120 



DISCOVERY. 



classification. They have therefore adopted a system 

 in which classification is based upon the patterns in 

 the " ball " area at the base of the great toe, and in the 

 three areas (i, 2,, 'and 3) termed the plantar area [planta 

 = sole) lying beneath the other. digits, together with 

 the presence or absence of lower deltas [d). 



They have found that the ball pattern is almost 

 always present, whilst the three plantar patterns are 

 of more uncertain occurrence, and may occur in any 

 combination, forming whorls or loops. In its complete 

 form the ball pattern is a u'horl, with three deltas 

 placed at about equal distances about it, but more 

 commonly there is a modification of the pattern in which 

 one or more of the deltas is missing, as in the case of 

 the diagram (Fig. 4), where the pattern is the modifica- 

 tion \ in which the uppermost delta is wanting. 



A plantar pattern may be either (i) a loop with an 

 opening at the top ; or (2) a loop opening downwards ; 

 for (3) a whorl, generally drawn out into an oval, as 

 is shown in 2 in the diagram. Frequently these areas 

 show no definite patterns, as in the case of i and 3 

 in the diagram. There are also occasional patterns 

 which occur but seldom, such as the fibular or outer 

 pattern, which usually consists of a narrow loop, h, 

 not far below the area of the base of the toes. In some 

 cases the core of the loop extends beyond the tread 

 area. 



Still more distinctive is the pattern on the heel, or 

 calcar pattern, c, which is usually a simple loop associa- 



FlG. 4.— TR.\CIXG OF THE SOLE-PRINT OF A SMALL BOY. 



Showing fibular loop (h) and the rare calcar pattern (c) which is always asso- 

 ciated with a tii-radius (d), 



{By permission oj Messrs. Wilder and Wentworlh.) 



ated with a delta, d. So rare is this pattern that less 

 than a dozen instances of its occurrence have been 

 recorded, and I am indebted to Professor Wilder and 



Mr. B. Wentworth for their permission to reproduce 

 the examples here shown. 



Fig. 4 represents a tracing of the entire sole-print of a 



h/A 



•esi. 



Fig. 5. Fig. 6. 



Fig. 5.— C.\LCAR P.\TTERN IX IlIPRINT OF HEEL OF .\N 

 .AMERICAN UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR. 

 This pattern is remarkable in showing a complete loop. 

 (By permission of Professor Wilder.) 



Fig. 6.— CALCAR P.\TTERN IN IMPRINT OF HEEL OF AN 

 AMERICAN W01L\N. 



iBy permission of Professor WHder.) 



small boy showing this feature, and photographs of 

 actual imprints of calcar patterns, kindly sent to me 

 bj' Professor \\'ilder, are shown in Figs. 5 and 6. The 

 first of these (Fig. 5) is the heel-print of an American 

 University Professor, which is unique in showing a 

 complete loop, and the other (Fig. 6) that of an 

 American woman. As Messrs. Wilder and Wentworth 

 observe, the possessor of a calcar pattern is a marked 

 man, and his imprint should be given a place of its 

 own in any classification of sole-prints. 



Although the registration of sole-prints is unlikely 

 to displace finger-prints as an official method of general 

 identification, there are many instances in which they 

 would be of great value, as, for example, in the identi- 

 fication of portions of mutilated bodies. 



The system is also much more readily applied than 

 the finger-print method in the case of babies, and has 

 already been adopted as a supplementary method for 

 the identification of infants in the Chicago Maternity 

 Hospital. For further particulars of the methods of 

 using the system, reference may be made to Wilder 

 and Wentworth's book on Personal Identification. 



The Identification of Animals 



The most recent development of the use of imprints 

 from the ridges of the skin has been its extension to 

 the identification of cows. It has long been known 

 that the patterns on the fingers of lemurs and the higher 

 apes may be as complex in their character as the human 

 skin patterns, whereas the patterns of the ridges upon 



