, such as dentists use, acts 

 fairly well ; sealing-wax is excellent if the heat can be 

 tolerated ; I have some good impressions in it. For the 

 mere study of the marks, no plan is better than that of 

 rubbing a little thick paste of chalk (" prepared chalk ") 

 and water or sized water upon the finger. The chalk lies 

 in the furrows and defines them. They could then be 

 excellently photographed on an enlarged scale. My own 

 photographic apparatus is not at hand, or I should have 

 experimented in this. When notes of the furrow-heads 

 and of the initial shape of the spiral have been made, 

 the measurements would admit of comparison with those 

 in catalogued sets, by means of a numerical arrangement, 

 or even by the mechanical selector described in the last 

 article. If a cleanly and simple way could be discovered 

 of taking durable impressions of the finger tips, there 

 would be little doubt of its being serviceable in more 

 than one way. 



In concluding my remarks, I should say that one of the 

 inducements to making these inquiries into personal 

 identification has been to discover independent features 

 suitable for hereditary investigation. It has long been 

 my hope, though utterly without direct experimental 

 corroboration thus far, that if a considerable number of 

 variable, and independent features could be catalogued, 

 it might be possible to trace kinship with considerable 

 certainty. It does not at all follow because a man inherits 

 his main features from some one ancestor, that he may 

 not also inherit a large number of minor and commonly 

 overlooked features from many ancestors. Therefore it 

 is not improbable, and worth taking pains to inquire 

 whether each person may not carry visibly about his body 

 undeniable evidence of his parentage and near kinships. 



