246 DIVERSIONS OF A NATURALIST 



mass of intestines can rest when he stands erect. The 

 pelvic bones of the higher apes are fiat, nearly parallel 

 with the broad plane of the back, and give no such 

 support ; the viscera have to rest against the wall of the 

 abdomen in the stooping position assumed by these 

 animals in walking. The abdominal walls are conse- 

 quently strong and thick, and the abdomen protrudes, 

 as does that of a very young child. One result of man's 

 upright carriage, showing that it is a recent acquirement 

 and one to which he is not completely adapted, is the 

 frequent occurrence in him of " hernia," or protrusion of 

 the intestine through certain spaces in the deep fibrous 

 wall of the abdomen. There would be no excessive 

 pressure upon these spaces (near the groin), and there- 

 fore little danger of hernia, were it not for man's newly- 

 acquired habit of erect gait. He is still incompletely 

 adapted to the upright pose. 



The arms of man are relatively shorter and his legs 

 much longer than in the man-like apes. The Neander- 

 men were more ape-like in these proportions than are 

 modern races of man, and show also an " ape-like " 

 curvature of the thigh bone which in man is straight. 

 Whilst the arm and hand of man has gradually become 

 a more delicate thing than that of the apes, and capable 

 of much greater variety and efficiency in the movements 

 of its parts, this condition has come about by alteration 

 in proportions and to some extent shape, and not by 

 any great change in construction. Only two muscles 

 exist in connexion with man's hand not found in that 

 of the higher apes. They are small slips adding to the 

 efficiency of the fingers and thumb, whilst in the foot 

 there is in man a small muscle connected with its outer 

 border — " the peroneus tertius " — which helps to keep 

 the sole of the foot turned downwards, and is not present 



