128 



NA TURE 



[Dec. 6. 1888 



into the branchite, along the oidinary passages, by the flow of 

 water the crab urges through them ; it must there have become 

 entangled in the feathery branches, and lived in this unwonted 

 habitat long enough to have grown to its present size, having 

 its food carried to it by the same water that served to oxygenate 

 the lungs of its host. W. R. Pidgeon. 



42 Porchester Square, W. 



The Pasteur Institute. 



In the article in Nature under the above title the writer says 

 (p. 74) : — "The probability of rabies following thejbite of a rabid 

 dog is now definitely ascertained to be from 15 to 16 per cent, 

 of those attacked." It would greatly assist all who desire to 

 form an impartial estimate of the value of Pasteur's researches 

 on rabies as far as they are deducible from a comparison of 

 statistics, if the writer would state the facts and figures on which 

 the above computation of 15 to 16 per cent, rests. The state- 

 ment is repeatedly made, but the proof is never given along with 

 it. It is obvious that, unless this percentage is proved beyond 

 dispute, the statistical argument will be lacking in cogency and 

 force, and leaves a loophole for attack by those who are ever 

 ready to depreciate and oppose the brilliant investigations of M. 

 Pasteur. Ernest Albert Parkyek. 



Blackburn, December 3. 



The Zodiacal Light. 



In your issue of October 25 (vol. xxxviii. p. 618), Dr. Muir- 

 head quotes a remark of Cassini's in contradistinction to the 

 relation indicated in your issue of the previous week (October 

 18, p. 594). The remark has not escaped notice, but is, I think, 

 directed to a variation of shorter period, abundantly exemplified 

 in Weber's observations, and in no wise invalidating the relation 

 in the note of October 18. As far as Cassini's numerical obser- 

 vations go, the relation of the 18th is fairly exemplified, as will 

 be shown by the following figures :— 



y Number of Mean Elongation, 



^^^' Observations. referring to March. 



1683 4 51-3 



1684 2 67-10 



1685 (max.) 33 52-35 



1686 26 56-28 



1687 16 68-82 



1688 2 51-53 



There are also observations indicating that the appearance did 

 not pass away in 1688. Missionaries report brilliant appearances 

 in 1690. 



Any statement beyond the existence of this shorter variation 

 would be at present premature. 



The number of observations do not permit of a sufficiently 

 sharp determination of the critical epoch to assert the amount of 

 lag. The best determination which I am at present able to 

 make is as follows. The sun-spot maxima of 1848, i860, 1871, 

 and 1883, follow the minima of the zodiacal light by + i, -1-5, 

 -1-5, -f- I -5 years respectfully. The sun-spot minima 'of 1856, 

 1867, and 1S78, follow the maxima of the zodiacal light by + i, 

 - I, 4-2-5 years respectively. 



As to the working hypothesis, the suggestions put forward by 

 Hugginsin the Bakerian Lecture for 1885 seem in slightly varied 

 form to meet all the facts which I am at present able to bring to 

 bear upon the subject. There is evidence in the variation in the 

 light of Encke's comet, as well as in the disturbance of its motion, 

 that approaching the time of sun-spot maximum it meets matter 

 moving towards the sun which it does not meet at the time of 

 sun-spot minimum. Whence this matter comes may perhaps 

 be questioned. 



Observations seem to have been very nearly dropped since 

 Weber's death in 1883. I am sure Dr. Muirhead will join with 

 me in calling the attention of observers to this subject, and in 

 asking that those observatories favourably situated would give 

 us continuous records both as regards place, spectrum, and 

 polarization. O. T. Sherman. 



Baltimore, Md., November 15, 



The " Tamarao " of the Philippine Islands. 

 Dans le numero d'" August 16" (vol. xxxviii. p. 363), vous 

 donnez une lettre du Dr. P. L. Sclater au sujet du Tamarao de 



Mindoro. Je crois que le Musee de Dresde s'en est deja occupe ; 

 mais, sans avoir eu connaissance de ce travail, j'ai public une 

 note dans le tome ii. de nos Memoires (Triibner, London) con- 

 cernant I'histnire na'urelle de I'Empire Chinois (p. 90), sur le 

 Tamarao. J'y constate que c'est un buffle, et je propose de le 

 nommer Bubahis mindorensis. II n'a rien de commun avec 

 VAnoa des Celebes, au moins en ce qui concerne les dents. 



Je suis curieux de voir dans le prochain numero des P.Z S. 

 une opinion contraire a celle de 1878. En dix ans on fait du 

 chemin. 



Je vous serais reconnaissant. Monsieur le Directeur, d'inserer ce 

 petit mot dans votre correspondance. P.-M. Heitde, S.J. 



Musee de Zikawei, pres Shanghai, 15 Octobre. 



THE EARLIEST RACIAL PORTRAITS. 



'"pHE earliest representations of races that are preserved 

 -*■ to us have been strangely neglected hitherto. On 

 the Egyptian monuments are carefully sculptured and 

 coloured figures of the various races that fell from time 

 to time within the reach of conquest, or that entered into 

 relations with Egypt, dating from the third millenium B.C. ; 

 yet till last year no attempt had been made to secure 

 copies of these, free from the inevitable errors of mere 

 drawings. At the desire of the British Association I 

 took up this work, and made a series of casts of 280 

 heads from the sculptures, besides noting the colours of all 

 paintings of races that I could find. These casts I then 

 photographed, and the prints of the photographs can be 

 obtained at cost price of printing.^ These photographs 

 are the source of the blocks (prepared by Messrs. Harper 

 and Brothers) used in this paper, which, therefore, are 

 perfectly automatic copies of the original sculptures. 



In a recent article (Nature, August 2, p. 321) Prof. 

 Sayce has already noticed some of the conclusions to 

 be drawn regarding a fair race in Palestine, so that it 

 is needless here to repeat his stateinents ; the actual 

 portraits will, however, enforce his conclusions. The 

 Amorites, who occupied the whole of Palestine, are seen 

 (Fig. i) to have fine though powerful features, quite differ- 

 ent from the Jewish-Assyrian or the Egyptian types, with 

 dolichocephalic heads ; a type of face quite in accord with 

 the light complexion and red-brown hair which they 

 appear with in a painting of about 1500 B.C. They differ 

 thoroughly from the features of the surrounding races of 

 Hittites, Philistines, and Bedawin, as sculptured by the 

 same artists, so that we are clear of the influence of mere 

 conventionality. The Thahennu of Northern Africa, the 

 Kabyles of modern times, show (Fig. 2) closely the same 

 features, with only a slightly different beard and the long 

 lock of side hair characteristic of the peoples of that 

 region. Of the veiy few other portraits of Aryans that 

 appear in Egypt, one of the most interesting (Fig. 3) is 

 the primitive Greek woman, one of the captive Hanebu, 

 or "lords of the north" (1400 B c). This has a very 

 expressive and intelligent face, and the wavy sidelock and 

 back hair recall the archaic Greek sculptures and vase- 

 paintings. The stone has been unfortunately injured, 

 but this precious proto-Greek is the only one remaining 

 of the group. 



In considering the origin of the Egyptians themselves, 

 we are met with the difficulty that they are unlike any of 

 the well-known neighbouring races. On the monuments we 

 find, however, the Punites, or people of the southern shores 

 of the Red Sea ; and theresemblance between their feature-.: 

 and those of the Egyptians is strikingly close. This noble 

 of Pun (Fig. 4), has so precisely the face of Seti II, 

 that either might be intended for the other. The evidence 

 of relationship is not only in feature ; the Egyptians coloured 

 themselves as the red race, in contrast to the yellow 

 Libyan, the brown Asiatic, and the black Negro in the 

 four great divisions of mankind : they also colour the 



J Apply to Mr. Harman, 75 High Street, Bromley, Kent. 



